Senior High School Students' Comprehension Monitoring and Repair Strategies

Abstract

Comprehending an English text requires readers not only to construct meaning but also to monitor their understanding and repair comprehension breakdowns as they occur. However, previous research and classroom assessment have often emphasized reading outcomes rather than examining how EFL learners monitor comprehension and select repair strategies during the reading process. This study describes how senior high school students monitored their comprehension and repaired breakdowns while reading an English text. A descriptive qualitative design was employed with six students from one class, using non-participant observation and think-aloud verbalization to capture their reading processes. The data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model of qualitative data analysis. The findings showed that comprehension monitoring was expressed primarily through nonverbal behaviors, including frowning, pausing, and slower reading, rather than explicit verbal statements of understanding or confusion. Repair strategies relied predominantly on rereading, while peer assistance occurred only once, and no students were observed reading ahead, skipping difficult parts, or consulting a dictionary. These findings suggest that students’ repair strategies were relatively limited, highlighting the need for explicit instruction and guided practice in using a wider range of comprehension-monitoring and repair strategies.