Digital Academic Reading: A Comparative Study of Reading Strategies Used among Undergraduates in Malaysia

Digital reading is the process of using electronic devices and platforms to access and comprehend written content. These tools are frequently reinforced with interactive elements. Readers must pay attention to structural textual elements, understand the intended meanings of the texts, and assess the relevance of certain textual passages in relation to the context while using informational texts in particular. Therefore, reading strategies play a crucial role in online reading comprehension. To address this phenomenon, this study explores the strategies of online reading employed by undergraduates in Malaysia with varying English proficiency levels when dealing with digital text. Data were collected from 180 ESL learners, =90 high proficiency students (MUET Band 4-6) and =90 low proficiency students (MUET Band 1-2) and the data were analysed and compared using the Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS) adapted from Anderson (2003). Findings have indicated that both groups actively employ all three strategies embedded in OSORS, which are Global, Problem-Solving and Support strategies, with varying preferences. High proficiency students relied more on re-reading, focusing on complex sections, using contextual clues, which are approaches embedded under Problem-Solving strategies, suggesting metacognitive flexibility. Low proficiency learners, on the other hand, approach digital text by guessing content, paraphrasing and scanning, indicating surface-level comprehension. These results indicated the need for explicit instruction in online reading strategies, specifically for low proficiency students, to support their screen-based reading. This study also highlights the significance of integrating digital literacy into ESL pedagogy and suggests future research to consider qualitative methods to better understand learners’ cognitive processes during online learning.