The Influence of Reading Comprehension Strategies on the Development of Iranian Students’ Pragmatic Competence

Abstract

Pragmatic competence of the English learners is usually tested through the inferring questions of a reading comprehension test. The knowledge of reading strategies used by the students affects their pragmatic competence. The present study compared thirty reading comprehension strategies to determine their effects on 50 EFL students' reading comprehension. The students answered a standard reading comprehension test, which was taken randomly from the internet, and a questionnaire was used to collect the data. The software SPSS was used to analyze the data. The results of the analysis revealed that some strategies have positive and some have negative impact. Metacognitive strategies would have positive effects on their pragmatic knowledge. Some pedagogical implications are also discussed.