Reading and Writing Habits of University Language Students and Their Academic Success

Abstract

Multilingual literacy is an important competence in today’s society, especially for some professional groups. In the present study, 73 university language majors reported on their reading and writing in the mother tongue and target language, within and outside of their studies (quantity, circumstances and motivation), and the data were tested for correlations with their academic success. Results show that the students’ ratio of reading and writing in Slovenian vs. English and the text types are mostly dictated by their studies, but there are big differences in the quantity of these activities and the students’ attitudes. In their free time, students mostly read and write in the electronic media. No correlations were found with the selected measure of academic success. The results of the study can be utilized for planning improvements in literacy development in the Slovenian educational system and for further research into multilingual literacy, which is currently not abundant.

Key words: reading, writing, Slovenian, English, university students