Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Enhanced Reading Strategies - Promoting Comprehension and Engagement among Higher Education EFL Students

Artificial intelligence has rapidly infiltrated higher education, transforming how students engage with, comprehend, and interact with academic literature. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, AI-driven solutions like adaptive reading environments, automated summarization, vocabulary support, and conversational agents can provide immediate assistance that improves comprehension while promoting engagement and self-regulated learning habits. Generative AI raises persistent concerns around accuracy, dependency, privacy, academic integrity, and the ethical boundaries of utilizing such systems for learning. Despite the increasing usage, there is a paucity of qualitative evidence for university students regarding their experiences with AI-supported reading. The majority of studies concentrate on systems and outcomes. This qualitative exploratory study examined undergraduate EFL students' perspectives of AI-augmented reading practices in academic settings. Twenty undergraduates participated in semi-structured interviews that examined patterns of tool utilization, reported effects on comprehension and engagement, strategic behaviors, and perceived risks. We employed reflexive thematic analysis to examine the data. Four themes were discerned: augmented comprehension via AI scaffolding (vocabulary assistance, paraphrasing, summaries, and clarification), elevated engagement and autonomy through prompt feedback and diminished apprehension towards challenging texts, enhanced metacognitive awareness (monitoring comprehension, inquiry, and strategy selection), and apprehensions regarding overdependence, inaccuracies, privacy, and academic integrity. The findings suggest that AI can function as a supportive “reading partner” that alleviates challenges in processing academic texts; however, its educational effectiveness depends on systematic integration, explicit instruction in verification and critical reading, and established institutional standards for ethical use.