<![CDATA[Reading comprehension remains a persistent challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, particularly first-year university students in Vietnam who must quickly adapt to academic texts. Structured strategies such as PQRST (Preview, Question, Read, Summarize, Test) have been shown to enhance comprehension and self-regulation, yet limited research has examined learners’ perspectives in the Vietnamese context. This study aimed to investigate first-year students’ awareness, perceived usefulness, motivation, cognitive and metacognitive engagement, perceived comprehension improvements, challenges, and overall attitudes toward PQRST. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, which was based on Creswell and Creswell (2022), was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 195 English-major students from two universities using a researcher-designed questionnaire with 50 Likert-scale items across seven domains. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 35 students. Quantitative results were analyzed using SPSS v.27, and thematic analysis of interviews followed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step framework. Findings revealed moderate to high agreement on PQRST’s usefulness for organizing reading, improving comprehension accuracy, and supporting exam preparation. Students particularly valued questioning and self-testing for concentration and retention but reported challenges in generating questions, summarizing, and applying the strategy independently. Motivation-related responses were more neutral, indicating limited influence on long-term reading habits. The study concludes that PQRST is a promising scaffold for Vietnamese freshmen’s reading comprehension, but its sustained effectiveness requires explicit modeling, reflective practice, and institutional support for consistent implementation.]]>
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