Abstract The importance of the English language is growing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to the state’s development and progress. Despite it, most students still face problems with language acquisition and reading skills, in particular. The development of reading skills is a challenging task for all teachers because of the reading culture of students and the lack of interest and motivation. Reading is not a popular activity in Saudi society, and students are not interested in reading practices. Numerous researches have been conducted to evaluate the intensive reading difficulties in EFL students. Both qualitative and quantitative studies have been used to gather data concerning the status of EFL students’ intensive reading difficulties. The results have demonstrated that the lack of appropriate strategies, sociocultural aspects, and students’ negative attitude towards studying English define the status of intensive reading difficulties. The Significance of EFL Reading Skills The importance of the English language cannot be overestimated. The English language is a lingua franca for the whole world. The importance of English and reading skills, in particular, is growing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The country faces the rapid modernization. It is also becoming a significant participant in the global politics and affairs (Al-Seghayer, 2015). Consequently, more residents of Saudi Arabia will have the possibility to enter the international market. Nevertheless, it is impossible without knowledge of English and ability to read in this foreign language. One can argue that reading skills are not significant for the ability to communicate. On the contrary, reading skills are essential for the efficient communication. In most cases, people communicate via e-mails or other messaging systems. Thus, the ability to comprehend the message is crucial for every individual. An intensive reading is a part of the educational program as far as it promotes the capacity to understand all details of the particular text. The intensive reading enhances the general level of knowledge of the student. According to Rashidi and Piran (2011), “intensive reading is related to further progress in language learning under teacher’s guidance. It provides a basis for explaining difficulties of structure and for extending knowledge of vocabulary and idioms” (p. 471). Intensive reading is essential for the efficient language acquisition. That is why the status of reading in Saudi Arabia is high. Factors that Predetermine the Status of Reading Several groups of factors affect the way EFL is taught in classrooms. They refer to teaching reading and intensive reading difficulties as well. The first group is sociocultural factors (Shan, Hussain, & Nasseef, 2013). Every classroom is a small society, and every lesson presupposes the interconnection between cultures, especially if the EFL teacher is not Saudi Arabian. A student can acquire reading skills not only in the school environment. According to Shan et al. (2013), a substantial part of the language is learned via external sources. However, these factors are not relevant in the society of Saudi Arabia. Their dominant culture has not