通过对非英语专业学生阅读策略的训练提高阅读能力的研究(1)

通过对非英语专业学生阅读策略的训练提高阅读能力的研究(1) 分类号: 密 级: 论文编号: 贵 州 大 学 2010 届硕士研究生学位论文 通 过 对 非 英 语 专 业 学 生 阅 读 策 略 的 训 练 提 高 阅 读 能 力 的 研 究 学科专业:外国语言学及应用语言学 研究方向:英语教学法 导 师:曾 贤 模 教授 研究生:王 莉 娟 )贵州)贵阳 中 国 2010 年 6 月 i Investigation on Improvement of Learners? Reading Competence through Strategy Training for Non-English Majors By Wang Lijuan A thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Master of Arts in College of International Studies of Guizhou University June, 2010 Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped me during the writing of this thesis. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, ZengXianmo, for his instructive advice, useful suggestions and inspiring comments on my thesis. I am deeply grateful of his help in the completion of this thesis. Without his patient instruction, insightful criticism and expert guidance, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible. Likewise, I also owe a special debt of gratitude to all the professors in College of International Studies, especially Professor WangZhiyun, Duan Linli, and Li Binlin, from whose devoted teaching and enlightening lectures I have benefited a lot and academically prepared for the thesis. Last but not the least, my gratitude also extends to my family who have been assisting, supporting and caring for me all of my life. And I owe much to my friends and classmates for their valuable suggestions, which are of help and importance in making the thesis a reality. iii Investigation on Improvement of Learners’ Reading Competence through Strategy Training for Non-English Majors Abstract: Reading is an important and useful approach to the English learning and acquisition. While reading, what readers face directly is discourse, whose information and the regular patterns are keys to reading comprehension. Thus, there is a need to establish discourse analysis in reading instruction. Discourse is the spoken or written language unit in practice, and the language entirety made of a series of continuous utterances or sentences in the process of communication. Discourse competence indicates ways of effective reading. It will help to make reading easy, enjoyable and efficient. It makes sure that students will improve their reading ability through acquiring discourse competence and using appropriate reading strategies. The traditional English teaching aims at the cultivation and accumulation of knowledge. Reading class was once called “vocabulary class”. The teaching centers on vocabulary and grammar, which leads to the students? lack of discourse knowledge. Accordingly, the present researcher put forward the following questions: 1. What are the difficulties non-English major college students encounter in reading and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers in reading difficulties? 2. How do students solve the difficulties they have and what are the differences high proficiency and low proficiency readers? 3. What are the reading strategies used by students pre-and post-reading, and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers while they use the reading strategies? The study was carried on through questionnaires, pre-tests and post-tests concerning the 98 freshmen in two classes at Guiyang University. First, the students were asked what kind of problems they would meet with through the questionnaire. Then the present researcher respectively trained the control class and the experimental class in the next 16 weeks. Understanding the context, using the knowledge of the world, recognizing thematisation and thematic structure, tracing textual patterns as well as making inferences and recognizing implications were adopted in the iv experimental class. However, the traditional English teaching method of reading, including cultivation and accumulation of knowledge was used in the control class. Tests about reading strategies and reading competence were executed before and after the training and the data were analyzed with the SPSS software. The results of the present research showed that the affective strategy was used the most while the social strategy was adopted the least by the students before training. And the dramatic difference existed between the high proficiency and the low proficiency readers. The reading ability of the experimental class was improved to some extent while that of the control class was not so obvious. The data and analysis proved that the study was expected to be a success and discourse analysis is effective in English teaching. Therefore, it is essential for the college students to have the reading strategy training and the training is of great significance to instruct English teachers in reading. Key words: English reading, discourse competence, reading strategy, training v 通 过 对 非 英 语 专 业 学 生 阅 读 策 略 的 训 练 提 高 阅 读 能 力 的 研 究 外语阅读是人们了解异国异乡文化的最佳途径。阅读中，读者直接面对的是 语篇。语篇的信息、组成及规律对阅读理解有着至关重要的作用，因此有必要在 阅读教学中建立语篇分析模式。语篇是实际使用的语言单位，是交际过程中的一 连串的语段或句子构成的语言整体。语篇能力蕴涵着有效的阅读方式,运用语篇 能力会使读者轻松愉快更为有效地阅读。传统的大学英语教学重在知识的培养和 积累。英语阅读课一度成了词汇讲解课，其教学以词汇为核心，注重语法讲解。 这种教学 方法 快递客服问题件处理详细方法山木方法pdf计算方法pdf华与华方法下载八字理论方法下载 导致了学生缺乏相应的语篇知识。 针对这一现象，作者提出以下几个问题: 1.大学非英语专业学生在阅读过 程中会遇到那些问题，高水平者与低水平者之间是否存在显著差异? 2 学生会怎 样解决他们在阅读中出现的问题，在阅读策略使用方面,高水平者与低水平者是 否存在显著差异? 3.学生在读前及读后会使用什么样的阅读策略，高水平者与低 水平者之间的差异是什么,并对贵阳学院大一的两个班级 98 名学生进行了问卷 调查、前测和后测。首先通过问卷调查了解学生在阅读中遇到什么样的问题，针 对这些问题对试验组和控制组进行了 16 周的训练。试验组采用理解语境、运用 世界知识、辨认主位化和主位结构、确定篇章模式及推断并解析隐含意义等训练 手段，而控制组则使用传统的阅读教学方法进行教学。在训练前后都对学生的阅 读策略和阅读水平做了测试，并用 SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) 软件对有效问卷和试卷进行了定量分析。 分析实验结果表明，学生在阅读过程中情感策略使用得广，而社会策略使用 得最少。 在阅读策略使用方面,高水平者与低水平者存在显著差异。试验班在接 受 16 周的阅读策略训练后，阅读能力得到了一定的提高，而控制班无明显提高。 实验数据证明，该研究达到了一定的预期效果，在英语教学中采用语篇分析的教 学方法也是有效的。因此，在英语阅读教学中有必要对学生进行阅读策略的训练， 对英语教师的阅读教学具有重要指导意义。 作者对该领域未来的研究和教学提出了一些建议。指出教师应该了解学生的 vi 阅读障碍，针对学生在阅读中出现的问题进行有效训练，建立学生的一种阅读成 就感，培养他们有意识地使用阅读策略，从而更加有效的提高他们的阅读水平。 关键词:阅读 语篇能力 阅读策略 训练 vii List of Tables Table3.1 Frequency Scale on Strategy Use………………………………………….23 Table 4.1 Pre-reading Strategies Used by the Subjects………………………………25 Table4.2 Reading Skill and Ability Difficulties Encountered for the Subject of Pre-test……………………………………………………………………..26 Table 4.3 Solutions to the Subjects? Reading Comprehension Difficulties………….30 Table4.4 Reading Skill and Ability Difficulties Encountered for the subject of post-test……………………………………………………………………31 Table4.5 Subjects? Reading Ability and Skills to the Reading Difficulties after Training……………………………………………………………………31 Table4.6 Differences of Their Solutions between the EC and the CC……………….33 Table4.7 Comparison of the Pre-reading strategies used by the EC and the CC…….36 Table4.8 Descriptive Data of the Two Groups in Pre-test……………………………38 Table4.9 Descriptive Data of the Two Groups in Post-test…………………………..39 Table4. 10 Descriptive Data of the Control Class in Pre-test and Post-test………….39 Table4. 11 Descriptive Data of the Experimental Class in Pre-test and Post-test……40 viii Abbreviations CC: Control Class EC: Experimental Class ESL: English as Second Language EFL: English as Foreign Language L1: First Language L2: Second Language HP: High Proficiency Group LP: Low Proficiency Group SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Science ix CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... iii English Abstract.......................................................................................................... iv Chinese Abstract......................................................................................................... vi List of Tables..............................................................................................................vii..............................................................................................................viiii Abbreviations...............................................................................................................ix ...............................................................................................................ix Chapter One Introduction......................................................................................1 ......................................................................................1 1.1 Statements of the Problems...............................................................................2 1.2 Objectives of the Present Study........................................................................ 2 1.3 Significance of the Study.................................................................................. 3 1.4 Definitions of Certain Terms............................................................................ 4 1.4.1. Definitions of Discourse........................................................................ 4 1.4. 2 Definitions of Reading........................................................................... 4 1.4.3. Reading Strategies..................................................................................5 1.5 Organization of the Present Thesis................................................................... 6 Chapter Two Literature Review............................................................................ 7 2.1 Classifications of Reading Strategy.................................................................. 7 2.2 Research on Reading Strategy Use................................................................... 9 2.3. Research on Reading Strategy Training.........................................................13 Chapter Three Methodology................................................................................ 17 ................................................................................17 3.1 Research Questions and Hypothesis............................................................... 17 3.2 Subjects........................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Time Allocation for the Study.........................................................................18 3.4 Instruments...................................................................................................... 18 3.4.1 Questionnaires.......................................................................................18 3.4.2 Tests...................................................................................................... 19 3.5 Implementation............................................................................................... 20 3.5.1 Questionnaire........................................................................................ 20 3.5.2 Pretest.................................................................................................... 20 3.5.3 Strategy Training...................................................................................21 3.5.4 Posttest.................................................................................................. 22 3.6 Data Collection and Analysis..........................................................................22 Chapter Four Results and Discussion............................................................... 24 4.1 Analysis of the questionnaire.......................................................................... 24 4.2 Solutions to the Subjects? Reading Comprehension Difficulties....................28 4.3 After Training of Reading Strategies.............................................................. 29 4.4 Results of Reading Strategies Used by the Subjects.......................................33 4.5 Summary of the Study.....................................................................................37 Chapter Five Conclusions.....................................................................................40 .....................................................................................40 5.1 Major Findings................................................................................................ 40 5.2 Pedagogical Implications................................................................................ 44 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research.....................................................................45 5.4Limitations of the study................................................................................... 46 Appendix I: Oxford’s Strategies Useful for Reading.............................................. 48 ..............................................48 Appendix II: O’Malley and Chamot’s Definitions on Learning Strategies.......... 49 ..........49 Appendix III: Questionnaire..................................................................................... 52 .....................................................................................52 Appendix IV: Pretest................................................................................................. 55 Appendix V: Posttest..................................................................................................61 ..................................................................................................61 References:..................................................................................................................69s:.................................................................................................................. Chapter One Introduction Reading is an essential skill for English in EFL; either the textbook or the extracurricular reading materials provide many vocabularies and phrases to readers, so as to develop their spoken language skill and writing ability. With strengthened reading skills, ESL/EFL readers will make greater progress and attain greater development in all academic areas. The technical students not only need to acquire knowledge and theories from English reading materials, but also need to read many English books, periodicals or magazines for the absorption of new knowledge and information. Students often search and retrieve materials from the Internet, and it is estimated that over 70% of the information is presented in English. Good English reading ability can be helpful to effectively obtain the current information as it is necessary. In addition, our industrial and commercial circles continuously develop the internationalization and globalization. Strengthening English reading ability will be necessary for us to promote individual ability in competing. In spite of various functional requirements that can be put upon the language being learned, few people would quarrel with the traditional view that the learning of a foreign language itself contributes to the education of the individual by giving him access to the culture of a group of people with whom he does not have daily contact. A lot of researchers and teachers have tried hard to find out possible ways to help students read successfully in English, but there are many factors affect the reading proficiency of a second language. They are text types, school and social environments, student?s intelligence, learning motivation, teaching method, and so on. One of the most important factors is learning strategy. From the previous studies, it demonstrates that reading performance relates to the use of reading strategies. The reading strategies used by efficient and inefficient learners were different [Block, 1986; Singhal, 2001]. Our traditional reading instruction is to explain the grammar and vocabulary clearly and to practice the sentence patterns without context. Therefore, students always are in the state of passive reading. There are also some problems, for instance, reading materials are simple, the methods are simple and some teachers treat 1 the reading materials as separate language points. It is hard for them to analyze and explain a text as a whole. 1.1 Statements of the Problems Several studies have indicated that teachers? levels of knowledge and use of reading strategic teaching options in reading and language are far below desirable levels (Conley, 1986). This research project will help ascertain how much teachers know about reading strategies and reading training, and how frequently they use such strategies in their classrooms. This information will help us to better understand the need for reading strategy interventions and how teachers can better meet the needs of students. In order to understand the reading strategy use of technical students, the author expects the results of this research can suggest teachers a more effective way of teaching in English reading and enable students to get the twice result with half of the effort. Therefore, the purposes of the research are: (1) to develop the students? reading ability and technique by reinforcing the texture practice in reading materials; (2) to train the r teachers of English teaching and instructing English reading effectively on constructing the texture in and out of class; (3) to lay a firm foundation for their further study. 1.2 Objectives of the Present Study Since the late 1970?s, many ESL researchers have begun to recognize the importance of strategy use by ESL students in reading. The process of reading in which multiple strategies are employed became the focus of the study of reading. The key issue is reading strategy instruction and its effect. Many previous studies have reached a consensus view that strategic awareness is one of the important aspects of skillful reading (Nuttall, 1996). Strategic reading is therefore essential to skillful readers and is necessary for successful reading. This study will address the following research questions: 2 1. What are the difficulties non-English major college students encounter in reading and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers in reading difficulties? 2. How do students solve the difficulties they have and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers? 3. What are the reading strategies used by students pre- and post-reading, and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers while they use the reading strategies? The aim of this study is to find out what problems will the students encounter and the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers. Then college English teachers will efficiently guide the students in their English reading. 1.3 Significance of the Study The findings of strategy use will contribute to the research in second language reading, focusing mainly on the use of reading strategies. The findings of the present study will be of great importance to expose the reading strategy use, and will contribute directly to the planning of reading strategy instruction in the L2 curriculum. Strategies are reported to be the most frequently used and to be most helpful in aiding reading comprehension. The strategies will inform L2 reading teachers how best to instruct students for the new form of reading. L2 teachers will be able to take good use of strategy-based instruction to help students increase metacognitive awareness and strategy use while reading. Furthermore, the comparison of the strategy use between the high-proficiency and low-proficiency students will provide information on how to teach reading strategies to students with diverse language proficiency levels. In addition, because some strategies are more successful than others in facilitating reading comprehension, the most successful strategies will be encouraged to promote a strategic stance in L2 teaching. 3 1.4 Definitions of Certain Terms 1.4.1. Definitions of Discourse A pool of scholars have had their own definition and interpretation of “discourse” and “text” in the different periods of linguistics study and have been concerned to provide a tighter, more formal account of how speakers of English come to identify a text as forming a text. There are mainly two kinds of different knowledge about the two words. For example, Crystal (1992) defined, “A discourse is a succession of language, especially spoken language, larger than a sentence. It constitutes a coherent unit, likewise a preach or a debate, a joke or description. But a text is a paragraph of discourse, spoken, written or symbolic, and is a language unit generally with a certain communicative function, such as a talk or a slogan.” Psycholinguists are especially concerned with issues related to language comprehension. They mainly adopt a tight methodology derived from experimental psychology, which investigates problems of comprehension in short constructed texts or sequences of written sentences. Gillian Brown and G. Yule (1983) defined the term like this: the analysis of discourse is, necessarily, the analysis of language in use. It is committed to an investigation of what that language is used for. It has two main functions in which that function which language serves in the expression of „content? described as transactional, and that function involved in expressing social relations and personal attitudes described as interactional. 1.4. 2 Definitions of Reading Reading ability and skills indicate how readers conceive of a task, how they understand what they read, and what they do when they don?t understand. These strategies consist of a whole range of strategies including skimming and scanning, 4 contextual guessing, and reading for meaning, utilizing background knowledge, recognizing text structure, and so forth. Hence, reading is a critical skill for a student to perform well academically. However, many students are poor readers, or have difficulty understanding expository texts (Bowen, 1999). Nevertheless, recent research has shown that providing students with reading strategy instruction and training improves reading comprehension. Smith (1978) states children are skilled and experienced language learners before they go to school. He proposes that the reading process is a gradual, natural process and it cannot be taught; that is, children cannot be taught to read, but they can learn to read by reading. Some children acquire their native auditory-vocal language without formal teaching or training. But the acquisition of reading skills requires intensive schooling (Beech&Colley, 1987). Traditional discourse competence and reading has remained underdeveloped. Reading materials used to be regarded as the medium by which teacher provided vocabulary and analyzed grammatical structures for students. Discourse competence and reading focused on the surface structure, such as recognizing the meaning of words, demonstrating the usage, analyzing grammatical structures and explaining the meaning of long or difficult sentences. The deep or inner semantic relationship through discourse analysis and text-level understanding was neglected. The ultimate goal was to make students understand the meaning of individual words, master the rules of word formation and make sentences. This kind of word-sentence-centered reading instruction is necessary for foreign language learners at their primary stage, but is not sufficient. As a result, couldn?t make sense of the passage as a whole. 1.4.3. Reading Strategies Research in second language reading suggests that readers employ a wide variety of strategies to assist them with the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information. The use of reading strategies in the L2 literature has been recognized as an important 5 way to increase reading comprehension. Interactive theory suggests that readers are extremely active in pursuit of meaning as they construct hypothesis about the meaning, test their hypotheses through their background, and generate new meaning by relating it to what is already known. In this way, reading strategies play a crucial role in realizing the interactive process of successful reading. The term, “reading strategy” is defined for the purposes of this research as deliberate actions used by a reader to achieve a reading goal. The goal can be reading for comprehension, reading for fun, or reading for information based on the reader?s purpose. There is a lack of a coherent and well-accepted system for describing learning strategies (Oxford, 1994). Because the classification of language learning strategies is diverse, the first step in conducting learner strategy research is to compare different strategy categorizations in detail (Hsiao & Oxford, 2002). Rubin (1987) distinguishes between direct strategies and indirect strategies. Direct strategies include clarification/verification; guessing/inductive inference; deductive reasoning; practice; memorization; and monitoring, while indirect strategies are creating opportunities for practice and developing production tricks. This distinction between indirect and direct strategies serves as a base for work done later by Oxford (1990). 1.5 Organization of the Present Thesis The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is an introduction, which is a comment on the background, target and practical significance of reading strategy research and explanations of important terminologies. The outline of the present paper is also introduced in it. In Chapter Two, research literature in two major domains is reviewed: 1) Theoretical foundations, 2) Related findings. Chapter Three covers the methodology the present researcher employed, puts forward the research questions, and explains the subjects chosen, instruments applied, and the processes of data collection. The procedure of training is also presented in Chapter Three. In Chapter Four the present researcher discusses the findings of the study. In the concluding 6 chapter, the results and discussions are summarized and some suggestions for further research are offered. Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 Classifications of Reading Strategy Oxford (1990) offers a useful and comprehensive classification scheme of the various learner strategies. She classifies language learning strategies as direct and indirect strategies, each of which has three sub-strategies. Direct strategies include cognitive strategies, memory strategies, and compensation strategies. Cognitive strategies are the mental strategies learners employ to make sense of their learning, memory strategies are for storing information, and compensation strategies bridge the knowledge gap and ensure ongoing communication (Williams & Burden, 1997). To be more specific, cognitive strategies help learners to manipulate the language, including note-taking, summarizing, paraphrasing, predicting, and formally practicing sentence structures, including phonic and syntactic structures. Memory strategies help learners to remember and retrieve information by creating mental pictures, using keywords, and employing word associations. Compensation strategies include guessing the general meaning of a word by using context clues or dictionaries. Indirect strategies include metacognitive, affective, and social strategies. Metacognitive strategies help learners to regulate their learning. Such strategies can help learners plan, arrange, and evaluate their own learning, including setting goals and objectives, seeking practice opportunities and evaluating their own performance. Self-monitoring and correction of errors are examples of metacognitive strategy use in reading. Affective strategies are related to boosting learners? self-confidence, such as self-encouraging behavior to lower anxiety. Social strategies provide learners with 7 increased opportunities to use the language by questioning or asking peers for feedback. Strategies useful for reading are listed in Appendix I. O?Malley and Chamot et al.?s three-factor categorization of language learning strategies has received broad attention among researchers (O?Malley & Chamot, 1990; O?Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, & Kupper, 1985; O?Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Kupper, & Russo, 1985). The three categories of O?Malley and Chamot?s classification are cognitive, metacognitive, and social-affective. This scheme was developed from Brown and Palinscar?s (1982) study, which classified general learning strategies as metacognitive and cognitive. According to Brown and Palinscar, cognitive strategies involve manipulation or transformation of the material to be learned, while metacognitive strategies refer to the thinking about the learning process. In other words, cognition is defined as thinking, and metacognition is thinking about one?s thinking (Anderson, 1999). The third type, social-affective, was then included to form a three-factor categorization of learning strategies (O?Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Kupper, & Russo, 1985; O?Malley & Chamot, 1990). Research finds that students who work cooperatively for reading comprehension tend to outperform those who work individually, and the positive result of cooperative learning is even more obvious when students with different cognitive styles are paired (Rubin & Thompson, 1982). The classification and definition of O?Malley and Chamot?s learning strategies is shown in Appendix II. In fact, no classification is perfect, and each strategy may fall into one category or another depending on the aspects in focus. What is beyond dispute is that reading strategies can be broadly divided into cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies, which are applied in this research. A similar categorization scheme for describing learning strategies is developed in Rubin?s study (1987), which distinguishes among social strategies, cognitive learning strategies (clarification/verification; guessing/inductive inferencing; deductive reasoning; practice; memorization; and monitoring); metacognitive strategies (choosing, prioritization planning, preparing in advance of reading, selective attention, etc.); and communication strategies (circumlocution /paraphrase, formulae use, avoidance strategies and clarification strategies). 8 2.2 Research on Reading Strategy Use A plethora of empirical studies examine the strategies used by second language readers to process a text. Unique among the literature of strategy use is a series of studies that focuses on individual differences; that is, characteristics that can define good and bad readers. The following studies centers on identifying L2 reading strategies (Hosenfeld, 1984; Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001; Thompson, 1987), comparing strategies used by good and poor comprehenders (Block, 1986, 1992; Chang, 1998; Cheng, 1998; Huang, 1999; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995; Sarig, 1987; Shen, 2003) in reading texts of different difficulty levels (Kletzien, 1991; Smith, 1991) and topics (Brantmeier, 2000, 2003, 2005). Hosenfeld (1984) has identified contextual guessing as distinguishing successful ESL readers from unsuccessful ones. His study has been frequently cited by EFL/ESL reading researchers who try to encourage students to use effective strategies while reading (Alderson, 2000; Barnett, 1989). Below is a list of successful strategies identified in Hosenfeld?s (1984) study of individual readers. (1) Keep the meaning of a passage in mind while reading and use it to predict meaning. (2) Skip unfamiliar words and guess their meaning from remaining words in a sentence or later sentences. (3) Circle back in the text to bring to mind the previous context to decode an unfamiliar word. (4) Identify the grammatical function of an unfamiliar word before guessing its meaning. (5) Examine the illustration and use the information contained in it while decoding. (6) Read the title and draw inferences from it. (7) Refer to the side gloss. (8) Recognize cognates. (9) Use knowledge of the world to decode an unfamiliar word. (10) Skip words that contribute little to total meaning. Thompson (1987) examines the role of memory in reading and emphasizes the reader?s background knowledge and the rhetorical structure of a text on processing. Although this study only seeks to characterize good readers and bad readers in L1 and is not touching upon reading strategies, Thompson still gives a list of reading strategies that can help improve L1 reading comprehension and in turn helps L2 9 reading processing. These strategies include (1) identifying text structure using a flow-chart of hierarchical summaries, (2) giving readers titles before reading the text, (3) using embedded headings as advance organizers, (4) asking students pre-reading questions to facilitate recall, (5) readers asking their own questions before actual reading, (6) using visual imagery, and (7) reading a story with different perspectives. Block (1986) compares reading strategies performed by six ESL students and three native speakers who enrolled in a remedial reading course at the university level. Block categorizes their reading strategies to be general (comprehension gathering and comprehension monitoring) and local (attempts to understand specific linguistic units). General strategies include anticipating content, recognizing text structure, integrating information, questioning information in the text, using general knowledge and associations, commenting on behavior or processes, monitoring comprehension, correcting behavior, and reacting to the text. Local strategies are to paraphrase, reread, and to question the meaning of a word, a clause, or a sentence. The results show that students with different language backgrounds (native speakers of English, Chinese, and Spanish) use similar strategies. An investigation of the relationship between comprehension and strategy use show that the use of general strategies leads to successful comprehension. Another study that Block (1992) has conducted to investigate the comprehension monitor process of L1 and L2 proficient and non-proficient readers reveals that readers with different language abilities use different strategies to process texts. Among the 16 proficient readers(eight L1 and eight L2 readers) and 9 non-proficient readers (three L1 and six L2 readers), when encountering a vocabulary problem, proficient readers used background knowledge, re-read the sentence, and use clues to guess the meaning. However, non-proficient readers do not apply these global reading behaviors adopted by proficient readers; instead, they resort to identifying lexical problems, without paying attention to the meaning of the words in context. Sarig (1987) explores the relationship between L1 and L2 reading strategy use as well as the connection between L2 reading proficiency and reading strategy use. Her study of EFL learners? think-aloud data reveals four moves, including technical-aid 10 moves (skimming, scanning, skipping, writing key elements in the text, marking parts of text for different purposes, summarizing paragraphs in the margins, and using a glossary); clarification and simplification (substitutions, paraphrases, circumlocutions, and synonyms); coherence-detecting moves (effective use of content and formal schemata to predict the forthcoming text, identification of people in the text and their views, cumulative decoding of text meaning, summaries, identifying text focus); and monitoring moves (consciously changing plans, correcting mistakes, conducting constant self-evaluations, and expressing hopelessness by saying, I don?t understand that, so I will read on). The results show that L1 reading strategies are transferred to L2 reading and the same reading strategy types account for both failure in L1 and L2 in the same degree. Top-down strategies, such as coherence-detecting and monitoring moves, lead to both successful and unsuccessful reading comprehension. This finding contradicts Block?s (1986) study where global strategies bring about better comprehension. Pressley and Afflerbach (1995) summarize results from more than 30 studies whose subjects range from 6th graders to postgraduates and whose texts include both narrative and exposition. The variety of samples and texts allow this study to analyze strategies in different contexts. The strategies are categorized into before-reading strategies, during-reading strategies, and post-reading strategies. Before-reading strategies include constructing a goal for reading, making an overview of the text, and activating prior knowledge. During-reading strategies include reading selected parts of the text, scanning for important parts, paraphrasing, and making notes. Post-reading strategies include evaluating texts and reflecting on or rereading parts of the text. Another finding is that skilled readers tend to be aware of what they are reading and why they are reading. They also have a set of tentative strategies to solve reading problems and to monitor their comprehension of textual information. Sheorey and Mokhtari (2001) examine the perceived use of reading strategies as shown in questionnaires filled out by 150 American students and 152 ESL students. The results show that the most widely used strategies reported by U.S. students are trying to stay focused on reading, paying close attention to reading, using typographical aids (such as italics), adjusting one?s reading rate, and rereading for 11 better understanding. On the other hand, ESL students frequently use strategies such as rereading for better understanding, paying close attention to reading, trying to stay focused on reading, adjusting reading rate, and using prior knowledge. The difference of strategy use between ESL and native speakers seems to be minimal. Chang (1998) explores reading strategies used by Chinaese college students of different academic achievements in reading texts varying in difficulty and content familiarity. The results show four categories of reading strategies: making sense of the English text, responding to texts, recognizing difficulties, and reading behavior. In addition, regardless of the text difficulty and students? academic achievement, the major strategies are paraphrasing and stating main ideas. Using dictionaries is the major strategy employed by most readers in reading difficult texts. High achievers use more strategies than low achievers in reading difficult texts. Cheng (1998) investigates reading strategies used by Chinese ESL students from China. Ten participants were asked to read a long English text, from which they had to respond with a think-aloud protocol, an interview, and a questionnaire. The results reveal two groups of strategies: general strategies, such as making inferences, using background knowledge, integrating information, and commenting on text; and local strategies, such as paraphrasing, rereading, and word-solving behaviors. Additionally, despite same language and cultural background, participants exhibited different reading strategies, with the “non-integrators” using local strategies and the “integrators” using general strategies. Furthermore, the sociocultural factors, such as the English-learning experiences, affect the reading purposes of the learners and therefore directly influence their strategy used to achieve the purposes. Apart from sociocultural factors, factors such as personality, exposure to strategy training, reading interests, and academic majors also contributed to different strategy use. Huang (1999) investigates reading performances of more and less proficient readers in reading texts of different difficulty levels. Three types of strategies are found, including global strategies (getting meaning from larger chunk of the passage or from background knowledge), local strategies (getting meaning from words or sentences), and monitoring strategies (being aware of understanding and commenting 12 on reading behaviors). The results show that more proficient readers use more global strategies than local ones, whereas less proficient readers use more local strategies than global ones. In reading difficult texts, more proficient readers tended to use more monitoring strategies (recognizing reading problems, re-reading, questioning, and guessing) to help themselves process the text, while less proficient readers still clung to local strategies. Shen (2003) explores the relationship between proficiency and strategy use among EFL learners in China. Four proficient and four less-proficient university students were asked to read two different types of passages-description and comparison/contrast. The results showed that the most widely used strategy was translation, regardless of the participants? proficiency levels. All of the eight participants tended to translate English into Chinese as they read, especially when they did not meet with any difficulty. However, when encountering difficulties, their strategy use varied; that is, the more proficient learners used a wide variety of strategies, such as making inferences and using background knowledge to solve problems, whereas less proficient readers only skipped unknown words. For example, when having problems understanding „wag the tail,? proficient readers inferred the meaning of “wag” from “tail”; they guessed that the action related to something at the end of an animal that must be “moving up and down.” Another strategy that proficient readers used was using background knowledge. For example, in decoding the meaning of “loyalty” in the text “dog expresses loyalty to their owners,” the proficient reader recalled a scene of “dogs licking their owners” and then confirmed the meaning of the unfamiliar word, loyalty. 2.3. Research on Reading Strategy Training In L1 settings, strategy instruction has led to improvements in comprehension (Grabe, 2005; Guthrie, Wigfield, & Perencevich, 2004; Harrison, 2004; National Reading Panel, 2000). The strong evidence recognized in these carefully selected 13 studies is that comprehension does not simply develop spontaneously; instead, a wide range of teaching strategies determine successful reading improvement. In addition, coordinated use of multiple strategies builds better text comprehension than using single strategy alone. Therefore, the goal of reading strategy instruction is to develop strategic reading rather than teach individual strategies (Grabe, 2005). Although strategy instruction in L2 settings is not as widely recognized and promoted as in L1 settings, there are emerging views that learning strategies have contributed to the effectiveness of L2 attainment (Harrison, 2004). The pedagogical implication for this view is the inclusion of strategy training in classrooms (Chamot & Rubin, 1994; Cohen, 1998). Learners who can participate actively in learning can have the best results. Teachers, therefore, need to raise students? awareness of how to regulate their own learning and to help learners move toward decision-making and autonomy by providing a structure for the choices that students make. The earlier strategy research on the role of “good language learners” in language acquisition provides the theoretical background for strategy instruction. Working from studies of personal and general learner factors (Naiman et al., 1978; Rubin, 1975), Ellis (1985) draws up a list of characteristics of good language learning. Good language learners have the following characteristics: (1) They can respond to the group dynamics of the learning situation, so they are not affected by anxiety. (2) They create make maximum opportunities to practice listening; they respond to speech because they want to communicate; and they pay more attention to meaning than to form. (3) They supplement their learning from direct contact with target language speakers with study techniques (such as making vocabulary lists), which involve some attention to form. (4) They have analytic skills that can monitor errors and store the linguistic features of the L2. (5) They develop strong motivation and have strong reasons for learning L2. (6) They are willing to experiment and take risks. (7) They are able to adapt to different learning situations because they can use strategies in a flexible manner based on the task requirement. (p. 122) In a similar vein of research, Grabe?s (1999) study on good language learners can 14 provide insight into how to conduct reading instruction. The abilities of a good reader include the following: (1) Fluent and automatic word recognition skills. (2) A large recognition vocabulary. (3) The ability to recognize collocation use. (4) A reasonable reading rate. (5) Knowledge of the L2 culture. (6) The ability to recognize anaphoric linkage and lexical linkages. (7) The ability to recognize grammatical structure. (8)The ability to recognize text organization. (9) The ability to use reading strategies to become strategic readers (using such strategies as paraphrasing, summarizing, predicting, forming questions, visualizing information, skimming, scanning, monitoring comprehension, and clarifying comprehension). (10) The ability to concentrate on reading extended texts. (11) The ability the use reading to learn new information. (12) The ability to determine the main ideas of a test. (13) The ability to extract and use information, to synthesize information, and to infer information. (14) The ability to read critically and evaluate text information. (p. 34) Additional comments made by Grabe (1999) are that to improve reading, L2 readers need especially to be able to work with graphic organizers to determine the discourse structure of the text; to employ metacognitive strategies to support readers? goals; to use cooperative learning skills to improve reading and writing abilities; and to read extensively. In addition, L2 readers need to pass a language threshold in order to transfer L1 reading abilities to L2. L2 readers may have different L2 reading abilities due to their diverse L1 backgrounds and the variety of L2 they are reading. In order to read fluently, L2 readers need to take advantage of the resources they have, including their knowledge of the world, skills in attending to form, and the use of bilingual dictionaries. In conclusion, the above review of relevant studies on L2 reading in a second language reveals three dimensions. First, the taxonomies of common L2 reading strategies shared by the aforementioned studies can be generally classified as more “ top-down” or “bottom-up” in nature. Top-down strategies, which are related to strategies that readers use to predict text contents, construct a goal for reading, and self-monitor the 15 reading process are named as general strategies (Block, 1986, 1992; Cheng, 1998), global strategies (Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001), or coherence-detecting and monitoring moves (Sarig, 1987). Bottom-up strategies, on the other hand, refer to strategies that readers use to understand specific linguistic units and are termed as local strategies (Block, 1986, 1992), problem-solving and support strategies (Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001) or technical aids and clarification and simplification (Sarig, 1987). Second, language proficiency accounts for differences in strategy use (Huang, 1999; Shen, 2003; Yang, 2002). More proficient readers tend to use global strategies, whereas less proficient readers resort to local strategies (Huang, 1999). In reading more challenging texts, more proficient readers use more complex metacognitive processing strategies to monitor their reading (Huang, 1999) or applied background knowledge (Shen, 2003). However, less proficient readers still use local strategies (Huang, 1999) or even ignore reading problems (Shen, 2003). Although both high and low EFL proficiency readers seem to use the same kind of strategies in reading academic texts in Anderson?s (1991) study, high EFL proficiency readers appear to apply strategies more effectively and appropriately. The implication is that strategic reading not only resides in “which” strategies to use; equally important is how to apply strategies successfully. Third, in approaching texts with different difficulty levels, high achievers use more strategies (Chang, 1998; Kletzien, 1991) and apply more self-monitoring strategies (Huang, 1999) to process the text. Gender-oriented passage content does not entail different strategy use (Brantmeier, 2000) but topic knowledge affects second language reading comprehension by gender. Fourth, the use of strategies increases reading comprehension to some degree. Global strategies contribute to better comprehension in Block?s (1986) study, whereas top-down strategies, such as coherence-detecting and monitoring moves, result in both successful and unsuccessful reading comprehension in Sarig?s (1987) study. In summary, reading is a cognitive process of constructing meanings and testing the hypothesis of readers. Some readers decode the text by the use of bottom-up information processing, and some adopt top-down information processing to process 16 the text. In fact, these two processes of reading models interact with each other while reading. In the process of reading, readers may encounter various kinds of difficulties. Their difficulties may come from the lack of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge, limited language proficiency, limited interest and prior knowledge, and the inability to use effective reading strategies. If students can develop a good habit of identifying their difficulties in reading comprehension, they may be able to improve their weaknesses and prevent the failures in language learning. If students are equipped with effective reading strategies, they are able to read independently and extensively in the future studies. Chapter Three Methodology 3.1 Research Questions and Hypothesis This paper mainly discussed the following aspects concerning college non-English majors? reading ability and reading strategy: Question 1: What are the difficulties encountered by university students and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers? Question 2: How do the students solve the difficulties they have, and what are the differences between high proficiency readers and low high proficiency readers? Question 3: What are the reading strategies used by the students at the two stages, pre-reading and post-reading, and what are the differences between good readers and poor readers while they use the reading strategies? Based on the research questions, the present researcher proposed the hypothesis: Hypothesis 1: Students use reading strategies in which affective strategies are most frequently used, while social strategies are least employed. Hypothesis 2: Students? reading ability can be greatly improved by the social strategy training. 17 3.2 Subjects In the spring of 2009, 106 non-English majors in Guiyang University were invited in the research out of their own willingness. One group was in Class One, Grade one of the Computer Science Department, which was the control class in the later experiment and the other group is Class Two, Grade One of Computer Science Department and the experimental class. They promised to be honest when giving the answers. They were freshmen and have been accustomed to the study in the university after a semester?s adjustment. They were chosen from normal class, which could better provide truthful information that would help ensure the objectivity of the results. There were 106 students in the two classes.. Both male and female participants were involved in this study. The students generally have formally studied English as a foreign language for at least six years. However, only 98 students have gone through the entire study and 8 students quit the study out of some reasons. 3.3 Time Allocation for the Study After the present researcher had collected corresponding data and prepared for it ,the study was carried out throughout 18 weeks as scheduled: Week One: Questionnaire and Pretest (March, 2-6, 2009) Week Two-Seventeen: Reading strategy training (March, 9-June, 22, 2009) Week Eighteen: Questionnaire and Posttest (June, 29-July, 3, 2009) When the study was completed, the present researcher collected and analyzed the data and then wrote the present paper based on it. 3.4 Instruments 3.4.1 Questionnaires The instrument used here is a questionnaire (see Appendix III). The questionnaire was primarily developed on the basis of O?Malley and Chamot?s classification of 18 language learning strategies. There are totally 40 statements about reading strategy use in the questionnaire. The questionnaire items focus on 6 metacognitive strategies (No. 1-16), 10 cognitive strategies (No. 17-36) and 3 social/affective strategies (No. 37-40). No. 13 is designed from the reverse side on purpose to test their reliability of the subjects? response. Cronbach?s alpha for measuring internal reliability is used as the reliability index of the questionnaire in this study. Students will be asked to indicate on a 5-point scale how well each item described them (1=Never or almost never true of me; 5=Always or almost always true of me). To understand the questionnaire better, the present researcher made it in Chinese for the subjects. The questionnaire was composed of two parts. The first part aimed at exploring the difficulties the subjects encountered while reading and how they solved these problems. The questions included: (A) What causes your difficulties comprehending written English when you are reading an English text? And (B) How do you solve these difficulties? The second part aimed to investigate the reading strategies used at the three stages of reading, i.e. before reading, while reading and post-reading. This part comprised of the following questions: (C) What strategies do you use before you read the text? (D) What strategies do you use while you are reading? (E) What strategies do you use after you read a text? 3.4.2 Tests There were a pretest and a posttest in the study. Because the students were all freshmen, the pretest consists of 4 reading passages with multiple-choice questions. And the reading passages are just the proper level for the students. The posttest is accordingly 4 reading passages with multiple-choice questions, which is also appropriate for the students. The pretest and the posttest are the same level, College English Test, which is a standardized nation-wide proficiency test designed to measure students? English achievement after almost one and a half years college English study. Each chosen passage contains five questions and twenty items in all. 19 3.5 Implementation 3.5.1 Questionnaire In order to know what difficulties the student met and what kind of reading strategies they adopted in their reading, before executing the experiment, the present researcher asked the students in the two classes to complete the questionnaire in their real condition. The present researcher gave out 98 questionnaires (during the experiment some students were absent because of illness) and asked them to finish the questionnaire in 25 minutes and 98 were handed in. therefore, all the collected questionnaires were true and effective. At the end of the study, that is, when the reading strategy training was implemented, all the students were required to do the questionnaire again. The aim of doing so was to find out what difficulties they met and what reading strategies they used after the training. Then the differences between the control class and experimental class would be clearly analyzed and presented. Accordingly, the present researcher asked the students to finish the questionnaire in 25 minutes and collected 86 effective questionnaires. 3.5.2 Pretest Before training, all the subjects have been asked to complete a reading comprehension test within 35 minutes, which is composed of 4 passages with multiple-choice questions. Before the papers were handed in, students have been made sure that their reading achievements would have nothing to do with their scores of the course. The pretest includes 20 multiple-choice questions, with the full score of 100, and each 5. Then the present researcher collected their papers and graded them. After that the grades were entered the computer and analyzed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). 20 3.5.3 Strategy Training In the Control Class (CC), all students were taught by chosen reading strategies. However, the students in Experimental Class(EC), they were only taught with the reading materials in the required textbook New Horizon College English. As a contrast, students in Experimental Class will be given additional reading materials chosen by the present researcher and taught with the following approaches for strategy training. Week 1-3: Preparing for the strategy training. 80 passages were involved in the training, which are progressively difficulty for the students? level. Week 4-6: Identifying and selecting the reading strategies for training. According to the results of the first questionnaire, the following strategies are adopted: advance organizing, directed attention, elaboration, inferring, note-taking, translation, self-evaluation, grouping, summarizing and cooperation. Week7-9: Presenting reading strategies. This stage includes teaching and modeling. The researcher explained what reading strategies are to the students and then engage them in a discussion of how, where and when the strategies might be used according to different questions and passages. The researcher guided their discussion and put emphasis on how the strategy may improve their effectiveness in reading. Week 10-13: Guiding students to practice reading strategies. At the beginning of this stage, practice is largely teacher-directed. The researcher modeled appropriate ways of thinking about how and when to use the reading strategies when problems arose. And a simple strategy was focused on at a time. Week 14-15: Encouraging students to use strategies on their own. With the training going on, the present researcher?s instruction gradually decreased and students could choose reading materials by themselves. Once a strategy is introduced, 4 to 5 passages were given to them to write outlines for 20 passages. Week 16-17: Helping students to self-evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy training. This stage focused on students? self-evaluation on their use of strategies and appraising their success in using them and the contribution the strategies make to their 21 learning. Evaluation was conducted at the end of the class. Students were asked to undertake periodic evaluation of what they have learned in the training. That is to say, the students were required to make an evaluation after a week?s training. Class discussions and Learning logs are the most frequently used methods to encourage learners? evaluation in this stage. In summary, the principles of the training program in this study are:1)including affective domain in strategy training,2)choosing strategies which can support each other,3)integrating strategy instruction into regular classes over a long period of time,4)to be explicit and relevant,5)providing plenty of practice with varied students tasks with authentic material, and 6)helping students evaluate the success of training and the value of strategies in various tasks. 3.5.4 Posttest After training, both classes have taken a posttest of reading comprehension which is similar to the pretest in the form. That is, the reading passage is followed by five multiple-choice questions at the end. There were four reading passages of the same level as the pretest. The students are required to finish it in 35 minutes and the full score is also 100 and each is 5 just as the pretest. The present researcher then collected the papers and graded them. The grades were analyzed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). 98 students have taken the posttest and all have handed in their papers. 3.6 Data Collection and Analysis After the questionnaires were collected, the data was analyzed by using two statistical methods. First, scores of each exam were graded by the present researcher. Then, the data of the subjects? scores were collected and analyzed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). A T-test was used to compare the differences between the two groups, the CC and the EC. If the p-value was under .05, 22 there existed an obvious difference between the CC and the EC. Second, the subjects? responses to each question of the first and the second parts on the questionnaire were calculated and analyzed for frequencies and the percentage with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). Chi-square test was also adopted to compare and analyze differences between the two groups, the EC and the CC. That is, if p-value was under 0.05, it meant there was an obvious difference between two groups. If not, there was no difference between the two groups. Table3.1 Frequency Scale on Strategy Use Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank Besides, the researcher will obtain the data from the pretest by means of (SA + A) (SA + A) “Independent-samples T-Test” to find out whether there exists any significant difference in the reading ability between the EC students and CC students. C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. When the training was over, the teacher got the data from the posttest by means of the Paired-samples T-Test to examine the differences of the two classes? reading C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 ability before the training and after the training. In addition, the Independent-sample C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 T-Test is to examine the effectiveness of strategy training by making contrast between C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 the two tests for each class. headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 23 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 Chapter Four Results and Discussion 4.1 Analysis of the questionnaire Before training we examined the five high-level reading abilities and skills on reading between the EC and the CC in order to see whether their levels were on the same level. The data we used was the scores from the questionnaire. 54students in the experimental class and 44 students in the control class take part in this investigation. Table 4.1 The Pre-reading Strategies Used by the Subjects Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 Notes: (1) SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree. (2) n = 315. C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. 24 C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. Table4.2 The Reading Skill and Ability Difficulties Encountered for the Subject of Pre-test Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 As shown in Table 4.2, about (64.5%, EC and 63.8%, CC) subjects think that the most serious factor that affects reading comprehension is vocabulary. Besides, about C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. 47.6%, EC and 48.3%, CC of the subjects feel that difficult new words or phrases in the text would slow down their reading speed. Obviously, vocabulary plays an C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 important role in reading and there is a close relationship between vocabulary C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 development and skilled reading and knowing how to expand vocabulary knowledge reading. would facilitate the subjects? proficiency in reading comprehension. As for sentence C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 structures, about 22.4%, EC and 27.9%, CC of the subjects indicate that grammar C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 would affect their reading comprehension. If the sentence structures are too reading in advance. complicated or the sentences are too long, then they will fail to understand the C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 meanings of the text, or miss the point of it. Some subjects might not be aware that No Difficult EC CC knowledge of the linguistic features, such as spelling, grammar and word meanings, Percentage Percentage could improve their reading skill. It can be explained that most instruction in class is 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% likely rule-based rather than meaning-based. About 39.6%, EC and 37.7%, CC of the 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 25 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% topics of the text. subjects feel that they lack sufficient background knowledge to help them understand a text. That is, without sufficient background knowledge, they may have difficulties dealing with unfamiliar topics or concepts. Then, it can be assumed that background knowledge is an important aid for the subjects to process information from the text if they have got some background knowledge about what they read. Some readers rely on knowledge about a known topic to sort out word meaning. Some readers rely on word knowledge to comprehend the text if they have a mastery of the text?s vocabulary but are unfamiliar with the topic. That is, if readers encounter unknown words in the text and have difficulties in comprehending a text, they may construct the meaning of the text by interpreting textual information in light of prior knowledge and experience. If the subjects can identify related materials about the topics in the text, they may perform well or even better in the examinations. About 17.3%, EC and 18.1%, CC of the subjects indicate that they cannot use effective strategies while they are reading, and about 3.6%, EC and 4.5% ,CC)of the subjects feel that they cannot integrate the concepts in the text into what they have learned. Choice of reading strategy is very important. Research also confirms that reading strategies could facilitate reading comprehension if they are used effectively. That is, if the subjects know how to use reading strategies well or effectively, they may show improved performance in their reading courses. Some readers use the reading strategies consciously or unconsciously, but they do not know which strategies are effective for them, when to use them effectively and efficiently, and where to apply them. In other words, students should be informed of the effect of reading strategies. As the results show, about 33.6%, EC and 33.9%, CC of the subjects feel that they cannot concentrate on their reading. Paying full attention to what they are reading is very important readers to comprehend the text. The reasons why students cannot concentrate on reading may be because they cannot comprehend the meanings of unfamiliar words, or they simply lack interest in the topics of the text. Interest and attention are interactive. Willingness and enthusiasm go hand in hand with attention and involvement. Attentive, involved students will learn more, remember longer, and usually make better use of their learning. Therefore, students should be informed of 26 the importance of paying attention to their studies in class. From the questionnaire, (Question 1) different students have different reading habits. No choice takes a dominant role. But disappointedly, 25.1% in the EC and 25.4% in the CC of the students still read the text word by word. It is really a problem to solve while reading. When asked their attitude towards listening, (Question 3) the majority of the students think it the most difficult things to get the main idea of the passage, make references, and guess what view the author holds or what attitude he/she has 25.4% in the EC and 25.2% in the CC respectively). (Question6) Concerning dealing with new words or unfamiliar words, 59.6% in the EC and 60.1% in the CC guess the meanings of the words according to the context. Only 10.4% in the EC and 10.2% in the CC tried to guess the meaning according to the context. How to find a better method to help the students comprehend the high-level information while listening is must be concerned. (Question 9)Most of the students are not satisfied with their translation scores (68.5% in the EC and 68.0% in the CC). (Question 10) Therefore, nearly all the students think it necessary for their teachers to develop their reading methods, strategies and habits so that they can comprehend better. From the analysis above, on one hand there is no any significant difference in the two classes about English reading strategies, habits of reading and attitude towards reading. On the other hand we can see clearly that though the students in our school have greatly improved their English reading strategies, methods, habits and so on, many problems still exist owing to different reasons. In the future teaching, we English teachers ought to try our best to solve them so that even better teaching results could be achieved. According to the chunk number of each strategy category of EC and CC in the post-test, after the training, we employed statistic analysis and got the above two tables. The statistic data in Table 4 .4and Table 4.5 show that after the experiment students of EC and CC experienced a significantly different improvement in using polywords, institutionalized expressions and phrasal constraints except sentence builders. That is to say, there existed quite significant differences between the two 27 groups in using polywords, institutionalized expressions and phrasal constraints. This indicates that, compared with the CC, the EC have made a bigger improvement on the total scores as a whole and have gained significant achievements in getting the main idea, in finding out detailed information and in making inferences. 4.2 Solutions to the Subjects’ Reading Comprehension Difficulties As shown in Table4.3, the most frequently used strategy to solve the reading comprehension difficulties is “Guess the meaning from the context.” The percentage of agreement reaches about 68.6%. Actually, it is a “top-down” processing, with which readers have to infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word or phrase based on what they have already known in the written text. Nearly 61.6 % of the subjects try to overcome their difficulties by rereading the text. It is supposed that they do so in order to obtain some relevant information or cues to assist them in comprehending the meanings of the text that they may miss while reading initially. However, it is noticeable that 47.6 % of the subjects try to translate the text into Chinese, sentence by sentence. It is apparent that L1 reading habits affect the subjects? L2 acquisition (Cohen, 1990). The reasons why they often translate the text into Chinese may be attributed to the following reasons. First, the subjects are used to relying on their teachers? Chinese explanations in class, and it can be attributed to their grammar-translation language learning experiences. Therefore, they cannot tolerate vagueness in the target language, and would like to concentrate on the Chinese meaning of the target language. Second, they expect to get precise information from a text. Only 3.2% out of 84 subjects would read the text aloud. The subjects may not be in the habit of reading a text aloud in English or they are unable to pronounce the unknown words and ignore the pronunciation. Only 8.9% out of 84 subjects would like to pronounce the unknown words and only15.4% out of 84subjects would like to look up the unknown words in the dictionary. This fact presents that the subjects should learn more about how to 28 make use of language tools to assist their learning. It is also noticeable that only 10.8 % of 84 subjects would like to consult with their teachers or classmates to aid their comprehension. It might be worthy to work on the concepts of cooperated learning in the classroom. The students should be informed of the effect of teamwork in language learning, and they can find out solutions to reading difficulties on their own, and become independent learners in the future. It is a good phenomenon to find that only 9.2% of 84 subjects do nothing about their reading difficulties. This result means that at least 29 out of the subjects would find some ways to solve their difficulties. Table 4.3 Solutions to the Subjects’ Reading Comprehension Difficulties Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 4.3 After Training of Reading Strategies C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 While-reading strategies refer to the techniques that readers apply to facilitate their headlines, and subtitles. comprehension when they are engaged in the reading activity. After doing some C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 preparatory work at the pre-reading stage, readers will have to match their C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 expectations with what they actually read at this stage. Readers also have to integrate enhance my English ability. the new information from the text with their prior knowledge. They must construct C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 meanings from the written text based on their previously acquired knowledge. In C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 order to accelerate information processing, readers should use efficient and effective reading. reading strategies. The while-reading strategies adopted by the subjects are discussed C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 29 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 in the following section. Reading Skill and Ability Difficulties Encountered for the subject of post-test Table4.4 Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 Table4.5 Subjects’ Reading Ability and Skills to the Reading Difficulties after Training C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 3.5-4.4 Usually true C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true C9 1.5I predict the possible content of the text.-2.4 Low 64 Generally not true36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true reading in advance. No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 No Difficult EC CC C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 Percentage Percentage enhance my English reading. 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 30 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 According to the investigation of EC and CC in the post-test, after the training, we adopted statistic analysis and got the above two tables. The statistic data in Table 4.2 show that after the experiment students of EC and CC experienced a significantly different improvement in using reading strategies. As is apparent from Table 4.4, there is significant difference between the EC and the CC on the “The sentence structures in the text are complicated (17.3%, EC; 18.9%, CC); There are many unknown words in the text (14.6%, EC; CC, 31.2%); There are difficult words or phrases in the text (25.3 %, EC; 33.8%, CC).” From the table, all the mean differences were positive, which meant that the students of EC used higher level with reading skill and ability than those of CC. Therefore, students in the EC have achieved higher gains than those of the CC The results of the post-test between the EC and CC also show that students from the EC obtain higher level on the eight aspects of English teaching, especially in the three aspects: The sentence structures in the text are complicated; I cannot use effective strategies or skills, and the text is too long. I cannot catch the main points, the difference between EC and CC is significant. That is to say, there existed quite significant differences between the two groups in using reading strategies, institutionalized expressions and phrasal constraints. This indicates that, compared with the CC, the EC have made a bigger improvement on the total scores as a whole and have gained significant achievements in getting the main idea, in finding out detailed information and in making inferences. It is also remarkable that about half of the subjects (88.9%, EC; 79.3%, CC) thought they would read the text word by word at a slow rate. It may be because these subjects think that to fully comprehend a text means to understand each word in the text. Actually, this fact indicates that such readers lack the appropriate reading skills relevant for text comprehension. They feel insecure or anxious when they read something unknown to them. Consequently, they often stop reading and look up the words in the dictionary if they are allowed to do so. However, some subjects still claim that they cannot understand the text very well even though they know each word in a text. Such subjects cannot skip the exact meaning of each word and focus on the semantics of the text. 31 Table4.6 Differences of Their Solutions between the EC and the CC Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 Table 4.6 lists the results of the differences between the EC and the CC in their headlines, and subtitles. solutions to their reading comprehension difficulties. First, it is apparent that both C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 groups of the subjects do not have the habit of reading the text aloud. For example, the percentage of Question 6, “Read the text aloud,” foC6 I do English reading comprehension tests to r both groups is the same 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. (6.7%). Therefore, only 7 out of 98 subjects in the CC and EC solve their reading C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 comprehension difficulties by reading aloud. C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 Second, the subjects in the EC are more active to deal with their difficulties than reading. the subjects in the CC. The percentage (6.7%) for the subjects in the EC is very low. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 That is, only 7 out of 98 subjects in the EC do nothing with their difficulties. C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 Contrarily, the percentage for the subjects in the CC reaches about 40.0%. This reading in advance. fact indicates that 42 out of 98 subjects in the CC are passive to deal with their C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 difficulties, and thus such a negative attitude towards learning English may be the No Difficult EC CC reason why they struggle to learn English. Percentage Percentage Third, for the subjects in the EC, the percentage of Question B1 “Reread the text 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% if I do not understand the text well,” and Question B2 “Guess the meaning from the 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 32 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% topics of the text. context,” is more than 80% (83.8 & 84.7%). The percentage of Question B3 “Translate the text into Chinese sentence by sentence,” and B5 “Consult with the teachers or classmates,” is about 50% (49.6% & 51.4%). For the subjects in the CC, only the percentage of Question B2 and Question B8 is more than 40%, but Question B8 is a negative solution to the difficulties. This high percentage indicates that 42 out of 84 subjects in the CC may not try to solve their difficulties. The percentage of Question B3 is more than 30%, and the percentage of the responses to the other solutions is about 20% or even less than 20%. Based on the data, we can find that both groups of subjects would love to reread the text, guess the meaning from the context, and translate the text into Chinese sentence by sentence very often. Besides, p-value for each solution between the EC and CC is under .05, reaching a significance level. This fact indicates that there exists an obvious difference in their solutions to the reading comprehension difficulties between the EC and the CC. Smith (1971) also states that the difficulties that poor readers encountered are an “inability to make full use of syntactic and semantic redundancy, of non-visual sources of information” (p.221). That is, poor readers are forced to process more visual information to recognize a word, and thus they read slowly. They recognize isolated words, but they do not derive the meanings from the context. As a result, reading becomes a suffering, laborious task for the readers with a limited proficiency level. Therefore, Cummins (1994) suggests that instruction should be highly context-embedded to give students many extra-lingual and situational cues for constructing meaning when cognitive demand is high. In school, teachers should instruct students to make good use of the contextual clues in the text to improve their reading comprehension. 4.4 Results of Reading Strategies Used by the Subjects The main concern in this section is to discuss the reading strategies used by the subjects in the stages of reading. This section is further divided into two parts. The 33 first part focuses on pre-reading strategies, and the second part discusses the post-reading strategies. In each part of this section, the overall results are first analyzed and then the comparison of the strategies used by the EC with those of the CC is discussed. When readers are engaged in reading, they start a series of hypotheses about what they encounter in a text. In fact, readers sample their hypotheses very early before they start their reading activity. For example, they have some kind of expectation what information they get from their reading. They try to search for their previous experiences or background knowledge to interpret the text. They get a visual picture about the topic before they read, and they confirm or even refuse their hypotheses when they continue the reading. In other words, readers start their psycholinguistic guessing game before their reading. The most frequently used strategy is “I read the part with Chinese translation” (52.7%). More than half of the subjects read the part with Chinese translation first before they start to read. Perhaps, the subjects feel that Chinese translation facilitate their comprehension in the target language. Then, the second-most frequently used strategy is “ I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black headlines, and subtitles” (45.7%). About 45% subjects use the strategy of scanning or skim to process the text and obtain the information that they need. It is a good strategy for readers to use when time is limited. They can get relevant information in a short time. The third-most frequently used strategy is “I preview the outlines of each chapter” (41.2%). Apparently, 130 out of 106 subjects preview the outlines of each chapter. They know that the outlines of a text will lead them to understand the main points or concepts, and then they can integrate the points or concepts into what they have already known or they can rely on their previous experiences to interpret the meanings of a text. Then, they can understand the text better or more efficiently. Among the other strategies, four strategies reach more than 30%, including “I read some related Chinese topics or texts to enhance my English reading” (37.7%), “I predict the possible content of the text” (36.2%), “I expect to gain something I want from my reading” (35.0%), and “I arrange a comfortable environment for reading in 34 advance” (35.0%). Several apparent things are indicated. First, about 37% of the subjects read related Chinese topics or texts to enhance their English reading ability. These subjects know that they better comprehend the text with sufficient background knowledge. Second, about 36.2% subjects predict the possible content of the text before reading. It is a good skill as prediction can motivate the students to read and stimulate their pleasure of reading. Most students give up reading just because they cannot predict the upcoming content of the text or the text is too difficult and unpredictable. Third, about 35% of the subjects would expect to gain something they want from their reading and arrange a comfortable environment for reading in advance. The facts reveal that some subjects prefer to read in a comfortable environment and expect that their reading ability in something helpful or useful to them. Table4.7 Comparison of the Pre-reading strategies used by the EC and the CC Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 Table4.7 represents the differences and similarities of the pre-reading strategies C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 35 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 used by the subjects of the EC and the CC. First, the differences between the EC and the CC reach a statistically significant level (p < .05). There are clear and apparent differences that exist between the EC and the CC. Second, the overall percentage of strategies used by the EC subjects is higher than that of the strategies used by the CC subjects, except the strategies C5 “I check up new words in the dictionary” (10.5% vs. 11.4%), and C7 “I set up the goals of reading” (16.2% vs. 20.0%). This fact represents that both the EC and the CC do not have a habit of checking up new words in the dictionary and setting up goals for their reading. It is apparent that fewer CC subjects read English materials before reading, and they also fail to set up goals of their reading in advance. Actually it is important for readers to set up goals for reading before they start to read in order to be aware of the pertinent facts, and to retrieve the information that they need. It seems that readers have a mental map in their hands before they go on their reading journeys and they will thus be able to navigate the reading process effectively. That is, skilled readers should be aware of the process of reading efficiently and monitor their reading all the time. Third, it is noted that more than 30% of the CC subjects choose to use the strategy C11 “I do nothing before reading” (36.2%). This fact indicates that the subjects with a lower proficiency level seldom prepare for their reading. Accordingly, they retrieve less from their reading or even might get lost in the miasma of unfamiliar vocabulary. The EG subjects use three strategies more frequently than the CC subjects. These strategies are C2 “I preview the outlines of each chapter” (52.3%), C3 “I read the part with Chinese translation” (57.1%), and C4 “I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black headlines, and subtitles” (59.1%). Besides, five strategies reach higher than 30%, including C1 “I read some related Chinese topics or texts to enhance my English reading” (39.1%), C6 “I do English reading comprehension tests to enhance my English ability” (32.4%), C8 “I expect to get something I want from my reading” (43.8%), C9 “I predict the possible content of the text” (48.6%), and C10 “ I arrange a comfortable environment for reading in advance” (36.2%). Meanwhile, only three strategies used by the CC subjects reach higher than 30%. They are C1 “I read some related Chinese topics or texts to enhance my English reading” (30.5%), C10 “I 36 arrange a comfortable environment for reading in advance” (31.4%), and C11 “I do nothing before reading” (36.2%). Among the three strategies, the strategy C11 “I do nothing before reading” is a negative strategy that is not useful and helpful for readers to enhance their reading comprehension ability. As for the responses to the two strategies C1 “I read some related Chinese topics or texts to enhance my English reading” and C10 “I arrange a comfortable environment for reading in advance,” we are able to assert that both groups of subjects use these two strategies often (39.1% to 30.5% and 36.4% to 31.2%). Both groups of subjects probably think that reading some information related to the topics that they are going to read may help them activate their background knowledge and understand the text better. Besides, they also view a comfortable reading environment as an important condition in order to help them concentrate on reading. Finally, p-value for the use of each pre-reading strategy is under .05, reaching a significance level. That is, the differences between the EC and the CC are statistically significant. 4.5 Summary of the Study Table4.8 Descriptive Data of the Two Groups in Pre-test Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true p<.05 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank In order to compare students? score of overall performances in the pre-test, the (SA + A) (SA + A) researcher used Independent-samples t-test to analyze the result. From the above table, C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 we could see that the P value indicated that there was no significant difference enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 37 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. (t=-.52, p=.61)between the two classes before the study was conducted, for P, .61 , .05. Thus, the comparison showed that these two classes were almost at the same level in reading before the study. Table4.9 Descriptive Data of the Two Groups in Post-test Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true p<.05 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true In order to compare students? scores of overall performances in the post-test 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true between the two classes, the researcher used the Independent-samples t-test to analyze No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) the result. From the statistic data, we saw that the mean score of the experimental group was much higher (25.65) than that of the control group. The results showed that C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 the strategy training promoted the students of experimental group to perform better in enhance my English reading. their reading ability in the post-test. A significant difference (t=-8.32, p=.00) appeared C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 between the two groups. Therefore, it showed that the present researcher?s reading C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 strategy training had a positive effect on the experimental class. C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. Table4. 10 Descriptive Data of the Control Group in Pre-test and Post-test C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true enhance my English ability. 3.5-4.4 Usually true C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true p<.05 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 A significant difference (t=-6.47, p=.00) existed between two tests of the control 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true reading. group. This difference mainly resulted from the level of the control group declining a 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 lot in the post-test. Their mean score of the post-test declined by 8.85, from 60.64 to No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 51.79, 8.85% lower than that of the pre-test. (SA + A) (SA + A) reading in advance. C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 enhance my English reading. No Difficult EC CC 38 C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 Percentage Percentage C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% Table4. 11 Descriptive Data of the Experimental Group in Pre-test and Post-test Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true p<.05 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true In order to compare the students? performance between the pre-test and post-test, the researcher used Paired-samples t-test to analyze the result. Although they did 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true better in the post-test than in the pre-test, their mean scores were not high. Their mean No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank score rose by 15, from 62.44 of the pre-test rising to 77.44 of the post-test. It (SA + A) (SA + A) increased 15%. The table told us that the difference of scores in this part was not C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 statistically significant, for the p value .00 was higher than the significant level .05. enhance my English reading. The results indicated that the experimental group made a great progress in their C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 post-test. C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 In conclusion, the results showed that the present study was successfully carried C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 out as expected. From the above description and discussion, the differences of reading headlines, and subtitles. ability and reading strategy use between the two classes were presented clearly, which C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 helped to analyze the questions and hypothesis the researcher put forward.. C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 No Difficult EC CC Percentage Percentage 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% 39 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% Chapter Five Conclusions 5.1 Major Findings This study aimed to investigate reading comprehension difficulties encountered by university students and reading strategies applied by them. The participants in this study comprised of 106 students in Guiyang University. They were requested to fill in a questionnaire about their difficulties encountered during reading a text and their use of reading strategies based on their own reading experience. 98 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). The detailed results have been discussed and analyzed in the previous chapter. Based on the research questions mentioned in Chapter One, the summaries of the major findings will be offered in this section. Two groups of data are collected for the study: (a) data collected from the test: students? discourse knowledge and their reading strategies (b) the students? test scores in the reading comprehension section of Band Four. Implications in language teaching were made at the end of the study by discussing the necessity of language teachers knowing some discourse knowledge and the teaching of reading from discourse analysis perspective. Exercises demonstration was also made to specify what reading teachers should do to develop the growth of discourse competence in classroom. The purpose is to find out students? discourse competence and its effect on their reading behavior. The findings of the study confirm the hypothesis as specified below: Students are poor in discourse knowledge, and this poor knowledge has turned out to affect their ability in test performance. It is definite that students can improve their text performance by improving discourse competence in English reading. Question 1 What are the difficulties encountered by Guiyang University students and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers? According to the analysis and discussion in the previous chapter 4, students encountered major reading comprehension difficulties that included a lack of 40 understanding of many unknown words, difficult new words or phrases in the text, and long sentences. Based on these findings, it can be explained that most subjects thought vocabulary was the key to decoding text, and those unknown or difficult new words and phrases would be obstacles to learning English well. Among the subjects in this study, about 103 out of 105 subjects (32.7%) reported that they were unable to implement effective strategies. This fact represents that those subjects were unable to comprehend a text well simply because they lacked effective strategy implementation. They were hampered and confused with unfamiliar words, spending a lot of time confirming the meanings of individual words in the text. As for the differences between the EC and the CC, the results show that the EC encountered reading difficulties less frequently than the CC. Among the difficulties, two items of difficulties appears apparently different between the EC and the CC. They are A6 “I cannot integrate the concepts in the text into what I have learned,” and A10 “I cannot concentrate on reading.” It is noticeable that much more CC subjects thought that they had difficulties in integrating the concepts into what they have read and concentrating on reading than EC subjects. This fact tells that the subjects with a low proficiency level have more trouble in integrating what they have read into new concepts in the text. It may be more urgent to help such students to make use of their prior knowledge or experiences to interpret an unfamiliar text. They also have more attention problems while they are reading than the subjects with a high proficiency level. They may be easily distracted by something outside, such as noise and people around them, or even hot weather. They may also have no interest in the text; therefore, they cannot concentrate on what they read. It may be helpful to improve their weakness in attention. Question 2 How do the students solve the difficulties they have, and what are the differences between high proficiency readers and low proficiency readers? Based on the results presented in the previous chapter, the most frequently used strategy by all the subjects to solve their reading comprehension difficulties was “Guess the meaning from the context,” which is a top-down processing strategy. The 41 second-most frequently used strategy was “Reread the text,” and the third-most frequently used strategy was “Translate the text into Chinese sentence by sentence.” Similarly, the most frequently used strategy for both groups was the same, namely “Guess the meaning from the context.” The second-most frequently used strategies were different. For the subjects of the EC, the second-most frequently used solution was “Reread the text if I do not understand it well,” but the second-most frequently used solution for the subjects of the CC was “Do nothing about the difficulties.” This indicates the passive attitudes of the low-proficient readers. The third-most frequently used solution for the EC was “Consult with teachers or classmates,” but for the CC, it was “Translate the text into Chinese sentence by sentence.” This result shows that highly proficient readers would prefer to adopt social strategies to solve their difficulties, whereas low proficient readers would like to translate the text into their native language, in an attempt to understand the meaning of the whole text. Low proficient readers cannot tolerate the contextual ambiguity. They would like to extract exact information or meanings from the text, or perhaps they lack self-confidence. As for the differences between the EC and the CC, there exist great differences among the use of three solutions, including B1 “Reread the text if I do not understand the text well,” B5 “Consult with teachers or classmates,” and B8 “Do nothing about the difficulties.” It is noted that the EC subjects reread the text to get full comprehension and consult with others to solve their problems of reading comprehension more often than the CC subjects. Meanwhile, more CC subjects do nothing about their difficulties. They choose to face their problems passively. It may be because they have no habit of trying to solve problems independently or just because they lack self-confidence. If so, they may need more encouragement from their teachers. Question 3 What are the reading strategies used by the students at the stages, pre-reading, and post-reading, and what are the differences between high proficiency and low proficiency readers while they use the reading strategies? As for the reading strategies used by the subjects, it was found that university students tended to employ bottom-up processing more often when they perceived 42 visual messages. They placed emphasis on the meaning of words during the three phases of reading. For example, they frequently applied the strategy “I read the part with Chinese translation” (52.7%) during the pre-reading stage, the strategy “I make use of the Chinese translation to understand the meaning of the sentences” (71.8%) while reading, and the strategy “I consult with others on the part I do not understand” (36.8%) in the post-reading stage. They were confident that they had understood the text only after they had decoded the more isolated elements of language, such as the Chinese meanings of single words, and then they gradually turned to the larger language patterns, such as phrases, sentences, and passages. Most subjects depended on the Chinese translation or explanation to understand the text. They make use of their native language to process the language they are learning. Meanwhile, they cannot learn language through the use of language in the authentic context. The subjects had a habit of reading the Chinese translation first, and then they depended more on their native language and would ignore the importance of acquiring the target language in context. As for the differences between the reading strategy use of the EC and the CC, the results of the chi-square reveal that the two groups are different in the frequency and flexibility of their strategy use. The EC employed reading strategies significantly more frequently than the CC and used a variety of different strategies in the reading process. The high percentage of strategy use highlights the fact that the EC were good at adopting different strategies flexibly and positively. However, it was also discovered that both groups frequently used similar reading strategies during the three stages of reading. For example, they depended on clues of the text, paid attention to the Chinese explanation or translation and tried to decode every word in the text. The salient distinction between the reading strategies of the two groups was twofold. First, the EC students tended to implement comprehension monitoring and problem identification during the reading process. The subjects of the EC adopted different strategies to aid their comprehension, such as consulting with others on sections they did not understand, making use of the Chinese translation, and questions listed in the front part of the text. The other distinction is that the CC tended to depend on clues from their mother tongue. If they could not find 43 familiar clues in the text, they would give up reading very easily. Most CC subjects were not confident when they encountered many unknown words in the text. In order to improve their reading comprehension, they may need to formulate skills about how to skip parts they do not understand and how to retrieve relevant information from the context based on their previous knowledge. 5.2 Pedagogical Implications Reading is a complex issue in language teaching research. The scope of reading covers reading as creative act, interaction, interpretation and responding. These are not contradictory with discourse competence, but in fact require the competence of discourse to achieve their goals. Reading is to get meaning out of the text. It requires both the text-level ability to recognize cohesion and coherence and the knowledge of context for creating meaning. Competent readers of a language are proficient in a range of language skills to make reading easy, enjoyable, and efficient. It is our teachers? responsibility to see that students grasp these skills to achieve successful reading. In other words, we may not be teaching students to read, but we are teaching them how to read. And because most students think they read to learn the lexical items, grammatical phenomenon, we teach them to read for gist, to get meaning from the text. Good readers attend to the features of discourse. They can predict what is to come, both the content and the questions that the author is likely to ask. They interact with the author, to derive meaning from what he writes. It emphasizes the function of language as communication. It takes into consideration the distribution of linguistic elements in texts and the links between the text and its social situation. It provides insights into the problems and processes of language use and language teaching. Although the study demonstrated the positive effects of discourse competence and reading on students? reading, some limitations must be mentioned. In the present study, only university students were included as sample subject. Furthermore, only one class served as the experimental group and one as the control group. Other classes taught by other teachers were excluded. Further research is 44 suggested using a large sample of participants with different ages and different English proficiency levels, such as college students who have much more school work than senior school students and elementary children who have much more free time than secondary school students. 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research There are limitations in the setup of this study regarding aspects such as the number of the subjects, the assessment of the subjects? reading comprehension ability, and the designs of the questionnaires. The following suggestions for future studies attempt to compensate for the limitations of this study and to assess the effect of reading on EFL students? vocabulary development by enlarging the number of subjects and controlling more text factors systematically. First, the subjects in this study are limited to first-year students of Guiyang University. The English proficiency levels of these subjects are mostly middle or lower proficiency, with a few at a higher level. Without comparing other subjects from different schools, it is difficult to assess the subjects? proficiency levels. Future research is suggested to extend the subject pool to other universities, in order to broaden the subject base and the range of English proficiency between high and low proficiency subjects. Then a comparison between high- and low-proficiency subjects will be more objective. Second, this study only explores the difficulties encountered by the university students and the reading strategies used by them, as well as the differences between good and poor readers. Much research (e.g. Green, & Oxford, 1995) also demonstrates that gender plays an important role in language learning, and may influence the achievement of reading comprehension. Therefore, it is suggested that future research discusses differences between genders on reading comprehension difficulties and reading strategies. Third, present findings indicates that vocabulary and grammar play an important role in students? reading comprehension, and most subjects feel that vocabulary is the 45 most frequent difficulty they encounter in reading. The text with many unknown words or difficult words stops their reading so often that they cannot get full comprehension and enjoy reading. Research (Anderson, 1996; Camiciottoli, 2001; Hafiz, & Tudor, 1989) shows that extensive reading can help students become independent learners, but this study did not present the effect of extensive reading on language learning. Students often spend most of their energy and time preparing for tests or going to cram school. They often use the excuse “I do not have enough time” to avoid reading at home in their free time. Consequently, teachers are responsible for arranging a suitable reading environment. For example, teachers can set up a classroom library or decorate a reading corner for students, and assign their students to read some popular, simplified masterpieces that may encourage students to read more, and to discuss the content in class together with the students. Future studies may involve research into the effect of simplified novels integrated into learning programs. 5.4 Limitations of the study Research into Investigation on Improvement of Learners? Reading Competence through Strategy Training for Non-English Majors in Guiyang University is but a preliminary attempt and has its own limitations. They are summarized as follows: (1)Only quantitative is applied in this study. Other research methods such as observation should be applied in further studies to reassure the findings. (2) The limitation also lies in the questionnaire. Some statements on questionnaire may not be well designed and clear in meaning. And when the students make a choice, they may not tell the truth all the time for various reasons. As a result, the outcome may be inevitably affected. Owing to the limitations of the research environment and objective conditions, there is room for further research and refinement. Though we have found obvious differences of reading ability and reading strategy between high proficiency readers and low proficiency readers in this study, more examinations should be made to 46 justify the results and to explore the reason why high proficiency readers are different from the low proficiency ones. Further studies are also needed to discover what reading strategies are adopted as students become more proficient in reading. Only more research are conducted can we have deep insights into differences in the causes which lead to reading strategies use among the beginning, intermediate, and advanced level students. 47 Appendix I: Oxford’s Strategies Useful for Reading Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 No Difficult EC CC Percentage Percentage 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 48 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% topics of the text. Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. Appendix II: O’Malley and Chamot’s Definitions on Learning C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 Strategies C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation reading in advance. 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 3.5-4.4 Usually true No Difficult EC CC 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true Percentage Percentage 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% (SA + A) (SA + A) 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 49 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% enhance my English reading. topics of the text. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 6 I cannot integrate the concepts in the text into what I 3.6% 4.5% Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 No Difficult EC CC Percentage Percentage 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 50 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% topics of the text. 6 I cannot integrate the concepts in the text into what I 3.6% 4.5% Mean score Frequency scale Evaluation 4.5-5.0 High Always or almost true 3.5-4.4 Usually true 2.5-3.4 Medium Sometimes true 1.5-2.4 Low Generally not true 1.0-1.4 Never or almost never true No. Strategies Frequency Percentage Rank (SA + A) (SA + A) C1 I read some related Chinese topics or texts to 70 37.7% 4 enhance my English reading. C2 I preview the outlines of each chapter first. 76 41.2% 3 C3 I read the part with Chinese translation. 84 52.7% 1 C4 I scan or skim the text, such as titles, black 80 45.7% 2 headlines, and subtitles. C5 I check up new words in the dictionary. 16 11.4% 11 C6 I do English reading comprehension tests to 69 21.9% 9 enhance my English ability. C7 I set up the goals of reading. 53 16.8% 10 C8 I expect to gain something I want from my 51 35.5% 6 reading. C9 I predict the possible content of the text. 64 36.2% 5 C10 I arrange a comfortable environment for 49 35.0% 7 reading in advance. C11 I do nothing before reading. 24 27.4% 8 No Difficult EC CC Percentage Percentage 1 There are many unknown words in the text. 64.5 % 63.8% 2 There are difficult words or phrases in the text. 47.6% 48.3% 3 The sentence structures in the text are complicated. 22.4% 27.9% 4 The sentences in the text are too long 39.6% 37.7% 51 5 I lack sufficient background knowledge about the 17.3% 18.1% topics of the text. 6 I cannot integrate the concepts in the text into what I 3.6% 4.5% Appendix III: Questionnaire 阅读策略问卷调查 专业___________ 姓名___________ 学号__________ 本表旨在调查你的英语阅读策略使用情况。一共有 40 个陈述，请你判断这些陈述与你的实际情况的阅读 符合程度，然后在每个陈述的后面填上相应的数字，所选数字一定要能描述你的实际学习情况。填写时要 根据你的实际做法而不是你的想法或他人的想法。谢谢～ 1=这种做法完全或几乎不符合我的情况。 (1 2 3 4 5) 2=这种做法通常不符合我的情况。(1 2 3 4 5) 3=这种做法有时符合我的情况。(1 2 3 4 5) 4=这种做法通常符合我的情况。(1 2 3 4 5) 5=这种做法完全或几乎符合我的情况。(1 2 3 4 5) 拿到一篇文章通常会先看标题，然后根据标题预测文章中的内容。(1 2 1. 3 4 5) 阅读前我会先把所知道的内容与文章内容联系起来。(1 2 2. 3 4 5) 我先快速浏览全文再回头仔细阅读。(1 2 3. 3 4 5) 在阅读时，我总是能集中注意力。(1 2 4. 3 4 5) 我特别注意文章的开头、每一段的第一句及最后一句。(1 2 5. 3 4 5) 我会选择不同的阅读策略来阅读不同类型的文章。(1 2 6. 3 4 5) 我有自己的英语课外阅读 计划 项目进度计划表范例计划下载计划下载计划下载课程教学计划下载 ，如每学期读 3 本英语小说等。(1 2 7. 3 4 5) 在阅读过程中遇到生词，我总是会跳过生词。(1 2 8. 3 4 5) 52 课外找英语文章阅读。(1 2 9. 3 4 5) 尽量选择安静的环境，以便能够安心阅读。(1 2 10. 3 4 5) 在提高英语阅读方面，我有自己的明确的目标。(1 2 11. 3 4 5) 随着文章内容的推进，不断调整自己的预测，使自己机的思路跟着作者。(1 2 12. 3 4 5) 一遇到生词我就心慌意乱，随之后边的内容也读不懂了。(1 2 13. 3 4 5) 通常遇到难句，我不会反复阅读直到读懂为止，而是跳过不理解的部分继续阅读后面的内容。(1 14. 2 3 4 5) 阅读后我会认真思考我所使用的阅读策略的有效性并加以改进。(1 2 15. 3 4 5) 很清楚自己需要提高哪些阅读技巧。(1 2 16. 3 4 5) 能根据常识和背景知识预测文章的内容。(1 2 17. 3 4 5) 阅读时能根据自己先前的知识、个人 经验 班主任工作经验交流宣传工作经验交流材料优秀班主任经验交流小学课改经验典型材料房地产总经理管理经验 和背景知识理解文章的内容。(1 2 18. 3 4 5) 能根据背景知识和常识预测文章的内容。(1 2 19. 3 4 5) 在阅读中遇到生词总是能根据上下文猜测生词的词义。(1 2 20. 3 4 5) 特别注意文章中的一些代词，如:it, this, they 等，通过上下文判断这些代词的真正含义。(1 21. 2 3 4 5) 阅读过程中，能运用原有知识展开想象，更好地理解文中的信息。(1 2 22. 3 4 5) 知道如何划分意群，能按意思群阅读。(1 2 23. 3 4 5) 我喜欢在空白处做笔记或是划出文中的重点内容，如关键词、重要细节及主题句。(1 2 24. 3 4 5) 碰到有用的句子或段落作好摘录。(1 2 25. 3 4 5) 53 阅读时我尽量避免边看文章边将文章翻译成汉语。(1 2 26. 3 4 5) 对不同阅读目的的文章，即要求掌握大意或必须精确了解文章的内容的阅读，对生词采取不同的处理 27. 方法。(1 2 3 4 5) 精读时，我会使用字典或语法书弄懂生词和难句。(1 2 28. 3 4 5) 我会把分布在文章中不同地方的信息联系起来。(1 2 29. 3 4 5) 阅读中遇到生词会利用词根、词缀、同义、反义等方法推测生词的含义。(1 2 30. 3 4 5) 阅读后，喜欢用中文总结文章的大意、主题及文章结构。(1 2 31. 3 4 5) 阅读后，喜欢用英语总结文章的大意、主题及文章结构。(1 2 32. 3 4 5) 常 评价 LEC评价法下载LEC评价法下载评价量规免费下载学院评价表文档下载学院评价表文档下载 文章是否精彩，论述是否合理。(1 2 33. 3 4 5) 阅读后我常写读书笔记或读后感。(1 2 34. 3 4 5) 能灵活运用自己已学过的或用过的阅读技巧。(1 2 35. 3 4 5) 在听力、口语和写作中能运用自己在阅读中获得的知识。(1 2 36. 3 4 5) 阅读成功或顺利时，我有一种成就感。(1 2 37. 3 4 5) 我会向老师或同学请教阅读中遇到的问题。(1 2 38. 3 4 5) 阅读中我会放松自己，减轻焦虑或紧张，鼓励自己完成阅读任务。(1 2 39. 3 4 5) 我常与老师交流阅读方法或与同学一起阅读，交流阅读感想。(1 2 40. 3 4 5) 54 Appendix IV: Pretest Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions at unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Passage 1 Once a peasant lost his horse and he went to town to buy another. Among the horses on sale he saw his own horse. “This horse is mine,” he said to the man standing by the horse. “Someone stole it from me three days ago.” “How can that be?” the man said. “It has been mine for three years.” “Three years?” said the peasant. “Are you sure?” Then he quickly covered both eyes of the horse with his hands and asked :“Which eye is he blind in?” “The left eye,” said the man. The peasant uncovered the horse?s left eye and people saw it was clear and shining. “Oh, I made a mistake,” said the man. “I meant to say the right eye.” “It?s not blind in either eye,” said the peasant, uncovering the other eye. Then he said to the people around: “It?s clear this man is a thief.” The thief tried to run away, but the people caught him. They took him to the judge, and the peasant got his horse back. 1.When did the peasant lose his horse? A. Yesterday. B. Three days ago. C. The day before yesterday. D. We don?t know. 2.The peasant depended on ____ to get the horse back. A. his good luck B. the help of other people 55 C. his wisdom D. the mistake made by the thief 3.He recognized his horse when someone was trying to ____ it. A. sell B. hide C. kill D. steal 4.Which eye was the horse blind in? A. The left eye. B. The right eye. C. Neither of its eyes. D. Both eyes. 5.The peasant went to town to buy a horse because ____. A. he knew he would meet his horse in town B. his horse was stolen C. his horses were not enough to use and he wanted another one D. his horse was blind and he wanted another one Passage 2 Each for its own reason, the study of residential mobility has been a concern of three disciplines: sociology, economics, and geography. For the economist, residential shifts provide a means for studying the housing and land markets. Geographers study mobility to understand the spatial distributions of population types. For the sociologist, interest in residential mobility has two sources: one stemming from the study of human ecology and the other, from a concern with the peculiar qualities of urban life. Of course, there are clearly overlapping concerns and it is often difficult to discern the disciplinary origins of a researcher by only examining the kinds of questions he or she raises about mobility although it is usually easier to identify a researcher?s discipline by noting the methods used and the concepts employed. Urban mobility first appears in the sociological literature as term expressing 56 rather generalized qualities of urban, as opposed to non-urban life. Some sociologists refer to the mobility of the city as the considerable sum of countless and continual sources of stimulation impinging upon the urban dweller, a sort of sensory overload which produces sophistication, indifference, and a lowered level of affect in urban dwellers. There is simply so much to experience that the urban dweller?s capacity is reduced to react in a “spontaneous” and “natural” way to urban existence . It is mobility in this sense that produces some of the special qualities of urban life, which appeal to migrants as an escape from the dullness and oppression of rural existence with its lack of change and stimulation, and, on the other hand, produces anomie and alienation in a society where men see each other primarily as means to ends rather than as ends in themselves. 1. Geographers who study mobility are most likely to be interested in _______. A. the fact that people of different racial groups reside in different places B. what types of people move frequently and why they keep changing their places. C. why people of one type prefer to isolate themselves from those of another type D. peculiar characteristics of people from different countries in choosing living places 2. Examining the kinds of questions a researcher raised about mobility is _______. A. the only way to discern the discipline he or she applies B. not an ideal way to identify his or her disciplinary origins C. easier than noting the methods used and the concepts employed D. too difficult to be used in finding out his or her disciplinary origins 3. Some sociologists believe that “sensory overload” __________. A. cannot be relieved from urban dwellers B. produces attraction to rural dwellers C. produces the dullness and oppression of rural existence D. is responsible for some evil characters of urban dwellers 57 4. According to the passage, in a society where there is anomie and alienation, people ____________. A. hold hostile views to others B. are willing to help each other C. tend to pick up others? shortcomings but ignore their own D. take advantage of others to fulfill their own goals 5. The words “spontaneous” and “natural” (para2) indicate that ________. A. urban life is stimulating and rewarding B. urban people are cleverer than rural people C. urban people lack creativity and originality D. urban existence is full of change and stimulation Passage 3 As regards social conventions, we must say a word about the well-known English class system. This is an embarrassing subject for English people, and one they tend to be ashamed of, though during the present century class-consciousness has grown less and less, and the class system less rigid. But it still exists below the surface. Broadly speaking, it means there are two classes, the “middle class” and the “working class”. (We shall ignore for a moment the old “upper class”, including the hereditary aristocracy, since it is extremely small in numbers; but some of its members have the right to sit in the House of Lords, and some newspapers take a surprising interest in their private life. The middle class consists chiefly of well-to-do businessmen and professional people of all kinds. The working class consists chiefly of manual and unskilled workers. The most obvious difference between them is in their accent. Middle-class people use slightly varying kinds of “received pronunciation” which is the kind of English spoken by BBC announcers and taught to overseas pupils. Typical working-class people speak in many different local accents which are generally felt to be rather ugly and uneducated. One of the biggest barriers of social equality in England is the two-class education system. To have been to a so-called “public 58 school” immediately marks you out as one of the middle class. The middle classes tend to live a more formal life than working-class people, and are usually more cultured. Their midday meal is “lunch” and they have a rather formal evening meal called “dinner”, whereas the working man?s dinner, if his working hours permit, is at midday, and his smaller, late-evening meal is called supper. As we have said, however, the class system is much less rigid than it was, and for a long time it has been government policy to reduce class distinctions. Working-class students very commonly receive a university education and enter the professions, and working-class incomes have grown so much recently that the distinctions between the two classes are becoming less and less clear. However, regardless of one?s social status, certain standards of politeness are expected of everybody, and a well-bred person is polite to everyone he meets, and treats a laborer with the same respect he gives an important businessman. Servility inspires both embarrassment and dislike. Even the word “sir”, except in school and in certain occupations (e.g. commerce, the army etc.) sounds too servile to be commonly used. 1. The middle class mainly refers to people . A. who were born as aristocrat B. who have the right to sit in the House of Lords C. who speak in many different local accents D. who are prosperous businessmen or who work in some professions 2. The most obvious difference between the working class and the middle class in English is their__________ . A. dress B. work C. accent D. meal 3. Why isn't the word "sir" commonly used in Britain? A. Because it sounds too servile and is likely to cause embarrassment. B. Because it can only be used in some certain occupations. C. Because it is an impolite word. D. Because it shows that the speaker is not a well-bred person. 4. The "upper class" in England today . 59 A. are extremely small in number so that media pays no attention to them B. still uses old words like "Sir" in their everyday life C. includes the hereditary aristocracy D. refers only to the royal family 5. Which of the following is not true about the English class system? A. It is an embarrassing subject for English people. B. Working-class students cannot receive a university education. C. The class system is much less rigid than it was. D. The class system still exists below the surface Passage 4 Crime has its own cycles, a magazine reported some years ago. Police records that were studied for five years from over 2,400 cities and towns show a surprising link between changes in the seasons and crime patterns. The pattern of crime has varied very little over a long period of years. Murder reaches its high during July and August, as do rape and other violent attacks. Murder, moreover, is more than seasonal: it is a weekend crime. It is also a nighttime crime: 62 percent of murders are committed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Unlike the summer high in crimes of bodily harm, burglary has a different cycle. You are most likely to be robbed between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on a Saturday night in December, January, or February. What is the most non-criminal month of all? May, except for one strange statistic. More dog bites are reported in this month than in any other month of the year. 1.The main idea of paragraph 1 is ____. A. crime is a serious social problem B. there is a link between change in the seasons and crime patterns C. crime is not linked to the change in season D.2,400 towns were studied for five years 2.The subject of paragraph 2 is ____. A. Summer crime 60 B. burglary C murder D. nighttime crime 3.According to the passage, a murder would most likely occur ____. A. on a weekend night in winter B. on a weekend afternoon in summer C. on a Saturday night D. on a weekend night in summer 4.In paragraph 2 “it is also a nighttime crime,” it refers to ____. A. a murder B.62 percent C. weekend crime D. rape 5.In paragraph 3, what is the one strange statistic for May? A. There are more dog bites in May. B. There are more robberies in May. C. There is the most crime in May. D. There are more murders in May. Appendix V: Posttest Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions at unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Passage 1 Cheating is nothing new. But today, educators and administrators are finding that instances of academic dishonesty on the part of students have become more frequent and are less likely to be punished than in the past. Cheating appears to have gained acceptance among good and poor students alike. Why is student cheating on the rise? No one really knows. Some blame the trend on a general loosening to the fact that today?s youth are far more pragmatic than their 61 more idealistic predecessors. Whereas in the late sixties and early seventies, students were filled with visions about changing the world, today?s students feel great pressure to conform and succeed. In interviews with students feel great pressure to conform and succeed. In interviews with students at high schools and colleges around the country, both young men and women said that cheating had become easy. Some suggested they did it out of spite for teachers they did not respect. Others looked at it as a game. Only if they were caught, some said, would they feel guilty. “People are competitive,” said a second-year college student named Anna, from Chicago. There?s an underlying fear. If you don?t do well, your life is going to be ruined. The pressure is not only from parents and friends but from yourself to achieve. It?s almost as though we have to outdo other people to achieve our own goals. Edward Wynne, editor of a magazine blames the rise in academic dishonesty on the schools. He claims that administrators and teachers have been too hesitant to take action. Dwight Huber, chairman of the English department at Amarillo sees the matter differently, blaming the rise in cheating on the way students are evaluated. “I would cheat if I felt I was being cheated,” Mr. Huber said. He feels that as long as teachers give short-answer tests rather than essay questions and rate students by the number of facts they can memorize rather than by how well they can synthesize information, students will try to beat the system. “The concept of cheating is based on the false assumption that the system is legitimate and there is something wrong with the individual who?s doing it,” he said, “That?s too easy an answer. We?ve got to start looking at the system.” 1. Educators are finding that students who cheat ______________. A. are more likely to be punished than before. B. have poor academic records C. can be academically weak or strong D. use the information in later years. 2. Today?s youth are described as more pragmatic than their predecessors because _________. A. they think more of themselves. 62 B. they don?t have a global vision. C. the era of ideal has passed. D. they cheat more than their predecessors. 3. According to the passage, youth cheat because of ___________. A. the eagerness to succeed B. the easiness to cheat C. their fear of competition D. no possibility to be punished 4. What does “the system” (Para 3) refer to? A. The education system. B. The school system. C. The system by which schools punish cheating. D. The system by which students are evaluated. 5. Which of the following would Dwight Huber probably agree with? A. The educational system is sound, and students must follow every rule. B. Parents alone must take responsibility for the rise in student cheating. C. There should be some change in the examination and rating system. D. Students who cheat should be expelled from school. Passage 2 Every year, earthquakes are responsible for a large number of deaths and vast amount of destruction in various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur either in a narrow belt which surrounds the Pacific Ocean or in a line which extends from Burma to the Alps in Europe. Some of the destruction is directly caused by the quake itself. An example of this is the collapse of buildings as a result of vibration. Other damage results from landslides, tsunamis (large ocean waves) or major fires which are initiated by the quake. There are about a million quakes a year. Fortunately, however, not all of them are destructive. The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale, which goes from 0 upward. The highest magnitude recorded to date is 8.9. Major damage 63 generally occurs from quake ranging upwards from 6.0. Exceptions to this are those whose epicenters are located far from the inhabited areas. The actual cause of the quake itself is the breaking apart of rocks at or below the earth?s surface. This is produced by pressure which scientists believe may be due to a number of reasons, two of which are the expansion and contraction of the earth?s crust and continental drift. In order to minimize the damage and lessen some of the suffering results from earthquakes, scientists are working on ways to enable accurate prediction. Two of the instruments presently in use to achieve this goal are seismograghs and tiltmeters. The former records any shaking of the earth: by means of calculations seismologist can accurately indicate the exact time, location and size of an earthquake. The latter, as the name suggests, is used to record any changes in the title of the land. 1. Which of the following is the best title for this passage? A. Earthquakes B. The Cause of Earthquakes C. Earthquakes and Their Damages D. How to Predict Earthquakes 2. What kind of damages may not be resulted from an earthquake? A. The collapse of buildings B. A large number of deaths. C. Vast amount of destruction D. Landslides, tsunamis and major fires 3. In the last sentence of Para.2, the word “this” refer to ______. A. the highest magnitude B. major damage C. date D. the previous earthquake 4. According to the passage, the sequence before an earthquake is _______. A. the breaking apart of rocks — the production of pressure — the expansion and contraction of the earth?s crust — and continental drift and the quake itself. 64 B. the expansion and contraction of the earth?s crust and continental drift — the breaking apart of rocks — the production of pressure — and the quake itself. C. the expansion and contraction of the earth?s crust and continental drift — the production of pressure — the breaking apart of rocks — and the quake itself. D. the production of pressure — the breaking apart of rocks — the expansion and contraction of the earth?s crust and continental drift — and the quake itself. 5 What is the use of seismographs and tiltmeters? A. To record signals of earthquake. B. To prevent major earthquakes C. To predict when, where and how an earthquake happens. D. To lessen the suffering results of an earthquake. Passage 3 Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. Located on the shore of Sullivan?s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane ( 飓 风 ) Hugo 10 years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state. Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina?s shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn?t strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. In Hugo?s wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan?s Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour. At first sight, the house on Sullivan?s Island looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern (灯笼)” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be deceiving. The house?s wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength. 65 To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also elevate the house above storm surges. The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff. Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house?s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn?t look like it?s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained. 1. After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina?s shore line are required ________. A. to be easily reinforced B. to look smarter in design C. to meet stricter building standards D. to be designed in the shape of cubes 2. The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________. A. it is strengthened by steel rods B. it is made of redwood C. it is in the shape of a shell D. it is built with timber and concrete 3. Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________. A. withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr B. anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones D. prevent water from rushing into the house 4. The main function of the shell is ________. 66 A. to strengthen the pilings of the house B. to give the house a better appearance C. to protect the wooden frame of the house D. to slow down the speed of the swelling water 5. It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________. A. fancy-looking B. waterproof C. easily breakable D. extremely strong Passage 4 It is easier to negotiate initial salary requirement because once you are inside, the organizational constraints ( 约 束 ) influence wage increases. One thing, however, is certain: your chances of getting the raise you feel you deserve are less if you don?t at least ask for it. Men tend to ask for more, and they get more, and this holds true with other resources, not just pay increases. Consider Beth?s story: I did not get what I wanted when I did not ask for it. We had cubicle (小隔间 ) offices and window offices. I sat in the cubicles with several male colleagues. One by one they were moved into window offices, while I remained in the cubicles, several males who were hired after me also went to offices. One in particular told me he was next in line for an office and that it had been part of his negotiations for the job. I guess they thought me content to stay in the cubicles since I did not voice my opinion either way. It would be nice if we all received automatic pay increases equal to our merit, but “nice” isn?t a quality attributed to most organizations. If you feel you deserve a significant raise in pay, you?ll probably have to ask for it. Performance is your best bargaining chip (筹码 ) when you are seeking a raise. You must be able to demonstrate that you deserve a raise. Timing is also a good bargaining chip. If you can give your boss something he or she needs (a new client or a sizable contract, for example) just before merit pay decisions are being made, you 67 are more likely to get the raise you want. Use information as a bargaining chip too. Find out what you are worth on the open market. What will someone else pay for your services? Go into the negotiations prepared to place your chips on the table at the appropriate time and prepared to use communication style to guide the direction of the interaction. 1. According to the passage, before taking a job, a person should ________. A. demonstrate his capability B. give his boss a good impression C. ask for as much money as he can D. ask for the salary he hopes to get 2. What can be inferred from Beth?s story? A. Prejudice against women still exists in some organizations. B. If people want what they deserve, they have to ask for it. C. People should not be content with what they have got. D. People should be careful when negotiating for a job. 3. We can learn from the passage that ________. A. unfairness exists in salary increases B. most people are overworked and underpaid C. one should avoid overstating one?s performance D. most organizations give their staff automatic pay raises 4. To get a pay raise, a person should ________. A. advertise himself on the job market B. persuade his boss to sign a long-term contract C. try to get inside information about the organization D. do something to impress his boss just before merit pay decisions 5. To be successful in negotiations, one must ________. 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