An Empirical Study On Cultivating Learner Autonomy In College English Reading

Ever since its emergence in 1981, learner autonomy has been arousing great interest all over the world. Autonomous learner training, as one of the main aspects in the research of learner autonomy, has attracted great attention. However, among the researches on learner autonomy and second or foreign language learning,much attention has been paid to the second or foreign language learning as a whole and few talk about autonomy with specific reference to reading.(Gao,2005) As reading is one of the four essential skills required for the students learning English,helping learners learn to read is of great significance. And doubtlessly learner autonomy plays an important role in English reading. (Zhang, 2001) Therefore, cultivating learner autonomy in reading is an effective way to improve learners'reading ability. So the research on cultivating learner autonomy in reading by training metacognitive strategies is very necessary. This thesis aims to probe whether students'learner autonomy in reading can be improved by training metacognitive strategies based on a four-month experiment study. Subjects involved in the study were 80 first year non-English majors in Jilin Industrial and Commercial Institute (JICI), divided into experiment group and control group. Questionnaires and reading diaries served as the instruments in the study. The training procedures consisted of in-class instruction (classroom discussion) and after-class instruction (signing learner contract and keeping reading diaries). Data obtained from the questionnaire were processed with the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS version 12.0), whereas data from reading diaries were transcribed, decoded, classified and analyzed.Results of the present study showed that learner autonomy in reading can be improved by training metacoginitive strategies and that reading efficiency can be improved by fostering learner autonomy in reading. Based on the results, it is suggested that teachers should involve learners in critical thinking of their reading process. They should also play more important roles in helping students become autonomous and effective learners according to the Chinese English teaching and learning context.