A Study Of Reading Strategy Training On Non-English Majors

With the development of learning strategy research, more and more attention has been drawn to learning strategy training, but some doubt has been raised to the effectiveness and appropriateness of strategy training, especially for EFL learners. Based on the relevant theories concerning English learning strategies, reading strategies and strategy training/instruction, this study has attempted to verify the effectiveness of reading strategy training.For this present thesis, firstly, the purpose was to find out (1) the overall use of reading strategies by non-English majors at the Century College of BUPT; (2) the most frequently used and least frequently used reading strategies; (3) Whether two pairs (Class 1 and Class 7; Class 15 and Class 23) differ significantly on any of the background characteristics. A pre-testing of reading comprehension and a questionnaire on English reading strategies were employed as instruments and 181 students from four intact/authentic classes took part in the investigation. Through data analysis, the following findings were obtained. (1) The frequency scale of reading strategy use was either high or medium, on the basis of Oxford's frequency scale; (2) The most frequently used strategy were inferences and repetition, while the least were summarizing and structural analysis. (3) There was no significant difference between each pair (Class 1 and Class 7; Class 15 and Class 23).Those findings were preparatory for the planned training, whose aim was to test the hypotheses that (1) Strategies-based instruction does improve this specific group of students' reading proficiency; (2) Reading ability of the students in the intermediate proficiency group improved more than those in the high proficiency group. The design contained control classes (Class 1 and Class 15) and experimental classes (Class 7 and Class 23), and the latter received instruction in the use of six kinds of reading strategies (prediction, self-questioning, increase reading rate, word attack skills, structural analysis, and summarizing) over a 10-week period of time.Through SPSS, subjects' pre-testing and post-testing scores were analyzed by means of Independent-Samples T Test analysis and Paired-Samples T Test. Finally, the following conclusions were achieved: (1) it was safely concluded that metacognitive and cognitive reading strategy instruction does enhance the subjects' reading performance, which echoes the research result of Carrell (1989), Song (1998), and the like; (2) Reading ability of subjects in the intermediate proficiency group improved more than those in the high proficiency group.Then, tentative discussions about the results, limitations and implications were put forward; furthermore, suggestions for future research in EFL reading strategy instruction were presented.