A Study On EFL Learners' Reading Process In Multimedia CALL Environment

In the last two decades the increases in the speed, capacity, and power of personal computers have made it possible to create multimedia software. Such software can combine video, sound, animation, graphics and text in a single application. The integration of multiple information types is perceived to benevolently contribute to improved language learning.A variety of multimedia applications dealing with most language skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) have been developed, used with learners and evaluated. Alongside the use of multimedia in language learning came the demands for investigating its effectiveness for second language acquisition (SLA). This thesis, in answer to this need, explored EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners' reading process with the purpose of identifying their reading behavior in multimedia environment and gaining an insight into their reading strategies by considering the influences of learners' reading proficiency and different reading tasks.Forty-three English majors from English Department, Capital Normal University (CNU) were selected for the research. They first filled a questionnaire, which contained twenty-four statements concerning their reading behavior when browsing the multimedia English learning software Studio Classroom M and their attitudes towards it. From those who completed the questionnaire, eight students were chosen to perform two reading tasks. They were chosen according to their reading proficiency and then classified into two groups: high reading proficiency group and low reading proficiency group, with each group having four subjects. When performing the tasks, the subjects' reading processes were recorded. Based on these recorded processes, the researcher conducted interviews, asking students questions about their mental activities occurring in the processes.From the data (from the questionnaires, recorded processes and interviews) analysis, the researcher made some discovery. Results showed that most multimedia resources were fully utilized by the students and certain multimedia reading behavior wasrevealed. The students employed reading strategies to achieve comprehension, with some strategies being unique to multimedia reading. Reading proficiency and tasks affected the subjects' reading behavior and strategies. Students with different reading proficiency behaved differently in different task conditions. These findings might be valuable to teachers and software designers. However, due to the limited sample size of this study, the conclusion drawn from it might be treated as hypotheses deserving further attention and research.