An Investigation Into The Present English Reading Ability Of The Senior High School Students In Qin'an County

Students' English reading ability plays an essential part in their actual command of English and improvement of the reading ability is one of the main tasks of English teaching in senior high school. At present the reading ability of senior high school students in the countryside is far behind from what is required. It has become one of the main factors which prevent them from developing fully. This thesis is an investigation into the reading ability which is based on the senior high school students in Qin'an county, known nationwide for its poverty. The study methods applied in this thesis are mainly testing and questionnaires. The related causes have been analyzed and studied.This thesis approaches the subject matter from the sex, age, vocabulary, grammar, background knowledge and reading strategies of the senior high school students of Grade Three so as to have a more profound and extensive knowledge of the subject matter. We aim to find out how many obstacles the learners have met in their English reading and to what extent these factors are related to their reading achievements of NMET. Based upon the result of the investigation, this study aims to facilitate the matching of students' learning of English reading with the teachers' teaching of that and to promote the students' reading achievements.This thesis consists of six parts. Part one starts with a brief introduction to the aims and significance of this investigation. In part two, we present the representative theories of English reading and a survey of research in this regard abroad and at home. The third part introduces the theories applied in this investigation. Two theories are proposed for an extensive and deep understanding of reading: The schema theory of Rumelhart and the English reading theory of Du Xuezen. In part four, we first advance the hypotheses, then provide some information concerning the subject and introduce the instruments applied, finally present the procedure of the investigation. Part five concerns itself with data analysis and discussion. Linear regression analysis is made to serve the purpose. The analysis is followed by the discussion in respective regard. The thesis ends with Part six which contains the conclusions and implications of the investigation as well as the suggestions for further research in this regard.Limitations of this investigation are also presented in this part.Based upon the result of data analysis, we conclude that: 1) The sex and age have no obvious effect on NMET reading achievements of the students of Grade Three in senior high school .2) Vocabulary and grammar have great effect upon NMET reading score. 3) Background knowledge influences upon NMET reading score. It is positively correlated with NMET reading score.