A Meta-cognitive-strategy-intervened Empirical Study On College English Reading Instruction

Reading is one of most basic skills for a foreign language learner to get effective language input, and it is also an important source of practice for language learners because of their limited opportunities and time to learn and use foreign language, especially for non-English majors in college. In order to fulfill the goals of reading, foreign language learners should have the ability to monitor their reading process, use and regulate effective strategies to deal with the difficulties in reading. Meta-cognitive strategies, as higher level strategies, should be introduced into English foreign language teaching to help learners know how to plan, monitor, regulate and evaluate their cognitive process effectively. Therefore, the application of learning strategies in non-English majors’ English reading has become very necessary in the field of language learning and teaching. However, the researches on strategies utilization, especially meta-cognitive strategies in English reading, are still deficient and this demands researchers and teachers to do more work in this aspect (Wen Qiufang, Wang Lifei,2004).The present study attempts to explore the importance of meta-cognitive strategies utilization in non-English major students’ reading. The research questions include:1. What is the status of meta-cognitive strategies use in English reading for non-English major students? 2. What is the effect of meta-cognitive strategies training on non-English majors’ reading proficiency? The instruments used in this study consist of a meta-cognitive strategies questionnaire, two English reading tests, a semi-structured interview, and SPSS data analysis. To ensure the validity and reliability, two classes are selected seriously. For the experiment class, meta-cognitive strategies training is integrated into the normal teaching in class (almost twelve weeks’training in total), while the control class only receives the normal teaching without systematic strategies training.After the meta-cognitive strategies training, the post-test and interviews are carried out in both the experiment class and the control class. Then the data are collected and analyzed through SPSS 16.0. The study further confirms the positive effect of meta-cognitive strategies on English reading for non-English major students. It provides a practical training model for English language teachers to conduct meta-cognitive strategies training. Some pedagogical implications proposed in this thesis suggest that English teachers should consciously cultivate students’meta-cognitive awareness in class, help students to pay more attention to planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluating strategies utilization in English reading. Integrating meta-cognitive strategy training with English reading teaching can improve students’ language proficiency better.