An Experimental Study Of Reading Strategies Instruction Among Seventh Grade Students In A Rural School

Reading is a common activity in both our daily life and the process of study. As an important way of language input, reading is often used by the Chinese language learners to learn English. Since 1980s, lots of previous researchers at home and abroad have confirmed the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction. Among these previous researches, significant differences have existed on background, method and subjects. The author teaches English in a rural junior high school. In the practice of daily English teaching, it is noticed that a large number of students have many reading deficits and bad reading habits, which makes a bad effect on their reading comprehension and interest in English learning in return. Therefore,there is a necessity to help these students build up positive reading attitude and good reading habits. Besides, it is vital to improve the consciousness of using reading strategies and master specific reading strategies at the very critical English learning period.Based on Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach proposed by O'Malley& Chamot, the author carried out a research using strategy-based instruction with seventh grade students in a junior high school to investigate the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction. To achieve the purpose of the study, researching experiments,questionnaires and interviews were implemented, aiming to answer the following three concrete questions:1.What is the current situation of seventh grade students' reading habits and the using of reading strategies in this rural junior high school ?2.How can the researcher integrate reading strategies instruction into regular EFL reading classes ?3.What kind of influence will the reading strategies instruction have on the students ?Through the experiment on 62 students, questionnaires on 90 students and interviews on 32 students in the experimental group who are in the seventh grade of Xuefeng Junior High School of Sihong, we can conclude:1.A large number of seventh grade students have many reading deficits and bad reading habits. Moreover, the frequency of using reading strategies is very low in this rural junior high school.2.Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach and Strategy-based Instruction can be applied to EFL English reading classes and the effectiveness is remarkable by integrating reading strategies instruction into regular EFL reading classes .3.Reading strategies instruction can improve the reading ability of the experimental group and the subjects' consciousness of using reading strategies. It also helps change their bad reading attitude and habits. Reading strategies instruction can enhance the subjects' English learning motivation and encourage them to apply these strategies to extracurricular reading.This research mainly emphasizes that reading strategies instruction can improve students' reading ability and help build up their English learning confidence in the weak rural junior high school. Therefore, teachers should integrate reading strategies instruction into regular EFL reading classes.