A Study On Relationship Between Critical Thinking Ability,Reading Ability,and Reading Strategy Of English Major Undergraduates

With the wave of globalization,cultural exchange and integration between countries has become imperative.English,as a medium of communication,provides the basis for information interaction for globalization.Currently recognized English language skills are divided into five main competencies: listening,speaking,reading,writing,and translating.However,for learners whose first language is not English,it is difficult for them to become as immersed in the English environment as native speakers.Therefore,reading is undoubtedly the best way to understand how native speakers communicate or express themselves through English.Strategy use,as an efficient approach,plays an important role in reading process.However,previous researches on reading strategies rarely based on SORS reading strategy scale.What’s more,the analyses that aim to explore the relationship between SORS scale and critical thinking ability and between SORS and reading ability still lack.Therefore,this paper will also use the CCTDI scale to analyze critical thinking.In view of this,this paper conducts an empirical study on the relationship among the variables of students’ reading ability,critical thinking ability and reading strategies under the background of English teaching reform.The study is based on English majors’ scores on two formal reading exams,critical thinking skills scores on the CCTDI scale,and strategy use obtained from the SORS Reading Strategy Scale to determine the relationship between each variable.It is found that(1)English undergraduates’ reading ability has a significant effect on their global strategy use,as evidenced by the fact that students in the high reading ability group use global strategies more frequently than students in the medium reading ability group;(2)positive relationship exists between students’ critical thinking ability and reading strategies,but their reading strategies cannot be predicted by critical thinking ability;(3)there is no significant positive relationship between students’ critical thinking ability and their reading ability.This paper examines the relationship between students’ critical thinking ability,reading ability and reading strategies to help improve the quality of English reading instruction of colleges,deepen the study of critical thinking and reading strategies in reading courses,and provide new ideas for future research.