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EFL learners’ perceived use of reading strategies and learning outcomes in an input-poor environment
Citation
Zhang, L. J. (2002, December 16-21). EFL learners’ perceived use of reading strategies and learning outcomes in an input-poor environment [Paper presentation]. 13th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2002): Applied Linguistics in the 21st Century, Singapore.
Author
Zhang, Lawrence Jun
Abstract
Language learning strategy researchers have repeatedly reported correlations between language learning success and use of particular learning strategies (e.g., Green & Oxford, 1995; Gu & Johnson, 1996; Huang & van Nearsen, 1987; Wen & Johnson, 1997). However, the "good language learner" paradigm in both research and educational practices in the West (Stern, 1975; Oxford, 1990; Wenden, 1998) has not been widely translated to such a discrete skill area as reading, particularly with reference to students who learn to read for academic successes in input-poor environments. Several attempts have been made to uncover ESL/EFL students' reading strategies and some preliminary findings have been pinpointed to students' psychological processes in vocabulary leaning (e.g., Gu, 1994) or in text-processing (e.g., Young & Oxford, 1997; Zhang, 2001). However, the Chinese EFL learners, as a sociocultural entity, because of the sociocultural context in which they learn EFL, have not been sufficiently studied. They have also been unfairly labelled "rote learners" or "low-level decoders" in terms of strategy use because of anecdotal observations (e.g., Kohn, 1992), although insufficient empirical evidence has been found to validate these claims.
The present study was set up with a strong intent to explore some of the areas just mentioned. In particular, it was interested in examining how Chinese EFL learners perceived their use of reading strategies and how this perception of strategy use would correlate with their language learning outcomes. A sample of 312 tertiary-level arts and science students were requested to respond to an EFL Reading Strategies Inventory (EFLRSI). The results indicated that students of different proficiency levels performed differently on the EFLRSI, with the high-scores predominantly preferring using those strategies that are generally considered as more efficient and useful by successful readers and reading experts. The low-scorers' performance showed that they were not as aware of the reading strategies as were their high-proficiency counterparts. The results suggest that choice in using a strategy was not only influenced by psychological factors but also socialcultural variables (Field, 1985; Kohn, 1992; Parry, 1996; Zhang, Hvitfeldt & Skuja-Steele, 1999; Zhang & Skuja-Steele, 2002). Pedagogical implications are also discussed.
Date Issued
December 2002
Description
This paper was presented at the 13th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2002): Applied Linguistics in the 21st Century, held in Singapore from 16 - 21 Dec 2002