Reading for personal interest and acquiring and using information using various reading processes are important parts of reading literacy that students need to develop in order to progress successfully through their s...Reading for personal interest and acquiring and using information using various reading processes are important parts of reading literacy that students need to develop in order to progress successfully through their schooling and fully function in the information society.Computer assisted reading instructional activities are assumed useful in improving the reading literacy of students,especially reading processes.However,students in Hong Kong and the US demonstrated a substantial performance gap in reading proficiency.Using the data from Progress in International Reading Literacy(PIRLS)2011,this study examines whether and to what extent four computer-based reading instructional activities influence students’performance in reading processes central to reading for interest and acquiring and using information in Hong Kong and the US.It found that computer-based reading activities are associated with students’literacy performance in different ways in the two places.In particular,the more often Hong Kong students used the computer to read,the lower the reading achievement in all reading processes measured.However,in the US context,using the computer to write is positively associated with students’reading scores in all reading processes while using software is negatively related to their reading performance in using all the reading processes.展开更多
As we enter the 21st century, acquisition of vocabulary has assumed a more important role, and as some would argue, it has assumed the central role in learning a second language. On one hand, students have a strong de...As we enter the 21st century, acquisition of vocabulary has assumed a more important role, and as some would argue, it has assumed the central role in learning a second language. On one hand, students have a strong desire to improve their English level in order to make them more adaptable when they step into this competitive society after graduation. On the other hand, most students are facing a great difficulty in learning a large number of vocabularies though they do spend a lot of time and energy on it. Also, recent researches show that students don＇t like the classroom that is still teacher-centered and lecture-based. They want to be more involved in class and more responsible for their own studies. Hence, it is important to equip students with necessary strategies for dealing with vocabulary learning activities. In this paper, three strategies are recommended： extensive listening ＆ reading and contextual guesswork, communicative activities and group-work and the use of dictionary.展开更多
Introduction‘Integrated skills is when the main language skills are practised in conjunction with each other.(Willis,1981)In EFL teaching in China,most teachers believe that skills should be practised in isolation in...Introduction‘Integrated skills is when the main language skills are practised in conjunction with each other.(Willis,1981)In EFL teaching in China,most teachers believe that skills should be practised in isolation in theclassroom.That is,in a reading lesson,special attention is paid only to reading.Lessons generallyfollow the same pattern going through the new words;reading the text aloud paragraph by paragraph;explaining difficult points(especially the grammatical items);asking comprehension questions;andfinally doing the exercises after the text.In such a reading lesson,even the reading skill itself is notpractised,let alone other skills.What is more,both teacher and students find this kind of teachingdull and de-motivating.展开更多
This article reviews the background and problems in theteaching of intensive reading (IR) to the students with non-English majors and proposes some activities for improving theteaching and learning process of the IR c...This article reviews the background and problems in theteaching of intensive reading (IR) to the students with non-English majors and proposes some activities for improving theteaching and learning process of the IR classroom. It is expectedthat with some applicable and effective activities, the teachercan help students read actively and grow into effective andindependent readers.展开更多
文摘Reading for personal interest and acquiring and using information using various reading processes are important parts of reading literacy that students need to develop in order to progress successfully through their schooling and fully function in the information society.Computer assisted reading instructional activities are assumed useful in improving the reading literacy of students,especially reading processes.However,students in Hong Kong and the US demonstrated a substantial performance gap in reading proficiency.Using the data from Progress in International Reading Literacy(PIRLS)2011,this study examines whether and to what extent four computer-based reading instructional activities influence students’performance in reading processes central to reading for interest and acquiring and using information in Hong Kong and the US.It found that computer-based reading activities are associated with students’literacy performance in different ways in the two places.In particular,the more often Hong Kong students used the computer to read,the lower the reading achievement in all reading processes measured.However,in the US context,using the computer to write is positively associated with students’reading scores in all reading processes while using software is negatively related to their reading performance in using all the reading processes.
文摘As we enter the 21st century, acquisition of vocabulary has assumed a more important role, and as some would argue, it has assumed the central role in learning a second language. On one hand, students have a strong desire to improve their English level in order to make them more adaptable when they step into this competitive society after graduation. On the other hand, most students are facing a great difficulty in learning a large number of vocabularies though they do spend a lot of time and energy on it. Also, recent researches show that students don＇t like the classroom that is still teacher-centered and lecture-based. They want to be more involved in class and more responsible for their own studies. Hence, it is important to equip students with necessary strategies for dealing with vocabulary learning activities. In this paper, three strategies are recommended： extensive listening ＆ reading and contextual guesswork, communicative activities and group-work and the use of dictionary.
文摘Introduction‘Integrated skills is when the main language skills are practised in conjunction with each other.(Willis,1981)In EFL teaching in China,most teachers believe that skills should be practised in isolation in theclassroom.That is,in a reading lesson,special attention is paid only to reading.Lessons generallyfollow the same pattern going through the new words;reading the text aloud paragraph by paragraph;explaining difficult points(especially the grammatical items);asking comprehension questions;andfinally doing the exercises after the text.In such a reading lesson,even the reading skill itself is notpractised,let alone other skills.What is more,both teacher and students find this kind of teachingdull and de-motivating.
文摘This article reviews the background and problems in theteaching of intensive reading (IR) to the students with non-English majors and proposes some activities for improving theteaching and learning process of the IR classroom. It is expectedthat with some applicable and effective activities, the teachercan help students read actively and grow into effective andindependent readers.
