Objective:The study aims to review and discuss the outcomes of emergency preparedness training programs among nursing students.Methods:A scoping review was conducted based on the guidelines of Arskey and O’Malley.Dat...Objective:The study aims to review and discuss the outcomes of emergency preparedness training programs among nursing students.Methods:A scoping review was conducted based on the guidelines of Arskey and O’Malley.Databases through PubMed,Science Direct,and Google Scholar were used to obtain the relevant articles within the scoping review.Results:The researchers found 1175 articles.After manual review,28 articles were identified and assessed.The review reported that the emergency preparedness training program significantly affects preparedness,knowledge,performance,self-efficacy,learning motivation,self-confidence,satisfaction,critical decision-making,and problem-solving.Conclusions:Emergency training effectively increases knowledge,skills,confidence,satisfaction,and team performance.展开更多
Rather than maintaining the classic teaching approach, a growing number of schools use the blended learning system in higher education. The traditional method of teaching focuses on the result of students' progres...Rather than maintaining the classic teaching approach, a growing number of schools use the blended learning system in higher education. The traditional method of teaching focuses on the result of students' progress. However, many student activities are recorded by an online programming learning platform at present. In this paper, we focus on student behavior when completing an online open-ended programming task. First, we conduct statistical analysis to examine student behavior on the basis of test times and completed time. By combining these two factors, we then classify student behavior into four types by using k-means algorithm. The results are useful for teachers to enhance their understanding of student learning and for students to know their learning style in depth. The findings are also valuable to re-design the learning platform.展开更多
The aim of this study was to investigate the adjustment problems of students from the United States enrolled in universities in the East,specifically in Taiwan,their problems related to cultural adaptation,and the pro...The aim of this study was to investigate the adjustment problems of students from the United States enrolled in universities in the East,specifically in Taiwan,their problems related to cultural adaptation,and the process of adjustment to student life in Taiwan.Under investigation were cultural adjustment and coping skills as these students transitioned from West to East.Qualitative data were collected from interviews with participants and faculty members as well as participant observations.Results indicated that U.S.students found their own ways to acclimate to their new academic setting as well as to social relations,cross-cultural issues,and the linguistic environment in Taiwan to achieve effective adaptation.They made changes in themselves to cope with all situations they encountered.This study provides suggestions for international students abroad in Taiwan,for the Taiwan Residents government,and for universities or colleges in terms of what they should offer to current and future international students.展开更多
This article will firstly discuss the context overview of English teaching and learning in China. Under thiscircumstance, a problematic element will be examined of the New Senior English for China Student’s Book 1 an...This article will firstly discuss the context overview of English teaching and learning in China. Under thiscircumstance, a problematic element will be examined of the New Senior English for China Student’s Book 1 and critical appraisal ofhow this element relates to other elements of curriculum development will be analyzed. The recommended changes and demonstrationmechanisms for evaluating the changes are put forward in the last two parts.展开更多
While the nursing community generally agrees that the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree will strengthen nursing as an academic discipline, there is little known about students’ perceptions of the advanced de...While the nursing community generally agrees that the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree will strengthen nursing as an academic discipline, there is little known about students’ perceptions of the advanced degree. Nursing students enrolled in an accelerated master’s program in nursing (N = 45) were surveyed to assess their knowledge of the DNP degree while also identifying the perceived effect a DNP might have on their careers, on nursing as a discipline, and on public perceptions of nursing practice. In this study, 51% of participants supported the transition to the DNP as the standard degree for practice nursing while 29% were opposed. The majority of participants (71%) planned to pursue an advanced practice nursing degree/certification with 81% of this group signifying that they would do so even if a DNP is required. The majority of participants agreed that the DNP will improve public perception of advanced practice nursing, but 71% thought the title of “doctor” would confuse patients. While current nursing students are generally informed of the upcoming DNP transition, there is disagreement regarding its implications for their careers and for the extent of public understanding.展开更多
Background: Overweight and obesity are among the most frequently encountered multi-factorial disorders in most populations of the world. In addition, to its health impacts, overweight/obesity leads to many health prob...Background: Overweight and obesity are among the most frequently encountered multi-factorial disorders in most populations of the world. In addition, to its health impacts, overweight/obesity leads to many health problems which reflect on the university students’ physical, psychological, social and environmental aspects of their quality of life. The study aim was to evaluate the effect of an educational program on improving quality of life of overweight/obese university students in Gaza strip. Materials and Methods: quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design utilized in this study 74 and 69 students in the intervention and control group respectively. The study conducted at Islamic university of Gaza and data were collected in two stages before and after five months from the application of the educational program, using interviewing questionnaire and world health organization quality of life-BREF instrument;pre-post test and body mass index were calculated. Results: the study results revealed that overall students’ knowledge for posttest was significantly higher than pretest (p-value ≤ 0.05). Overall, mean score of quality of life after the program was significantly (p-value = 0.001) greater than before and greater than control group for all domains. Conclusion: The study concluded that the health educational intervention program had positive effects on knowledge, practices and attitudes regarding overweight/obesity with improving university students’ mean score of quality of life.展开更多
Ensuring program satisfaction for undergraduate students in the areas of science,technology,engineering and mathematics(STEM)matters in student retention and education quality improvement.This study explores how four ...Ensuring program satisfaction for undergraduate students in the areas of science,technology,engineering and mathematics(STEM)matters in student retention and education quality improvement.This study explores how four rarely examined variables support from faculty members,interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses,disciplinary connectedness of STEM program core courses,and examination difficulty impact Chinese STEM undergraduates’program satisfaction.With data from 619 Chinese STEM undergraduates,structural equation modeling shows that course satisfaction partially mediates the impact of support from faculty members on program satisfaction,while fully mediating that of interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses and disciplinary connectedness of STEM program core courses on program satisfaction.Examination difficulty exerts no significant impact on program satisfaction neither directly nor indirectly.Support from faculty members impact course satisfaction significantly stronger for junior and senior students than for freshmen and sophomores,while interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses impact course satisfaction stronger for freshmen and sophomores than for juniors and seniors.The study ends with practical implications for the higher education reform in relevant areas.展开更多
Programming teaching plays an important role in improving students’computational thinking and practice.However,due to the fact that programming has not been included in the entrance examination,the rate of having pro...Programming teaching plays an important role in improving students’computational thinking and practice.However,due to the fact that programming has not been included in the entrance examination,the rate of having programming lessons in primary and secondary schools is low.At present,there is still a lack of empirical research on how programming affects the performance of other subjects.This paper studies the influence of programming on students’mathematics achievement for the students of an experimental middle school.The results show that programming has a significant impact on students’math scores,and the students who had not learned code were more likely to show a significant decline in math scores.In addition,learning programming makes it easier for middle-grade students to improve their math scores.展开更多
Secondary vocational education in Shanghai continues to experiment in an attempt to find ways to solve the decline of student enrollment and adjust to rapidly changing social and economic environments. The 3 + 4 Pilo...Secondary vocational education in Shanghai continues to experiment in an attempt to find ways to solve the decline of student enrollment and adjust to rapidly changing social and economic environments. The 3 + 4 Pilot Program (three-year secondary vocational education and four-year undergraduate education) has been under experiment since 2014. It has attracted more and more academically good junior middle school graduates to secondary vocational schools with the national and local favorable policies and laws. Except the three-year’s hand-on practice, what appeals most to the junior middle school graduates is the academic transfer under the Program, a breakthrough in history of vocation education in China. However, only initiating a new program is not enough. Shanghai government should map out a long-term plan to set up promotion to increase the public awareness to change the long prevailing outdated ideology in order to add more to its appeal of the Program. There is still much work to be done before expanding the scope of the Program.展开更多
In 21st Century, Chinese and American universities are experiencing great development in the number of students studying abroad. This research adopts the method of natural investigation, selecting Chinese student samp...In 21st Century, Chinese and American universities are experiencing great development in the number of students studying abroad. This research adopts the method of natural investigation, selecting Chinese student samples during study abroad program in the University of Minnesota to complete the designed questionnaires to examine the intercultural interventions taken before, during and after this type of study abroad in Chinese universities. Also, after students complete the questionnaires, email communication is made to analyze the reasons for their answers to the questionnaires. The questionnaire results and email communication show that there is a great gap in the practice of intercultural interventions in study abroad programs between Chinese universities and students expectations. It is time for Chinese universities to design appropriate intercultural interventions in order to maximize Chinese university students' intercultural development during study abroad. These intercultural interventions should be run consistently to cover the phrases of pre-departure, during and after the study abroad program. Also, more dynamic and interactive intercultural interventions rather than knowledge-based intercultural instructions or guidance should be the focus for intercultural interventions.展开更多
IntroductionCurrently, there are at least 850,000 people living with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China. Among them 16-29 years old account for about 65%. A... IntroductionCurrently, there are at least 850,000 people living with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China. Among them 16-29 years old account for about 65%. According to the Chinese health authorities, if the preventive measures are not effective, the figure could reach as many as 10 million by the year 2010[1]. Since there are currently no cure or vaccines for HIV/AIDS, changing people's high-risk behaviors is the main approach that is taken to slow down the epidemic. This can be done through effective HIV/AIDS education, especially for young people. In 1997, a 4-year adolescent HIV/AIDS peer education program was introduced to in Beijing and Shanghai, which was based on a successful Australian model developed by Professor Roger Short, in which senior medical students were trained and used as peer educators to teach their junior peers about HIV/AIDS[2].……展开更多
Many high schools in the northeastern United States have suffered from declining enrollment due to a declining population of school-age children in the region.Administrators,counselors and teachers perceive many impac...Many high schools in the northeastern United States have suffered from declining enrollment due to a declining population of school-age children in the region.Administrators,counselors and teachers perceive many impacts of the implementation of an international student program at a rural high school.This qualitative case study reveals that the rural high school’s unique nature impacts international student programs,international students influence both school culture and programming,and international students suffer from isolation.School leaders would benefit from considerations in the form of professional development both prior to implementation of an international student program and ongoing throughout its duration.It is important for schools to find ways to respectfully honor student cultures and optimize learning experiences.School leaders would be wise to determine desired size of international student programs and make efforts accordingly to achieve that size for optimal effectiveness for the benefit of both host and international students.Implications and recommendations for future research include further exploration of the perceived experiences of European and Chinese international students,understanding the unique nature of rural high schools and international student experiences,and examination of school practices.展开更多
Mobile phone addiction is a growing concern among college students, with significant implications for their mental health. This study examines the complex relationship between mobile phone addiction and its impact on ...Mobile phone addiction is a growing concern among college students, with significant implications for their mental health. This study examines the complex relationship between mobile phone addiction and its impact on college students’ insomnia, symptoms of depression, and anxiety. A sample of 399 college students from traditional Chinese medicine colleges in Guangxi, China, completed the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale questionnaire. Among them, 155 students with high Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency scores were selected for the correlation study. The analysis revealed a strong association between mobile phone addiction and insomnia. Furthermore, mobile phone addiction was significantly associated with symptoms of depression, including feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and hopelessness, as well as heightened anxiety symptoms, such as excessive worry and restlessness. These findings emphasized the importance of targeted interventions and preventive measures to address the negative impact of mobile phone addiction on college students’ mental health.展开更多
Guidance programs have significant roles in preparing students for the future.The study recognizes that guidance and counseling programs are a transformative process of helping students strengthen their career plannin...Guidance programs have significant roles in preparing students for the future.The study recognizes that guidance and counseling programs are a transformative process of helping students strengthen their career planning,education,and preparation for employment.The guidance programs of first-year college students from Guangdong Peizheng College(GPC)in Guangdong Province,China was investigated,with 357 freshman students currently enrolled in the participating school involved in this study.Moreover,12 guidance counselors were interviewed through focused-group discussions,including the school director,for the qualitative component of the study.Utilizing the convergent parallel design mixed method,the study was able to elucidate the quantitative and qualitative relevance of the data gathered from the selected participants.The emerging results found that Chinese freshman students were satisfied with all of the parameters of the guidance programs of the school.The school counselors are able to provide students with a rich reservoir of academic cand guidance support,career mentoring,and career guidance.There were contributing factors that need to be addressed if improvement and innovation of the guidance program is the primary goal.Support and resources should be prioritized in order to enrich the development not only of the students but also of the guidance counselors.The study serves as empirical evidence for proposing an improved school-based guidance program as practical outputs of the study further to innovate the effectiveness of the implementation of guidance services.展开更多
English reading,a key procedure of English learning and teaching in middle school,is an essential way of getting information from the globe and communicating with others.Therefore,efficient comprehension on reading ma...English reading,a key procedure of English learning and teaching in middle school,is an essential way of getting information from the globe and communicating with others.Therefore,efficient comprehension on reading materials will directly serve for accepting the information.And it is extremely important for middle school students to acquire certain reading ability.At present,great attention has been paid to the course of reading in the instruction of English by the Chinese Education Department.But middle school students'read ing ability is still much lower than the target they should reach because of a set of existing obstacles that prevent them from being effective English readers.What are these obstacles? How to break them down? This paper will first point out and then analyze the obstacles that af fect middle school students'reading ability from two aspects:linguistic obstacles(obstacles of lexicon,grammar and background knowl edge) and non-linguistic obstacles(obstacles of psychology,interest,skill,and habit).After demonstrating different obstacles,the paper also come up with some corresponding strategies in the hope of helping middle school students to be effective English readers.展开更多
文摘Objective:The study aims to review and discuss the outcomes of emergency preparedness training programs among nursing students.Methods:A scoping review was conducted based on the guidelines of Arskey and O’Malley.Databases through PubMed,Science Direct,and Google Scholar were used to obtain the relevant articles within the scoping review.Results:The researchers found 1175 articles.After manual review,28 articles were identified and assessed.The review reported that the emergency preparedness training program significantly affects preparedness,knowledge,performance,self-efficacy,learning motivation,self-confidence,satisfaction,critical decision-making,and problem-solving.Conclusions:Emergency training effectively increases knowledge,skills,confidence,satisfaction,and team performance.
基金supported by the National Grand R&D Plan (Grant No.2016YFB1000805)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.61702534,61432020,61472430,61502512)
文摘Rather than maintaining the classic teaching approach, a growing number of schools use the blended learning system in higher education. The traditional method of teaching focuses on the result of students' progress. However, many student activities are recorded by an online programming learning platform at present. In this paper, we focus on student behavior when completing an online open-ended programming task. First, we conduct statistical analysis to examine student behavior on the basis of test times and completed time. By combining these two factors, we then classify student behavior into four types by using k-means algorithm. The results are useful for teachers to enhance their understanding of student learning and for students to know their learning style in depth. The findings are also valuable to re-design the learning platform.
文摘The aim of this study was to investigate the adjustment problems of students from the United States enrolled in universities in the East,specifically in Taiwan,their problems related to cultural adaptation,and the process of adjustment to student life in Taiwan.Under investigation were cultural adjustment and coping skills as these students transitioned from West to East.Qualitative data were collected from interviews with participants and faculty members as well as participant observations.Results indicated that U.S.students found their own ways to acclimate to their new academic setting as well as to social relations,cross-cultural issues,and the linguistic environment in Taiwan to achieve effective adaptation.They made changes in themselves to cope with all situations they encountered.This study provides suggestions for international students abroad in Taiwan,for the Taiwan Residents government,and for universities or colleges in terms of what they should offer to current and future international students.
文摘This article will firstly discuss the context overview of English teaching and learning in China. Under thiscircumstance, a problematic element will be examined of the New Senior English for China Student’s Book 1 and critical appraisal ofhow this element relates to other elements of curriculum development will be analyzed. The recommended changes and demonstrationmechanisms for evaluating the changes are put forward in the last two parts.
文摘While the nursing community generally agrees that the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree will strengthen nursing as an academic discipline, there is little known about students’ perceptions of the advanced degree. Nursing students enrolled in an accelerated master’s program in nursing (N = 45) were surveyed to assess their knowledge of the DNP degree while also identifying the perceived effect a DNP might have on their careers, on nursing as a discipline, and on public perceptions of nursing practice. In this study, 51% of participants supported the transition to the DNP as the standard degree for practice nursing while 29% were opposed. The majority of participants (71%) planned to pursue an advanced practice nursing degree/certification with 81% of this group signifying that they would do so even if a DNP is required. The majority of participants agreed that the DNP will improve public perception of advanced practice nursing, but 71% thought the title of “doctor” would confuse patients. While current nursing students are generally informed of the upcoming DNP transition, there is disagreement regarding its implications for their careers and for the extent of public understanding.
文摘Background: Overweight and obesity are among the most frequently encountered multi-factorial disorders in most populations of the world. In addition, to its health impacts, overweight/obesity leads to many health problems which reflect on the university students’ physical, psychological, social and environmental aspects of their quality of life. The study aim was to evaluate the effect of an educational program on improving quality of life of overweight/obese university students in Gaza strip. Materials and Methods: quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design utilized in this study 74 and 69 students in the intervention and control group respectively. The study conducted at Islamic university of Gaza and data were collected in two stages before and after five months from the application of the educational program, using interviewing questionnaire and world health organization quality of life-BREF instrument;pre-post test and body mass index were calculated. Results: the study results revealed that overall students’ knowledge for posttest was significantly higher than pretest (p-value ≤ 0.05). Overall, mean score of quality of life after the program was significantly (p-value = 0.001) greater than before and greater than control group for all domains. Conclusion: The study concluded that the health educational intervention program had positive effects on knowledge, practices and attitudes regarding overweight/obesity with improving university students’ mean score of quality of life.
文摘Ensuring program satisfaction for undergraduate students in the areas of science,technology,engineering and mathematics(STEM)matters in student retention and education quality improvement.This study explores how four rarely examined variables support from faculty members,interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses,disciplinary connectedness of STEM program core courses,and examination difficulty impact Chinese STEM undergraduates’program satisfaction.With data from 619 Chinese STEM undergraduates,structural equation modeling shows that course satisfaction partially mediates the impact of support from faculty members on program satisfaction,while fully mediating that of interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses and disciplinary connectedness of STEM program core courses on program satisfaction.Examination difficulty exerts no significant impact on program satisfaction neither directly nor indirectly.Support from faculty members impact course satisfaction significantly stronger for junior and senior students than for freshmen and sophomores,while interdisciplinary features of STEM program courses impact course satisfaction stronger for freshmen and sophomores than for juniors and seniors.The study ends with practical implications for the higher education reform in relevant areas.
基金This work was supported in part by the Sichuan Electronic Information Education Center Education Center under Grant[2019]147.
文摘Programming teaching plays an important role in improving students’computational thinking and practice.However,due to the fact that programming has not been included in the entrance examination,the rate of having programming lessons in primary and secondary schools is low.At present,there is still a lack of empirical research on how programming affects the performance of other subjects.This paper studies the influence of programming on students’mathematics achievement for the students of an experimental middle school.The results show that programming has a significant impact on students’math scores,and the students who had not learned code were more likely to show a significant decline in math scores.In addition,learning programming makes it easier for middle-grade students to improve their math scores.
文摘Secondary vocational education in Shanghai continues to experiment in an attempt to find ways to solve the decline of student enrollment and adjust to rapidly changing social and economic environments. The 3 + 4 Pilot Program (three-year secondary vocational education and four-year undergraduate education) has been under experiment since 2014. It has attracted more and more academically good junior middle school graduates to secondary vocational schools with the national and local favorable policies and laws. Except the three-year’s hand-on practice, what appeals most to the junior middle school graduates is the academic transfer under the Program, a breakthrough in history of vocation education in China. However, only initiating a new program is not enough. Shanghai government should map out a long-term plan to set up promotion to increase the public awareness to change the long prevailing outdated ideology in order to add more to its appeal of the Program. There is still much work to be done before expanding the scope of the Program.
文摘In 21st Century, Chinese and American universities are experiencing great development in the number of students studying abroad. This research adopts the method of natural investigation, selecting Chinese student samples during study abroad program in the University of Minnesota to complete the designed questionnaires to examine the intercultural interventions taken before, during and after this type of study abroad in Chinese universities. Also, after students complete the questionnaires, email communication is made to analyze the reasons for their answers to the questionnaires. The questionnaire results and email communication show that there is a great gap in the practice of intercultural interventions in study abroad programs between Chinese universities and students expectations. It is time for Chinese universities to design appropriate intercultural interventions in order to maximize Chinese university students' intercultural development during study abroad. These intercultural interventions should be run consistently to cover the phrases of pre-departure, during and after the study abroad program. Also, more dynamic and interactive intercultural interventions rather than knowledge-based intercultural instructions or guidance should be the focus for intercultural interventions.
基金the Ford Foundation for their financial support to the program
文摘 IntroductionCurrently, there are at least 850,000 people living with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China. Among them 16-29 years old account for about 65%. According to the Chinese health authorities, if the preventive measures are not effective, the figure could reach as many as 10 million by the year 2010[1]. Since there are currently no cure or vaccines for HIV/AIDS, changing people's high-risk behaviors is the main approach that is taken to slow down the epidemic. This can be done through effective HIV/AIDS education, especially for young people. In 1997, a 4-year adolescent HIV/AIDS peer education program was introduced to in Beijing and Shanghai, which was based on a successful Australian model developed by Professor Roger Short, in which senior medical students were trained and used as peer educators to teach their junior peers about HIV/AIDS[2].……
文摘Many high schools in the northeastern United States have suffered from declining enrollment due to a declining population of school-age children in the region.Administrators,counselors and teachers perceive many impacts of the implementation of an international student program at a rural high school.This qualitative case study reveals that the rural high school’s unique nature impacts international student programs,international students influence both school culture and programming,and international students suffer from isolation.School leaders would benefit from considerations in the form of professional development both prior to implementation of an international student program and ongoing throughout its duration.It is important for schools to find ways to respectfully honor student cultures and optimize learning experiences.School leaders would be wise to determine desired size of international student programs and make efforts accordingly to achieve that size for optimal effectiveness for the benefit of both host and international students.Implications and recommendations for future research include further exploration of the perceived experiences of European and Chinese international students,understanding the unique nature of rural high schools and international student experiences,and examination of school practices.
文摘Mobile phone addiction is a growing concern among college students, with significant implications for their mental health. This study examines the complex relationship between mobile phone addiction and its impact on college students’ insomnia, symptoms of depression, and anxiety. A sample of 399 college students from traditional Chinese medicine colleges in Guangxi, China, completed the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale questionnaire. Among them, 155 students with high Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency scores were selected for the correlation study. The analysis revealed a strong association between mobile phone addiction and insomnia. Furthermore, mobile phone addiction was significantly associated with symptoms of depression, including feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and hopelessness, as well as heightened anxiety symptoms, such as excessive worry and restlessness. These findings emphasized the importance of targeted interventions and preventive measures to address the negative impact of mobile phone addiction on college students’ mental health.
文摘Guidance programs have significant roles in preparing students for the future.The study recognizes that guidance and counseling programs are a transformative process of helping students strengthen their career planning,education,and preparation for employment.The guidance programs of first-year college students from Guangdong Peizheng College(GPC)in Guangdong Province,China was investigated,with 357 freshman students currently enrolled in the participating school involved in this study.Moreover,12 guidance counselors were interviewed through focused-group discussions,including the school director,for the qualitative component of the study.Utilizing the convergent parallel design mixed method,the study was able to elucidate the quantitative and qualitative relevance of the data gathered from the selected participants.The emerging results found that Chinese freshman students were satisfied with all of the parameters of the guidance programs of the school.The school counselors are able to provide students with a rich reservoir of academic cand guidance support,career mentoring,and career guidance.There were contributing factors that need to be addressed if improvement and innovation of the guidance program is the primary goal.Support and resources should be prioritized in order to enrich the development not only of the students but also of the guidance counselors.The study serves as empirical evidence for proposing an improved school-based guidance program as practical outputs of the study further to innovate the effectiveness of the implementation of guidance services.
文摘English reading,a key procedure of English learning and teaching in middle school,is an essential way of getting information from the globe and communicating with others.Therefore,efficient comprehension on reading materials will directly serve for accepting the information.And it is extremely important for middle school students to acquire certain reading ability.At present,great attention has been paid to the course of reading in the instruction of English by the Chinese Education Department.But middle school students'read ing ability is still much lower than the target they should reach because of a set of existing obstacles that prevent them from being effective English readers.What are these obstacles? How to break them down? This paper will first point out and then analyze the obstacles that af fect middle school students'reading ability from two aspects:linguistic obstacles(obstacles of lexicon,grammar and background knowl edge) and non-linguistic obstacles(obstacles of psychology,interest,skill,and habit).After demonstrating different obstacles,the paper also come up with some corresponding strategies in the hope of helping middle school students to be effective English readers.