This experimental study investigated how text difficulty and different working memory capacity(WMC)affected Chinese EFL learners’reading comprehension and their tendency to engage in task-unrelated thoughts,that is,m...This experimental study investigated how text difficulty and different working memory capacity(WMC)affected Chinese EFL learners’reading comprehension and their tendency to engage in task-unrelated thoughts,that is,mind wandering(MW),in the course of reading.Sixty first-year university non-English majors participated in the study.A two-factor mixed experimental design of 2(text difficulty:difficult and simple)×2(WMC:high/large and low/small)was employed.Results revealed that 1)the main and interaction effects of WMC and text difficulty on voluntary MW were significant,whereas those on involuntary MW were not;2)while reading the easy texts,the involuntary MW of high-WMC individuals was less frequent than that of low-WMC ones,whereas while reading the difficult ones,the direct relationship between WMC and involuntary MW was not found;and that 3)high-WMC individuals had a lower overall rate of MW and better reading performance than low-WMC individuals did,but with increasing text difficulty,their rates of overall MW and voluntary MW were getting higher and higher,and the reading performance was getting lower and lower.These results lend support to WM theory and have pedagogical implications for the instruction of L2 reading.展开更多
The human beings can express the outside world and their mental feelings by languages, they know the materials＇ nature by comparing with their similarities. The languages are not only tools in understanding,communica...The human beings can express the outside world and their mental feelings by languages, they know the materials＇ nature by comparing with their similarities. The languages are not only tools in understanding,communication and thinking, but also one element of the cultures. Thinking is a kind of abstract skill, and the language is the vehicle of thinking, through which people can understand the human beings＇ thinking methods and cultural characters. The languages are decided by the culture. Reading comprehension is the readers＇ own behavior, during which the schema plays a key role and readers must combine the new information with their former cultural knowledge, rebuilding the new information so as to understand the deep meanings of the articles.展开更多
Language teaching is a highly complex phenomenon so that it is closely related with philosophy of education, theoretical linguistics and cognitive science. The language system is constructed by adopting a series of co...Language teaching is a highly complex phenomenon so that it is closely related with philosophy of education, theoretical linguistics and cognitive science. The language system is constructed by adopting a series of cognitive strategies within human beings＇ experiences. On the basis of outlook of experience, reading and comprehension can be regarded as a process of prediction, perception, reasoning and retrieving, in which the reader is an experiencing individual. Thus, experience is a clue in the reading process.展开更多
Learning strategies are usually regarded as one of the aspects of the cognitive psychology and reading is a cognitive process in which the reader engages in a conversation with the text or the author. Then is there an...Learning strategies are usually regarded as one of the aspects of the cognitive psychology and reading is a cognitive process in which the reader engages in a conversation with the text or the author. Then is there any relationship between learning strategies and reading comprehension？ To explore this, an experimental study is conducted in this paper. The conclusion is thereafter reached that reading comprehension is closely related to and greatly affected by learning strategies, especially cognitive and metacognitive strategies.展开更多
Reading is the main way of acquiring information and an important method of learning foreign language. But in the reading process, because of the affective and cognitive differences and the lack of knowledge about rea...Reading is the main way of acquiring information and an important method of learning foreign language. But in the reading process, because of the affective and cognitive differences and the lack of knowledge about reading patterns and methods, undergraduates＇ reading efficiency and speed are greatly influenced. This article analyzes the mode and strategies which can be adopted in English reading.展开更多
The teaching of English for Science and Technology （EST） is generally regarded as one of the most significant developments in English language pedagogy in recent years. EST is concerned with meeting the specific lan...The teaching of English for Science and Technology （EST） is generally regarded as one of the most significant developments in English language pedagogy in recent years. EST is concerned with meeting the specific language needs of learners in various scientific and technological fields. These needs should be taken into consideration when planning and implementing English language courses or specialized courses to students of science and technology. This research is an attempt to investigate some of the problems involved in the teaching and learning of EST and suggest possible solutions. The research will focus on the reading comprehension of scientific and technical texts written in English, the teaching and learning of functional grammar, and the teaching and learning of lexis. These are regarded as some of the most important skills and sub-skills to be acquired by the students of science and technology to help them gain scientific information in English and reach a satisfactory level of achievement in their academic studies. The contention here is that it is in need to adopt a new set of assumptions and criteria specifically relevant to EST instead of employing those of General-English courses being used in the foundation and non-foundation years. This is in line with the basic premise of ESP （English for Special Purpose） and foundation courses which are supposed to prepare students for longer and more difficult tasks in their relevant fields of study. It is hoped that the findings of this research paper will be fruitful and relevant to other ESP courses in addition to those of EST.展开更多
A growing number of countries and regions on the Eurasian continent have achieved consensus on the initiative.SINCE proposing the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited 37 countries ...A growing number of countries and regions on the Eurasian continent have achieved consensus on the initiative.SINCE proposing the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited 37 countries and introduced the initiative on various occasions.展开更多
This study analyses student＇s perception toward the use of lnternet to improve reading comprehension. This study aims： （1） to describe the students＇ perception of the use of Interact as teaching media in learning...This study analyses student＇s perception toward the use of lnternet to improve reading comprehension. This study aims： （1） to describe the students＇ perception of the use of Interact as teaching media in learning reading comprehension; （2） to depict the students＇ perception of the importance oflnternet to access information; and （3） to explain the students＇ frequency to access Internet. This study uses the descriptive method to reveal the research problems. A questionnaire is used to collect the data. It consists of 20 questions with five options to reveal the students＇ perception of the use of Internet. The questionnaire is distributed to 120 students who took reading subject at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The study shows that （1） The students＇ perception toward the use of Internet to improve Reading Comprehension subject is positive; （2） According to the students, the use of Internet to access reading materials is very important; and （3） The students frequently access Internet to find the reading materials.展开更多
＂Dao＂ refers to the noumenon; ＂One,＂ ＂Two,＂ ＂Three＂ in the ＂Dao De Jing＂ refer to many kinds of independent existence. This paper would argue that the ＂Dao＂ cannot produce ＂One,＂ and ＂One＂ cannot produ...＂Dao＂ refers to the noumenon; ＂One,＂ ＂Two,＂ ＂Three＂ in the ＂Dao De Jing＂ refer to many kinds of independent existence. This paper would argue that the ＂Dao＂ cannot produce ＂One,＂ and ＂One＂ cannot produce ＂Two.＂ So, we should realize that the main relation between any independent existence should be the force effected to each other. There are two production ways of the force： One is the external force stated in the study of the physical science; another is from the contradiction within a body, as the demonstration in this paper.展开更多
This paper raises, for the first time, with a model reading passage, a three-layer passage reading method （3LPRM in brief ） in English reading： reading beyond paragraphs; reading within paragraphs and sentences, an...This paper raises, for the first time, with a model reading passage, a three-layer passage reading method （3LPRM in brief ） in English reading： reading beyond paragraphs; reading within paragraphs and sentences, and reading with coherences of words and expressions. The paper illustrates the definition, contents, characteristics and application of the method which is easy to master and apply. The paper aims at supplying readers especially beginners of E/S/FL （English as second/foreign language） with a practical passage reading method so as to improve their reading efficiency. The paper has some practical significance and directing value.展开更多
This paper provides a detailed analysis about the themes and the thematic progression of a certain text, with Halliday＇s Systemic-Functional ideas as the theoretical foundation. Based on this, the paper discloses the...This paper provides a detailed analysis about the themes and the thematic progression of a certain text, with Halliday＇s Systemic-Functional ideas as the theoretical foundation. Based on this, the paper discloses the significance of theme and thematic progression in the development of text, which includes forming a semantic chain and achieving a comprehensive understanding of a text.展开更多
＂More than a book, it＇s an experience--startling, viscerally satisfying, and as joyous as a happy love affair--Cosmopolitan＂ （Doctorow, 19751）. E.L. Doctorow＇s masterpiece Ragtime has intrigued quite a great dea...＂More than a book, it＇s an experience--startling, viscerally satisfying, and as joyous as a happy love affair--Cosmopolitan＂ （Doctorow, 19751）. E.L. Doctorow＇s masterpiece Ragtime has intrigued quite a great deal of critics＇ attention worldwide. However, ironically, hardly any attention was paid to the sex and lovemaking scenes in Ragtime which have been overshadowed by Doctorow＇s splendid and original post-modernist approaches. The author wants to take up this challenge and commit herself to the appearance and role of sex and lovemaking scenes in Ragtime and more importantly, the deeper meanings behind them. Hopefully, this paper will give new perspectives to the understanding of this novel.展开更多
As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially ...As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially when postgraduates further their English studies. In order to have a deep understanding of the status quo of postgraduates＇ ability to summarize, this paper collected some data from the writing assignment and tried to give a detailed analysis of the problems, reasons and put forward some solutions.展开更多
With the change of the teaching approach, people have realized that language is not only knowledge, but also a skill and ability. Today＇s English teaching should emphasize the college student＇s English comprehensive...With the change of the teaching approach, people have realized that language is not only knowledge, but also a skill and ability. Today＇s English teaching should emphasize the college student＇s English comprehensive skills. This paper is intended to introduce the traditional English teaching method, and by using the comparison of the force-feeding mode of English teaching with interactive approach to language pedagogy. It emphasizes the analysis of the modem communicative teaching mode, and it also elaborates the English teacher＇s role in interactive class, and proves the effectivity and feasibility of the theory based on the student-centered mode.展开更多
For years, researchers as well as language teachers both at home and abroad have taken great pains to study the process of reading and try to find out what is the most related to a successful reading, therefore, a lot...For years, researchers as well as language teachers both at home and abroad have taken great pains to study the process of reading and try to find out what is the most related to a successful reading, therefore, a lot of reading theories have been proposed. Some people emphasize the importance of words and their quick identification. Others emphasize the important role of reading skills as well as background knowledge. Still others emphasize that reading comprehension is both a process of word processing and a process of information processing by means of one＇s background knowledge. The author here, through an experiment, thinks that vocabulary is the main contributor to reading comprehension and reading skills are very important for students to comprehend, especially in advanced reading comprehension.展开更多
The present study attempts to identify the major factors influencing EFL reading comprehension by drawing on the data collected from questionnaire and tests. The findings indicate that reading comprehension is compose...The present study attempts to identify the major factors influencing EFL reading comprehension by drawing on the data collected from questionnaire and tests. The findings indicate that reading comprehension is composed of three major components： ＂Schema＂, ＂Vocabulary＂, and ＂Motivation ＆ Purpose＂. These three components are made up of the following six factors respectively： ＂textual schema＂, ＂extra-textual schema＂, ＂vocabulary guessing＂, ＂vocabulary noticing＂, ＂motivation＂ and ＂purpose＂. Among the major components of reading comprehension, the four factors of ＂textual schema＂, ＂vocabulary guessing＂, ＂vocabulary noticing＂ and ＂motivation＂ are significantly correlated with reading comprehension.展开更多
文摘This experimental study investigated how text difficulty and different working memory capacity(WMC)affected Chinese EFL learners’reading comprehension and their tendency to engage in task-unrelated thoughts,that is,mind wandering(MW),in the course of reading.Sixty first-year university non-English majors participated in the study.A two-factor mixed experimental design of 2(text difficulty:difficult and simple)×2(WMC:high/large and low/small)was employed.Results revealed that 1)the main and interaction effects of WMC and text difficulty on voluntary MW were significant,whereas those on involuntary MW were not;2)while reading the easy texts,the involuntary MW of high-WMC individuals was less frequent than that of low-WMC ones,whereas while reading the difficult ones,the direct relationship between WMC and involuntary MW was not found;and that 3)high-WMC individuals had a lower overall rate of MW and better reading performance than low-WMC individuals did,but with increasing text difficulty,their rates of overall MW and voluntary MW were getting higher and higher,and the reading performance was getting lower and lower.These results lend support to WM theory and have pedagogical implications for the instruction of L2 reading.
文摘The human beings can express the outside world and their mental feelings by languages, they know the materials＇ nature by comparing with their similarities. The languages are not only tools in understanding,communication and thinking, but also one element of the cultures. Thinking is a kind of abstract skill, and the language is the vehicle of thinking, through which people can understand the human beings＇ thinking methods and cultural characters. The languages are decided by the culture. Reading comprehension is the readers＇ own behavior, during which the schema plays a key role and readers must combine the new information with their former cultural knowledge, rebuilding the new information so as to understand the deep meanings of the articles.
文摘Language teaching is a highly complex phenomenon so that it is closely related with philosophy of education, theoretical linguistics and cognitive science. The language system is constructed by adopting a series of cognitive strategies within human beings＇ experiences. On the basis of outlook of experience, reading and comprehension can be regarded as a process of prediction, perception, reasoning and retrieving, in which the reader is an experiencing individual. Thus, experience is a clue in the reading process.
文摘Learning strategies are usually regarded as one of the aspects of the cognitive psychology and reading is a cognitive process in which the reader engages in a conversation with the text or the author. Then is there any relationship between learning strategies and reading comprehension？ To explore this, an experimental study is conducted in this paper. The conclusion is thereafter reached that reading comprehension is closely related to and greatly affected by learning strategies, especially cognitive and metacognitive strategies.
文摘Reading is the main way of acquiring information and an important method of learning foreign language. But in the reading process, because of the affective and cognitive differences and the lack of knowledge about reading patterns and methods, undergraduates＇ reading efficiency and speed are greatly influenced. This article analyzes the mode and strategies which can be adopted in English reading.
文摘The teaching of English for Science and Technology （EST） is generally regarded as one of the most significant developments in English language pedagogy in recent years. EST is concerned with meeting the specific language needs of learners in various scientific and technological fields. These needs should be taken into consideration when planning and implementing English language courses or specialized courses to students of science and technology. This research is an attempt to investigate some of the problems involved in the teaching and learning of EST and suggest possible solutions. The research will focus on the reading comprehension of scientific and technical texts written in English, the teaching and learning of functional grammar, and the teaching and learning of lexis. These are regarded as some of the most important skills and sub-skills to be acquired by the students of science and technology to help them gain scientific information in English and reach a satisfactory level of achievement in their academic studies. The contention here is that it is in need to adopt a new set of assumptions and criteria specifically relevant to EST instead of employing those of General-English courses being used in the foundation and non-foundation years. This is in line with the basic premise of ESP （English for Special Purpose） and foundation courses which are supposed to prepare students for longer and more difficult tasks in their relevant fields of study. It is hoped that the findings of this research paper will be fruitful and relevant to other ESP courses in addition to those of EST.
文摘A growing number of countries and regions on the Eurasian continent have achieved consensus on the initiative.SINCE proposing the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited 37 countries and introduced the initiative on various occasions.
文摘This study analyses student＇s perception toward the use of lnternet to improve reading comprehension. This study aims： （1） to describe the students＇ perception of the use of Interact as teaching media in learning reading comprehension; （2） to depict the students＇ perception of the importance oflnternet to access information; and （3） to explain the students＇ frequency to access Internet. This study uses the descriptive method to reveal the research problems. A questionnaire is used to collect the data. It consists of 20 questions with five options to reveal the students＇ perception of the use of Internet. The questionnaire is distributed to 120 students who took reading subject at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The study shows that （1） The students＇ perception toward the use of Internet to improve Reading Comprehension subject is positive; （2） According to the students, the use of Internet to access reading materials is very important; and （3） The students frequently access Internet to find the reading materials.
文摘＂Dao＂ refers to the noumenon; ＂One,＂ ＂Two,＂ ＂Three＂ in the ＂Dao De Jing＂ refer to many kinds of independent existence. This paper would argue that the ＂Dao＂ cannot produce ＂One,＂ and ＂One＂ cannot produce ＂Two.＂ So, we should realize that the main relation between any independent existence should be the force effected to each other. There are two production ways of the force： One is the external force stated in the study of the physical science; another is from the contradiction within a body, as the demonstration in this paper.
文摘This paper raises, for the first time, with a model reading passage, a three-layer passage reading method （3LPRM in brief ） in English reading： reading beyond paragraphs; reading within paragraphs and sentences, and reading with coherences of words and expressions. The paper illustrates the definition, contents, characteristics and application of the method which is easy to master and apply. The paper aims at supplying readers especially beginners of E/S/FL （English as second/foreign language） with a practical passage reading method so as to improve their reading efficiency. The paper has some practical significance and directing value.
文摘This paper provides a detailed analysis about the themes and the thematic progression of a certain text, with Halliday＇s Systemic-Functional ideas as the theoretical foundation. Based on this, the paper discloses the significance of theme and thematic progression in the development of text, which includes forming a semantic chain and achieving a comprehensive understanding of a text.
文摘＂More than a book, it＇s an experience--startling, viscerally satisfying, and as joyous as a happy love affair--Cosmopolitan＂ （Doctorow, 19751）. E.L. Doctorow＇s masterpiece Ragtime has intrigued quite a great deal of critics＇ attention worldwide. However, ironically, hardly any attention was paid to the sex and lovemaking scenes in Ragtime which have been overshadowed by Doctorow＇s splendid and original post-modernist approaches. The author wants to take up this challenge and commit herself to the appearance and role of sex and lovemaking scenes in Ragtime and more importantly, the deeper meanings behind them. Hopefully, this paper will give new perspectives to the understanding of this novel.
文摘As a useful kind of writing, summarizing, aiming at improving students＇ ability to input information （reading） and output information （writing）, and should be emphasized at the advanced writing level, especially when postgraduates further their English studies. In order to have a deep understanding of the status quo of postgraduates＇ ability to summarize, this paper collected some data from the writing assignment and tried to give a detailed analysis of the problems, reasons and put forward some solutions.
文摘With the change of the teaching approach, people have realized that language is not only knowledge, but also a skill and ability. Today＇s English teaching should emphasize the college student＇s English comprehensive skills. This paper is intended to introduce the traditional English teaching method, and by using the comparison of the force-feeding mode of English teaching with interactive approach to language pedagogy. It emphasizes the analysis of the modem communicative teaching mode, and it also elaborates the English teacher＇s role in interactive class, and proves the effectivity and feasibility of the theory based on the student-centered mode.
文摘For years, researchers as well as language teachers both at home and abroad have taken great pains to study the process of reading and try to find out what is the most related to a successful reading, therefore, a lot of reading theories have been proposed. Some people emphasize the importance of words and their quick identification. Others emphasize the important role of reading skills as well as background knowledge. Still others emphasize that reading comprehension is both a process of word processing and a process of information processing by means of one＇s background knowledge. The author here, through an experiment, thinks that vocabulary is the main contributor to reading comprehension and reading skills are very important for students to comprehend, especially in advanced reading comprehension.
文摘The present study attempts to identify the major factors influencing EFL reading comprehension by drawing on the data collected from questionnaire and tests. The findings indicate that reading comprehension is composed of three major components： ＂Schema＂, ＂Vocabulary＂, and ＂Motivation ＆ Purpose＂. These three components are made up of the following six factors respectively： ＂textual schema＂, ＂extra-textual schema＂, ＂vocabulary guessing＂, ＂vocabulary noticing＂, ＂motivation＂ and ＂purpose＂. Among the major components of reading comprehension, the four factors of ＂textual schema＂, ＂vocabulary guessing＂, ＂vocabulary noticing＂ and ＂motivation＂ are significantly correlated with reading comprehension.
