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
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
The paper regards young adult literature (YAL) as a dissolved-point between localization and globalization of English teaching, and discusses (1) whether the western YAL teaching theories, methods and teaching materia...The paper regards young adult literature (YAL) as a dissolved-point between localization and globalization of English teaching, and discusses (1) whether the western YAL teaching theories, methods and teaching materials accord with Chinese actual situation well or not, (2) if YAL reading is an effective way for creating life-long readers, and (3) why and how to teach YAL. Based on YAL learning and teaching practice, the author uses Soter's YAL theories and alternative approaches, try to clarify three relationships: YA-YAL; adult literature-YAL-children's literature; classics-YAL balance. And put forward three ways for books selection and three reading patterns to YAL teaching.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The paper regards young adult literature (YAL) as a dissolved-point between localization and globalization of English teaching, and discusses (1) whether the western YAL teaching theories, methods and teaching materials accord with Chinese actual situation well or not, (2) if YAL reading is an effective way for creating life-long readers, and (3) why and how to teach YAL. Based on YAL learning and teaching practice, the author uses Soter's YAL theories and alternative approaches, try to clarify three relationships: YA-YAL; adult literature-YAL-children's literature; classics-YAL balance. And put forward three ways for books selection and three reading patterns to YAL teaching.
