Metacognitive Knowledge of Tertiar yLevel EFL Reading: Case Studies in an Acquisition-Poor Context

This paper describes how a group of Chinese tertiary-level EFL readers utilized metacognitive knowledge in their academic reading process by contrasting the possible metacognitive differences between two less successful and two successful Chinese EFL readers. Data were collected through think-alouds, interviews and observations. It was found that although vocabulary posed difficulties for both successful and less successful readers, the deployment of strategic knowledge of tackling the unknown words made a difference between successful and less successful readers. The participants＇ person knowledge about motivation such as reader interest, goal of reading and reader role could exert influences on their reading. Implications of the findings for tertiary EFL reading pedagogy in China are discussed.

Web Quest and EFL Critical Reading and Writing

This study aimed at investigating the effect of using a Web Quest program on developing some EFL critical reading and writing skills of the first year experimental secondary school students. The participants of the study were 60 students from one of the Experimental Secondary Schools in Egypt. Instruments of the study were EFL critical reading and writing tests. Students in both the experimental and the control groups were pre-tested using the critical reading test and the writing test. Then, students of the experimental group were using Web Quest. Finally, students in both groups were post-tested using the same instruments. The study showed that there was statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pre and the post critical reading test and writing test of the experimental group in favor of the post tests. This difference can be attributed to using Web Quest.

The Impact of Collaborative Reading on Iranian EFL Learners Development of Reading Comprehension

This research was carried out in Iranian EFL （English as a foreign language） reading comprehension classes in an attempt to answer three research questions： （1） Does collaborative reading lead to greater comprehension of a text than private reading？; （2） If so, what strategies are used by the students during collaborative reading？; and （3） In what ways might these strategies contribute to the higher level of comprehension？. A quasi-experimental design was used to answer the first question. The participants were pre-tested and streamed into two classes of equal reading comprehension abilities. The intervention consisted of four texts of equal length, comprising two rated in a pilot study as conceptually difficult/linguistically easy, and two rated as conceptually easy/linguistically difficult. The subjects in each class were involved in reading the two types of texts collaboratively and privately for four sessions. After reading the text, the subjects were asked to answer in writing 10 comprehension questions. Collaborative reading resulted in consistently and significantly higher scores than private reading for all four texts. Qualitative methods were employed to answer the last two questions. Group interactions during collaborative reading were tape recorded and transcribed, and 10 students selected at random from the two classes were interviewed in depth. Analysis of the group interaction transcripts revealed that the participants were using five major strategies in co-constructing meaning from the texts. These strategies included brainstorming, clarifying the language, summarizing, paraphrasing, and interaction management. Other minor （i.e., infrequent） strategies were also identified, such as making PCU/NCU （positive/negative claim to understand）, eliciting confirmation, and confirming.

Study on reading strategies in college English teaching： Top-down or bottom-up？

Reading comprehension ability is one of the key abilities trained in College English teaching in China. This paper first examines the theories behind top-down and bottom-up reading strategies, and then suggests top-down reading strategies are more effective than the bottom-up ones in training EFL learners to be efficient readers in English. In particular, taking into account the English proficiency and the cognitive ability of the Chinese university students （non-English major）, the author argues that more priorities should be given to the top-down reading strategies training in EFL reading class.

Utilizing Electronic Reading Device （Kindle） in English as Foreign Language Reading Class

With the evolutionary change in information and communication technologies （ICT）, the definition of literacy has undergone substantial change to include the skills and strategies required to successfully adapt to the rapidly changing ICT contexts. This new definition presents an urgent need to acknowledge the gap between the types of reading experiences students come across at school and those they regularly practice outside the school. One way to bridge such gap is to expand the reading instruction to incorporate electronic reading device, like Kindle, to engage students in electronic reading. Many e-books feature multimodal functionalities, including audio, video, hyperlinks, and interactive tools. Research on this form of reading is still in its infancy in spite of some positive prospects for fostering literacy development and reading comprehension. Therefore, adopting a mixed method approach with 36 college freshmen in central Taiwan, the current study intended to fill in the void by investigating any difference in readers＇ reading comprehension and reading motivation, between the Kindle group and the print-based group. The results indicate that embedding aspects of technology into a traditional reading instruction boosted the participants＇ motivation to read. Nevertheless, the novelty-driven enthusiasm for electronic reading might not sustain students＇ reading motivation long enough to cultivate long-lasting reading habits. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in reading comprehension between two groups. Implications for utilizing electronic readers in EFL classes are also provided.

TOWARDS A REALIZATION OF AN HOLISTIC MODEL OF TEACHING READING IN THE EFL CLASS IN CHINA

The teaching of reading in the EFL class in China is supposed to be the most important course forEnglish learners in colleges and universities because it is expected to fulfil two tasks:the develop-ment of reading skills and the development of language skills.The former set of skills is assigned tothe course called Extensive Reading,which is top-down oriented,and,like the top-down model be-fore 1980’s,its emphasis on the language competence such as syntax and vocabulary often leads to"wild guessing"and misunderstanding.Another reading course,Intensive Reading,is supposed to beresponsible for the latter set of skills.This bottom-up manner of reading often results in word-to-word reading and also causes miscomprehension.The Holistic Model of Reading,as developed on thebasis of interactive models with particular concern over the Chinese learning environment,attemptsto combine the two courses into one and the result,as our studies show,turns out to be promising.