EFL Learners' Reading Strategies : their Development and the Effect of Text Modification

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Although some studies have investigated the effects of text modifications on reading performance (e.g., Yano, Long, & Ross, 1994), no study has investigated what different reading processes language learners go through while reading either an original (baseline) or modified text. In addition, most studies focused on a development of reading strategies not in a second language (L2) but in a first language (L1), although there are some studies that have researched how learners develop their reading strategies. The present study thus investigated two issues: (a) the differences of the reading strategies employed by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) while reading either baseline or modified texts, and (b) the development of the reading strategies employed by EFL learners. Participants were twelve Japanese university students who majored in English. Before and after the treatments with two kinds of texts, i.e., baseline and modified texts, think-aloud protocols and retrospective interviews were conducted. The results indicated no statistically significant differences in the reading strategies that second language learners used while reading either baseline or modified texts, but the development of the reading strategies employed by the L2 learners were found.
2011-03-15