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Reading characteristics of Chinese-English adolescents: knowledge and application of strategic reading

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Abstract

Integrating both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study examined the knowledge and application of strategic reading among Taiwanese adolescents learning to read English as a foreign language. A total of 144 Grade 11 students participated in this study. Correlational analysis and t-tests were applied to analyzing quantitative data, including an English reading comprehension test and two sets of reading strategy questionnaires; the constant comparative method (Glaser and Strauss 1967) was used for analyzing qualitative data, comprising semi-structured interviews and think-aloud protocols. Results from quantitative analysis show a relatively strong link between the perceived use of first language (L1, Chinese) and second language (L2, English) strategies. Nonetheless, metacognitive and cognitive strategies were reportedly used more frequently for L1 reading, whereas support strategies were more often used for L2 reading. One salient theme that emerged from the qualitative analysis is that the reading of the English texts more closely resembled the reading of the texts written in the classic literary style of Chinese than the reading of the texts written in contemporary Chinese. These findings to some extent support the reading universals hypothesis (Goodman in Journal of Typographic Reseach, 103–110, 1970); yet, skills transfer is not uniformly automatic (Bell in TESOL Quarterly, 687–704, 1995; Urquhart and Weir 1998).

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Acknowledgements

I am pleased to acknowledge that the research described herein was supported by the National Science Council in Taiwan (NSC #94-2411-H-130-005). I wish to thank the participating school, teachers, and students for their contribution to the research, along with the two anonymous reviewers for the detailed comments on the earlier versions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of English Language, Literature & Linguistics, Providence University, 200 Chung-Chi Road, Shalu, Taichung, 43301, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Jia-ling Charlene Yau

  2. 150 Lane 83, Sec. 3, San Ho Road, San Chung, Taipei-Hsien 241, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Jia-ling Charlene Yau

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  1. Jia-ling Charlene Yau
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Correspondence to Jia-ling Charlene Yau.

Appendices

Appendix A

Statements on the English Survey

When Reading an English Text,

  1. 1.

    I have a purpose in mind when I read.

  2. 2.

    I take notes while reading to help me understand what I read.

  3. 3.

    I think about what I know to help me understand what I read.

  4. 4.

    I take an overall view of the text to see what it is about before reading it.

  5. 5.

    When text becomes difficult, I read aloud to help me understand what I read.

  6. 6.

    I think about whether the content of the text fits my reading purpose.

  7. 7.

    I read slowly and carefully to make sure I understand what I am reading.

  8. 8.

    I review the text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization.

  9. 9.

    I try to get back on track when I lose concentration.

  10. 10.

    I underline or circle information in the text to help me remember it.

  11. 11.

    I adjust my reading speed according to what I am reading.

  12. 12.

    When reading, I decide what to read closely and what to ignore.

  13. 13.

    I use reference materials (e.g., an English-Chinese dictionary) to help me understand what I read.

  14. 14.

    When text becomes difficult, I pay closer attention to what I am reading.

  15. 15.

    I use tables, figures, and pictures in text to increase my understanding.

  16. 16.

    I stop from time to time and think about what I am reading.

  17. 17.

    I use context clues to help me better understand what I am reading.

  18. 18.

    I paraphrase (restate ideas in my own words) to better understand what I read.

  19. 19.

    I try to picture or visualize information to help remember what I read.

  20. 20.

    I use typographical features like bold face and italics to identify key information.

  21. 21.

    I critically analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text.

  22. 22.

    I go back and forth in the text to find relationships among ideas in it.

  23. 23.

    I check my understanding when I come across new information.

  24. 24.

    I try to guess what the context of the text is about when I read.

  25. 25.

    When text becomes difficult, I re-read it to increase my understanding.

  26. 26.

    I ask myself questions I like to have answered in the text.

  27. 27.

    I check to see if my guesses about the text are right or wrong.

  28. 28.

    When I read, I guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases.

  29. 29.

    When reading, I translate from English into my native language (e.g., Taiwanese or Mandarin or others).

  30. 30.

    When reading, I think about information in both English and my mother tongue (Taiwanese, or Mandarin, or Hakka, or others).

  31. 31.

    When I read, I use my mother tongue to guess the meaning of unknown English words or phrases.

  32. 32.

    When an English text becomes difficult, I translate it to vernacular Chinese (bai-hua) to increase my understanding.

Note:

Global strategies: Items 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 27.

Cognitive strategies: Items 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 25, and 28.

Support strategies: Items 2, 5, 10, 13, 18, 22, 26, 29, 30, 31, and 32.

Appendix B

Interview Questions

  1. 1.

    What does a person who is a good reader compared to someone who is not?

  2. 2.

    What is different about a person who is a good reader compared to someone who is not?

  3. 3.

    What do you think is different about the reading of a person who has learned English as a second language compared to someone whose first language is English?

  4. 4.

    Could knowing both Chinese and English help someone to be a better reader, or would it cause problems? Why?

  5. 5.

    Does being able to read Mandarin help when you read English? How?

  6. 6.

    Does being able to read English help when you read Mandarin? How?

  7. 7.

    Have you ever learned how to do something to better understand your English reading that you later used when reading Chinese? What?

  8. 8.

    Have you ever learned how to do something to better understand your Chinese reading that you later used when reading English? What?

  9. 9.

    Do you ever translate from one of your languages to the other when reading English or Mandarin? Describe it to me.

  10. 10.

    How is reading Mandarin different from reading English? Vice versa?

  11. 11.

    What does a person need to know to be a good English reader?

  12. 12.

    What does a person need to know to be a good Mandarin reader? Is there any difference? What is it?

  13. 13.

    How did you become a good reader? In Mandarin? In English?

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Yau, Jl.C. Reading characteristics of Chinese-English adolescents: knowledge and application of strategic reading. Metacognition Learning 4, 217–235 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-009-9046-4

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