Role of Discipline-specific Vocabulary in L2 Reading by Chinese Chemistry Major Undergraduates

This study explored the contribution of second language (L2) discipline-specific vocabulary to Chinese chemistry major undergraduates’ reading of textbooks. Participants included 82 second-year undergraduates majoring in chemistry. Their discipline-specific vocabulary knowledge and chemistry textbook reading ability were measured. Their L2 proficiency and chemistry knowledge data were collected. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that discipline-specific vocabulary was highly correlated with L2 proficiency and disciplinary knowledge, and discipline-specific vocabulary contributed the most to textbook reading, bigger than either L2 proficiency or disciplinary knowledge. Implications for discipline-specific vocabulary and English for academic purposes (EAP) reading instructions are discussed

The dynamics of reading development in L2 English for academic purposes

In a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates the complex and dynamic developmental trajectories of 27 Chinese Chemistry major undergraduates’ English academic reading ability. Twelve parallel tests were designed, validated, and used weekly during one semester. The analyses included a group pre-post design to measure academic reading gains, a regression analysis to predict beginning reading score with English proficiency and Chemistry knowledge as predictors, individual longitudinal case studies to measure variability and phase shifts, and a cluster analysis to discover (un)common developmental patterns. Finally, a qualitative study used interviews to discover difficulties in reading and strategies to overcome them. English proficiency predicted the initial reading score and the group gained significantly in academic reading. Each learner showed different non-linear patterns, and a cluster analysis revealed few similar patterns among learners. The high gainers showed relatively more variability over time and used more and a wider variety and more sophisticated learning and reading strategies to improve.</p

Instructional Effects of Syntactic Parsing on Chinese College Students’ EFL Reading Rates

 Foreign language reading serves as the fundamental channel for foreign language acquisition and for information gathering. However, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners are generally slow in their reading rates. A number of approaches have been proposed to improve reading rates of EFL learners, underpinned by learning theories. From an information processing perspective, building automaticity in lower-level processes is necessary to allow readers to allocate more cognitive resources for higher-level processes. Given the importance of reading rate and the scarcity of related research, the present study intends to explore the relationship between Chinese college students’ syntactic parsing ability and their EFL reading rates, and investigate the effects of syntactic parsing instruction on their EFL reading rates. A total of 87 freshmen from two intact classes participated in the present study. They were divided into an experimental group (43) and a control group (44). The experimental group received a 12-week instruction on syntactic parsing ability. A pretest-posttest design was employed to explore the participants’ development of syntactic parsing ability and their reading rates. After the training period, a semi-structured interview was conducted among 10 participants of the experimental to explore their attitudes towards the syntactic parsing ability instruction. Two major findings were revealed. First, there was a close relationship between syntactic parsing and reading rate. Second, syntactic parsing instruction may have positive effects on some students’ reading rates in the experimental group. Responses in the interview indicated that the participants held positive attitudes towards the syntactic parsing ability training

Effect of timed reading on Chinese undergraduates’ EFL reading rates: Mixed-method analyses

In this article, a three-phase mixed-methods study was conducted to investigate timed reading effects on Chinese university students’ English as a foreign language (EFL) reading rate. First, two equivalent reading rate tests were designed and validated with 30 participants. Second, 81 university students from two intact classes participated in the main study. Quantitative analyses revealed that the timed reading group made significantly greater improvement in reading rate than the comparison group, while both groups progressed significantly in reading rate. Third, semi-structured interviews with 14 participants from the treatment group were conducted to investigate students’ perceptions of the effects of the timed reading approach. Despite some positive comments, some negative effects were identified. The findings shed new light on the implementation of timed reading instructions