EFFECTS OF READING TASKS ON CHINESE EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION Lin Zhou A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language Studies Suranaree University of Technology Academic Year 2008 กกกกก ก กกก กก กก 2551 : กกก กกก (EFFECTS OF READING TASKS ON CHINESE EFL STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION) ก : .ก , 267 กกก กกกก กกกก: 1) กก; 2) กกก; 3) กกก กก กกกกก กก กกกก 81 ก ก กกก 3 กก ก กก กกกกกก กกก กกก 11 กก กก ก กกก, ก 79 , กกกกก 238 ก กก กก กกกกกกกกก กกก กกก กกก กกก ก กก กก ก กกกกกกก กกกกกก กกก กกก กกกก กก กก ก กก________________________ กก 2551 ก _________________ LIN ZHOU : EFFECTS OF READING TASKS ON CHINESE EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION. THESIS ADVISOR : PEERASAK SIRIYOTHIN, Ph.D., 267 PP. READING WITH SUMMARY WRITING/READING WITH JOURNAL WRITING/READING COMPREHENSION This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of three reading tasks on Chinese university EFL students’ reading comprehension: 1) reading with summary writing; 2) reading with journal writing; and 3) reading with oral discussion. It also examined the students’ attitudes towards the reading tasks. The participants for this study were 81 Chinese third-year English major students enrolled in the Advanced English Course at Guizhou University, China. The students were from three intact groups. One group was randomly designated as the control group. Each of the other two groups was assigned a different treatment which connected reading and writing. The subjects were assigned to do 11 reading tasks as one of the course requirements. The data used for the study were the students’ scores on a reading comprehension test, written questionnaires with 79 respondents, 238 entries of the student’s written feedback on the reading tasks, and semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 18 interviewees. The comparison of multivariate means between groups at each level showed that the students benefitted more by reading with summary writing than by reading with journal writing or reading with oral discussion. Also, the findings revealed that text types had significantly different effects on reading comprehension and that the III students performed better in expository than in narrative texts. However, the results revealed no significant gender differences. The MANOVA results showed differential effects of the reading tasks across text types in the group of reading with journal writing. Also, the outcomes indicated that the journal writing group had the most positive attitudes. This research suggests that reading-writing connections may improve students’ reading comprehension. The findings have implications for the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language in the Chinese context. The dissertation makes recommendations for future research on EFL reading. School of English Student’s Signature: ____________________ Academic Year 2008 Advisor’s Signature: ____________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many individuals who have supported me in my studies for a doctorate in English Language Studies. I wish to acknowledge first and foremost the instruction and hard work of my dissertation advisor, Dean of the Institute of Social Technology, Dr. Peerasak Siriyothin. Without his guidance and support, this dissertation would have been impossible. I am also grateful to the other members of my doctoral committee from the School of English, Dr. Sarit Srikhao, Dr. Dhirawit Pinyonatthagarn, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kanit Khaimook, and the external examiner, Asst. Prof. Dr. Apisak Pupipat, for their valuable comments and suggestions. My thanks also go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeremy Ward, Assoc. Prof. Songporn Tajaroensuk, Asst. Prof. Dr. Channarong Intaraprasert, Asst. Prof. Dr. Pannathon Sangarun, Dr. Sirinthorn Seepho, Aj. Peter Bint, and many others in the School of English, who have made possible the expansion of my knowledge and my professional development. I would like to extend my special thanks to Dr. Wang Zhiyun, former Dean of the College of International Studies, Guizhou University, and his wife, Mrs. Xing Xiaomin, who inspired me to start my graduate study at Suranaree University of Technology. My sincere thanks go to Asst. Prof. Dr. Siriluck Usaha, former Chair of the School of English, SUT, for all her help when I was in Thailand. Warm thanks go to two native-speaking English teachers - Aj. Daniel Sackin and Mr. John Mannion - for their availability and willingness to be the proofreaders of this dissertation. V An important contribution to my dissertation came from my home university, Guizhou University, China. I wish to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues who supported me and made the implementation of my research project possible. I am also indebted to the 81 students who consented to let me use their classes for my investigation. I appreciate the friendship of many individuals both in China and Thailand. My tremendous thanks go to my Ph.D. classmate and roommate Duan Lingli for her warm friendship and support through highs and lows of my work. My heartfelt thanks also go to other Chinese friends - Tian Hong, Huang Hui, Zhang Xin, Zhang Lian, Wang Song, Wang Fei, An Mei, You Chunzhi, Shen Lin, and Ding Xiaolei - who have accompanied me over the years. As an international student, I feel very grateful to my Thai friends - Paisan Boonprakob, Duanporn Sriboonruang, Khajit Foythong, Panida Tasee, Mayuree Siriwan, Thanaporn Pantawee - for their generous help in many ways. I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my beloved mother and father, Sun Shanxiu and Zhou Zushe. Their love and support have been indispensable for maintaining my morale when I met with difficulties in my research. I would also like to thank my sister and brother-in-law, Zhou Jin and Feng Wen; and my nephew, Feng Baige, for their constant support, encouragement and love. Most of all, I would like to extend my immense gratitude to my husband, Zhang Baoya, for his love, caring, understanding, encouragement and support throughout the process, and our beloved son, Zhang Shubo, whose smiles have been the greatest motivation for me to complete this study. Lin Zhou TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT (THAI) ..........................................................................................................I ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)..................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ VI LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................XII LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... XVI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background of the Study......................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................ 2 1.3 Purposes of the Study.............................................................................. 5 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................ 6 1.5 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 6 1.6 Definitions of Terms ............................................................................... 7 1.7 Outline of the Dissertation ...................................................................... 9 1.8 Summary ............................................................................................... 10 2 REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE ...................................... 11 2.1 Second/Foreign Language Reading ..................................................... 11 2.1.1 Theories in L2 Reading............................................................. 15 2.1.2 L2 Reading Processing.............................................................. 18 VII TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page 2.1.3 Issues in L2 Reading ................................................................. 20 2.2 Reading-Writing Connections .............................................................. 27 2.2.1 Bases of Reading-Writing Connections..................................... 28 2.2.2 Principles of Reading-Writing Connections.............................. 34 2.2.3 Research on L2 Reading-Writing Connections ......................... 35 2.3 Writing from Sources ........................................................................... 41 2.3.1 Summary Writing ...................................................................... 46 2.3.2 Journal Writing .......................................................................... 48 2.4 Theoretical Framework for the Study................................................... 52 2.5 Summary............................................................................................... 53 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................. 54 3.1 Rationale for the Choice of Methodology ............................................ 54 3.2 Participants ..........................................................................................