論文內容摘要：本研究探討對台灣的高中生教導一本完整英文原著小說與其閱讀能力的關聯性以及學生們對於小說閱讀和小說課的態度。 一、 研究方法： 1. 受試者為台北地區某一所高中高一的124名學生，其指定讀物為C.S.Lewis所著之小說「獅子、女巫、魔衣櫥」，所進行的小說閱讀和教學從2005年九月至2006年元月為期四個月，以每週一節課的時間用於小組討論和發表，並由教師導引上課流程，受試者須完成課後作業單並繳交給教師評閲。 2. 在施教前和施教後分別對受試者實施閱讀能力前測及後測，復加之以成對母體t檢定，以檢驗全體受試者和高中低不同能力組別學生的前後測差異，此外亦實施ㄧ有關小說內容的開書測驗，以便檢驗受試者了解小說的程度，以及蒐集受試者的期末考英文成績（考的是英文課本）。研究者檢驗了以下三種測驗時間相當接近的測驗中任兩種之間的關聯：閱讀能力後測、小說測驗、期末考英文測驗。 3. 最後，小說閱讀和教學的問卷調查由受試者填完，並以頻率和百分比分析全體受試者，而以卡方檢定分析在受教前有無閱讀其他英文小說經驗和受教後是否讀完整本小說之差異。 二 、研究結果 1. 在小說教學結束後，受試者的英文閱讀能力不只顯著地提升，而且與小說測驗成績顯著相關。 2. 而對全體受試者和中低成就組學生而言，小說測驗成績則和期末考成績顯著相關。 3. 對中成就組學生而言，閱讀能力後測成績和期末考英文成績有顯著相關。 4. 受試者對於英文小說閱讀的反應正面多過於負面的有：對於讀小說的感覺、對於增進英文閱讀速度及字彙的幫助、提升學習英文興趣的幫助。而對於是否增進英文文法知識與幫助課本學習，只有少數學生持肯定態度。 5. 受試者對於小說課及其活動的態度呈高度肯定，對於再教一本英文小說的反應十分熱烈。 6. 讀完指定小說確實與未讀完者在「認為讀指定小說提升今後讀英文小說的意願」上有顯著不同，而受教前讀過其他小說與教學後讀完小說者，則皆比未讀過其他小說及未讀完指定小說者，更願意在時間許可下自行閱讀英文小說。 7. 受試者的閱讀技巧增進從多到少依次為：閱讀理解、字彙、文法句型。 三 、結論： 英文小說閱讀做為一種延伸閱讀其對高中學生學習英文的幫助，不只是認知上的也是情意上的，與其讓學生自行摸索閱讀英文小說之道，將之當作課堂學習教材並施以教學將更能有效幫助學生。本研究證明英文小說在台灣高中英文課程為一門值得教的課，而非僅是一種單單留給學生自行閱讀即可的讀物。 / The present study explored the correlations of teaching a complete English novel to high school students in Taiwan with their reading ability and investigated their attitudes to the novel reading and the novel class. The subjects were 124 freshmen students of a senior high school in Taipei, whose assigned material was the novel The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The reading and teaching of the novel lasted a semester from Sept. 2005 to Jan. 2006, with one period of English class each week spent on small group discussion and presentation monitored and facilitated by the teacher. After-reading worksheets were done by the subjects and handed in for teacher review and assessment. A reading pretest and a post-test were administered to the subjects before and after the treatment, and their reading ability improvement was examined using Paired T tests for all subjects and different ability groups from high to middle and low proficiency groups. Besides, an open-book novel test concerning the content of the novel was given to find out how well the subjects understand the novel. The subjects’ scores of the final periodic test on the English textbook were also gathered so that the researcher could investigate the correlations, with Significant Correlation tests, between any two of the three tests which all took place near the end of the semester: the reading post-test, the novel test and the final periodic test. Finally the questionnaires on the novel reading and teaching were filled in by the subjects and analyzed based on the subjects as a whole with frequency and percentage. Furthermore, distinctions were made based on the differences between those subjects who had read other novels before the treatment and those who hadn’t, and on the differences between those who finished reading the novel and those who didn’t, with Chi-square tests. The major findings of the study are as follows: 1. After the treatment ended, the English reading proficiency of all subjects in general has increased significantly, and was found to be correlated with the novel test significantly. 2. The novel test was found to be significantly correlated to the final periodic test for all subjects and the Middle and Low Proficiency Groups. 3. For the Middle Proficiency Group., the post-test was correlated to the final periodic test significantly. 4. The subjects’ more positive responses than negative ones to the novel reading included: feelings about the novel, how the novel reading helped increase reading speed and vocabulary, how the novel helped raise their interest in learning English. As to whether reading the novel increased English grammar knowledge or helped them learn the English textbook, only a minority of them answered positively. 5. The subjects’ attitudes towards the novel class and its activity were highly positive and the responses to having another English novel taught were quite enthusiastic. 6. Having finished reading the novel made a difference for the subjects in believing reading the designated novel promoted their willingness to read more English novels, while being experienced novel readers and having finished reading the novel both made significant differences in the subjects’ willingness to read other English novels on their own when time is allowed for reading. 7. The reading benefits for our subjects in order of importance were: reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar and sentence patterns. In conclusion, novel reading, as a form of extensive reading, helps senior high school students learn English cognitively as well as affectively. Instead of letting the students grope their own ways to the English novel, it helps them more when the novel becomes the class material and is taught in class. This study explores the English novel as a worthwhile course to teach in high school curriculum in Taiwan, not just as something left for the students to read all by themselves.

In South Africa learners do not achieve as well as their international counterparts on tests of literacy, and language proficiency is often blamed for their poor academic performance. In this study, the relationship between English language proficiency, reading ability and the academic performance of Grade 7 students in submersion contexts was investigated using quantitative methods. The participants of the study were Grade 7 students based in a former Model C school in the South African city of Johannesburg. Their English language proficiency and reading ability were measured by means of The Proficiency test English Second Language: Intermediate level and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability tests respectively. The students’ performance on these tests was correlated with the students’ average summative assessment results using the Pearson-product moment correlation. Results showed that both English language proficiency and reading ability were significantly correlated with academic performance, with language proficiency having the most robust correlation. These findings indicate that teachers should aim at improving language proficiency by using multilingual teaching strategies that support home language as a cognitive tool. / English Studies / M.A. (TESOL)

In South Africa learners do not achieve as well as their international counterparts on tests of literacy, and language proficiency is often blamed for their poor academic performance. In this study, the relationship between English language proficiency, reading ability and the academic performance of Grade 7 students in submersion contexts was investigated using quantitative methods. The participants of the study were Grade 7 students based in a former Model C school in the South African city of Johannesburg. Their English language proficiency and reading ability were measured by means of The Proficiency test English Second Language: Intermediate level and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability tests respectively. The students’ performance on these tests was correlated with the students’ average summative assessment results using the Pearson-product moment correlation. Results showed that both English language proficiency and reading ability were significantly correlated with academic performance, with language proficiency having the most robust correlation. These findings indicate that teachers should aim at improving language proficiency by using multilingual teaching strategies that support home language as a cognitive tool. / English Studies / M. A. (TESOL)