本研究的目的在探討後設認知閱讀策略在EFL國中生英語閱讀上的效益。尤其是探究此訓練對高、低分組學生後設認知閱讀策略的使用差異，對英語閱讀觀點及理解之影響，以及學生對後設認知閱讀策略訓練所作的回應。 本研究以新竹縣某國中的一個七年級班級30位學生為研究對象，將學生分為高分組及低分組。這些學生接受為期四週的三種後設認知閱讀策略訓練 (分別為文意圖像策略、預測策略、總結策略)在英語閱讀上之運用。 在資料分析上，主要是針對高、低分組在前後實驗，在後設認知閱讀策略使用上的差異作比較及質的分析。高分組及低分組在閱讀理解測驗上的閱讀能力表現也會做量的分析。除此之外，學生們對於後設認知策略訓練所作的回應，予以質的分析。 本研究的主要總結如下： 1. 後設認知閱讀策略訓練能有效提升高分組及低分組兩組在後設認知閱讀策略上的使用。 2. 後設認知閱讀策略訓練有助於改善高分組及低分組的英語閱讀理解，學生們對後設認知閱讀策略訓練在閱讀理解方面的效益，皆抱持肯定的態度，尤其是低分組學生。 3. 後設認知閱讀策略訓練有助於高分組及低分組的學生，尤其是低分組學生，建立更正確的英語閱讀觀念。 4. 大部分的學生對於後設認知閱讀策略訓練的效益皆表示肯定的態度，並且樂於運用這些後設認知閱讀策略於英語閱讀上，且樂於學習新的閱讀策略。 最後，根據實驗的結果提供一些教學上的建議。 / The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of metacognitive reading strategy training (MRST) on junior-high-school students’ EFL reading. Specifically, the differences of metacognitive reading strategy use between HPG and LPG, perceptions of reading, English reading comprehension, and their responses to the metacognitive reading strategy training (MRST) are probed. The participants of this study were thirty junior high school students from one seven-grade class in Shingchu C. The participants were divided into high-proficient group and low-proficient group. These participants received the four-week training (MRST) with three metacognitive reading strategies (semantic mapping, prediction, and summarizing) in reading English texts. In the data collection, the differences between HPG and LPG in metacognitive reading strategy use in the pre-treatment and post-treatment were compared and analyzed qualitatively. Also, HPG and LPG students’ reading performance in reading comprehension tests between the pre-treatment and post-treatment were analyzed quantitatively. In addition, students’ perceptions toward the effects of the MRST were analyzed qualitatively. Based on the data analyses, the findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1. The MRST was effective in enhancing both HPG and LPG readers’ metacognitive awareness of strategy use. 2. The MRST helped improve both HPG and LPG readers’ comprehension in reading English texts, and students, especially LPG, had positive attitude toward the effectiveness of the MRST in improving reading comprehension. 3. The MRST helped both groups of students, especially LPG readers, have more correct perceptions toward English reading. 4. Most of the students exhibited positive attitude toward the effectiveness of the MRST and showed their willingness to apply the learned metacognitive reading strategies as well as to learn new reading strategies in English reading. Finally, some pedagogical implications and suggestions are provided on the basis of the findings in this study.

For several decades, reading strategies have aroused many researchers’ interest.Readingis a very important language skill for English learners; however, many English majors feel that their reading proficiency is far from satisfying though they have studied English for more than ten years. Therefore, the current situation of using reading strategies among Chinese sophomore English majors is studied in this paper. The research aims to study the relationship between the use of reading strategies and the students’ reading achievements. The reading comprehension part of TEM 4 (2006) and two questionnaires are adopted in this study to collect data from the investigated students. The participants are 54 English major sophomores from a university in China. The major findings of this study are: English majors use reading strategies in medium level when doing reading comprehension tests. Both metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies significantly correlate with reading achievements and both of them play important roles in reading comprehension. There are differences in the application of reading strategies between high-proficiency readers and low-proficiency readers. Teachers do not pay high attention to instructing reading strategies in the classroom, so some pedagogical implications on the teaching of reading strategies are suggested.

For several decades, reading strategies have aroused many researchers’ interest.Readingis a very important language skill for English learners; however, many English majors feel that their reading proficiency is far from satisfying though they have studied English for more than ten years. Therefore, the current situation of using reading strategies among Chinese sophomore English majors is studied in this paper. The research aims to study the relationship between the use of reading strategies and the students’ reading achievements. The reading comprehension part of TEM 4 (2006) and two questionnaires are adopted in this study to collect data from the investigated students. The participants are 54 English major sophomores from a university in China. The major findings of this study are: English majors use reading strategies in medium level when doing reading comprehension tests. Both metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies significantly correlate with reading achievements and both of them play important roles in reading comprehension. There are differences in the application of reading strategies between high-proficiency readers and low-proficiency readers. Teachers do not pay high attention to instructing reading strategies in the classroom, so some pedagogical implications on the teaching of reading strategies are suggested.

Recent data indicate that only 34% of American eighth grade students are able to demonstrate grade-level proficiency with academic reading tasks (NCES, 2011). The staggering nature of statistics such as this is even more profound when considering that high level literacy skills combined with mastery of digital texts have become practical requirements for success in secondary education, post-secondary education, and virtually all vocational contexts. Despite this incongruent scenario, little research has been conducted to evaluate instructional methods and reading comprehension strategies with digital texts. To address this critical issue, the present study examined the effects of a metacognitive reading comprehension instructional protocol (STRUCTURE Your Reading [SYR]; Ehren, 2008) with eighth grade students using digital texts in a standard social studies classroom in an urban American school setting. The focus of the protocol was on teaching strategies and selfquestioning prompts before, during, and after reading. The study employed a randomized controlled design and consisted of three conditions with a total of 4 participating teachers and 124 participating students. The study was conducted over 25 instructional days and two instructional units with 13.83 treatment hours within the standard, social studies classes. Hierarchical ANCOVA analyses revealed that when controlling for pre-test measurements, the comparison and experimental groups performed significantly better than the control group with instructional unit test scores (Unit 2), reading strategy use in all stages of reading (before, during, and after), and self-questioning prompts during reading. Comparison iv and experimental groups did not significantly differ in these gains, indicating that this instructional protocol is effective with both paper and digital text. These findings suggest that the SYR instructional protocol is effective with secondary students in content area classrooms when using digital text. Furthermore, they suggest that metacognition and reading comprehension strategy instruction are able to be successfully embedded within a content area class and result in academic and metacognitive gains. Clinical implications and future research directions and are discussed.

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