Academic Reading Strategies of Chinese International Students: A Pedagogical Approach

Study on Academic Study on Academic Reading of Chinese International Students of Chinese International Students from the Perspective of Pedagogical Content the Perspective of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) Knowledge (PCK) Reading Strategies Strategies from Maryland TESOL Conference, 2017 Presenters: Yiping Zhang, M.A. Yuping Wang, M.Ed. Gilda Martinez-Alba, Ed.D.

Visiting Scholars at Towson University: Yiping Zhang (AKA Rita) Yuping Wang

PRIZE TIME! Can you guess? About how many international Chinese students are in the U.S.? A. 100,000 B. 200,000 C. 300,000

Part I Part I Background on International Background on International Chinese Students Chinese Students

International Chinese Students in U.S. 328,000 Chinese students in U.S., about 1/3 in 2015 More undergraduates More students in ESL classroom Chinese Students vs all International Students in the US http://www.ccg.org.cn/Research/View.aspx?Id=5418

Language Learning Experience in China EFL, an academic subject rather than a communication tool Grammar-translation approach Textbooks with short pieces of stories or informative texts Reading focus on textual knowledge Reading strategies taught loosely High extrinsic motivation Low interest Weak at meaning construction, critical analysis and evaluation Inadequate attention on strategic awareness and use of reading strategies Low genre awareness BICS Vs CALP

Chinese Students in the U.S. Overwhelming academic reading assignments for EFL/ESL students (Shih, 1992; Evans, 2003), and for international Chinese students (Auchbach and Paxton, 1997; Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002) brings about students anxiety and struggle with reading

Significance of the Study Review of the literature shows inadequate research on reading strategies of a particular group like international Chinese students This study investigates the use and awareness of reading strategies of international Chinese students and provides some potential implications for ESL teachers from the perspective of PCK

Part II Part II Literature Review Literature Review

Reading Strategies Definition: deliberate, goal-oriented attempts to control and modify the reader s effort to decode text, understand words, construct meaning out of text (Afflerbach et al., 2008) Classification Identifying strategies; monitoring strategies; evaluating strategies (Afflerbach,1995) Global strategies; problem-solving strategies; support strategies (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002)

Chinese students learning characteristics: PRIZE TIME! A. focus on factual knowledge B. use textual reading strategies C. employ more cognitive and metacognitive strategies in analytical western educational context D. all of the above

Reading Strategies Chinese students learning characteristics (Ballard, 1996) focus on factual knowledge use textual reading strategies employ more cognitive and metacognitive strategies in analytical western educational context Reading strategies can change in L2 educational context (Macaro,2007) Reading strategy instruction can help to improve reading strategic awareness and use of reading strategies among native English readers (Alexander & Jetton, 2000; Pressley, 2000) and ESL/EFL readers (Paris & Winograd, 1990; Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002, Negmeld, 2011; Qu, 2014 Khoshshima and Samani 2015)

PCK PCK, an integration of knowledge of subject matter, knowledge of learners, context, and pedagogy An essential component of teachers knowledge base, knowledge of teaching

Research on Reading from PCK Irvine-Niakaris & Kiely (2015) summarized PCK for L2 reading instruction as: 1. Pedagogy - knowledge about reading instruction 2. Content - knowledge about text, including knowledge of genre and knowledge of the reading test constructs

Research on Reading from PCK Xu (2015) explained reading strategy instruction from the perspective of PCK from two aspects: 1. Formal Knowledge - knowledge for teachers, principally known and produced by researchers 2. Practical Knowledge - knowledge of teachers, primarily known and produced by teachers themselves

Xus Reading Strategy Instruction Model does NOT include: A. Preparation B. Small Group Work C. Presentation D. Practice E. Evaluation F. Expansion PRIZE TIME!

Xus Reading Strategy Instruction Model 1.Prepation Activating background knowledge 2. Presentation 5. Expansion Explaining Promoting transfer modeling 3. Guiding practice 4. Evaluation Monitoring process Encourage assessment Providing effective feedback

Summary on previous researches Reading strategies, text construct & genre Subject matter No mention of knowledge of learners, an indispensable part of PCK Pedagogy Learners Lang. proficiency Prev. learning experience; sociocultural background; learning styles Effective teaching, based on students cognition level and knowledge level with preconception of learners potential difficulties Reading strategy instruction, educational theory, psychology RSI PCK So as to adapting their teaching to different students abilities and background Contexts Multi-cultural ESL/EFL

Overall This study focuses on gaining knowledge of learners by investigating Chinese students use of reading strategies

Part Part III Methodology Methodology III

Instrument SORS - Survey of Reading Strategies (Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002) Students self-report survey For assessing metacognitive strategic awareness and perceived use of reading strategies Targeted at ESL learners On a Likert-Scale of 5, 1 for lowest use, 5 for highest use Low use (0-2.4), medium use (2.5-3.5), high use (3.5-5.0) Reliability at 0.89, through field tests (Martinez, 2008; Sheorey & Baboczky, 2008; Khoshshima & Samani, 2015)

Global Strategies generalized, intentional reading strategies aimed at setting the stage for the reading act i.e. setting purposes for reading ; making predictions Problem- solving Strategies action plans that allow them to navigate through text skillfully i.e. re-reading ; adjusting reading speed Support Strategies use of outside reference materials i.e. taking notes ; translating

Participants 40 Chinese international students in Maryland Similar English learning experience in China Undergraduates and graduates Grouped into high-grade and low-grade

Part Part IV Survey Results Survey Results IV

Average of GLOB, PROB, SUP and Overall Generally reading strategies, 3.57 (high use (>3.4) Reliance pattern: Problem-solving strategies 3.77 (high use) > Global strategies 3.58 (high use)> Support strategies 3.37 (medium use) 5 4.5 4 3.77 3.58 3.57 3.37 3.5 3 2.5 2 GLOB PROB SUP OVERALL

Low-use Strategies High-use Strategies Put the following into the order you think they belong. What did students use less often (low-use)? What did students use often (high use)? PRIZE TIME!

High-use Strategies Low-use Strategies (P) getting back on track (S) reading aloud (P) adjusting reading speed (S) translating from L2 to L1 (P) re-reading (S) taking notes (G) guessing the content (G) noting text characteristics (G) prior knowledge (G) using tables, figures and pics (G) checking upon guessing (G) using typographic features

Average of GLOB, PROB, SUP in High- Grade Group Overall, high use in each category (3.68) 5 4.5 3.87 4 3.69 3.68 P (3.87) > G (3.69) > S (3.51) 3.51 3.5 3 2.5 2 GLOB PROB SUP OVERALL

Average of GLOB, PROB, SUP in Low-Grade Group Overall Medium use (3.33) 5 4.5 High-use in P (3.57) while Medium G (3.34) and S (3.09) 4 3.57 3.5 3.34 3.33 3.09 3 P > G > S 2.5 2 GLOB PROB SUP OVERALL

Comparison Between Two Groups High-grade Group Low-grade Group 5 5 4.5 4.5 3.87 4 4 3.69 3.57 3.51 3.5 3.5 3.34 3.09 3 3 2.5 2.5 2 2 GLOB PROB SUP GLOB PROB SUP

Percentage Mean of SUP in Two Groups Higher use in High-grade group than in Low-grade group in each category In particular, Support Strategies High-grade, 51.85% Low-grade, 15.38% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% HIGH-GRADE 3.70% 44.44% 51.85% LOW-GRADE 7.69% 76.92% 15.38% L M H

Mean Comparison of Individual Strategies between Two Groups 4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 S3 S4 S5 S14 S15 S18 S20 S25 S28 S29 LOW-GRADE HIGH-GRADE

Difference Similarities (S) paraphrasing (-1.23) (P) re-reading (0) (H) (G) overview before reading (S) translating ( 0) (M) (-0.93) (P) closer attention (-0.76) (G) Using tables, etc. (0.06) (M) (G) Prior Knowledge (0.08) (H) (G) typographic features (-0.75) (S) reading-aloud (0.63) (P) Guessing unknown words (0.09) (H)

Suggestions for ESL Reading Instruction Global strategies: + reviewing text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization + using table, figures and pictures + strong emphasis on critical analysis and evaluation the information presented + taking overview of the text what it is about before reading it (low-grade group)

Suggestions for ESL Reading Instruction Problem- solving strategies: + encourage students to stop from time to time to think about what they are reading + visualize and picture information to help their understanding (low-grade group)

Suggestions for ESL Reading Instruction Support strategies: + taking notes effectively while reading + paraphrasing to better understand what has been read (low-grade group) + prompt them to think in both languages (low- grade group)

Part V Part V Discussion and Recommendations Discussion and Recommendations

Findings and Discussion Students demonstrated: a medium-to-high reading strategic awareness and use of reading strategies reliance on problem-solving strategies more than on global strategies and support strategies a strong use of problem-solving strategies such as re- reading , adjusting speed and global strategies such as prior knowledge , guessing about the content

Findings and Discussion (cont.) Students demonstrated: low use of global strategies such as using tables and other pictures to increase reading , critical analysis and evaluation , and support strategies such as note-taking more use of reading strategies in the high-grade group reading strategies can be effected by previous learning experiences in China, their years of study, and language proficiency

Conclusions from the Perspective of PCK Knowledge of learners: Characteristics of Chinese students reading strategies Their previous language learning experiences in home country Their language proficiency Specific reading strategy instruction can be possibly incorporated into the ESL classroom: Encourage the use of reading strategies where they have strengths Develop the use of reading strategies where they have weaknesses Specific interventions can be provided to help them develop effective reading strategies Increase their reading strategic awareness

How can we help Chinese students (based on information from this study)? A. Learn about their background PRIZE TIME! B. Figure out their use of reading strategies using the SORS survey (or parts of it) C. Make adjustments to strategy instruction accordingly D. All of the above

Thank you! Thank you!

Overall Strategy Ranking (Medium Use) Sub Category Strategy Mean Rank Medium use SUP GLOB SUP PROB SUP GLOB SUP GLOB GLOB PROB SUP GLOB 5. When text becomes difficult, I read aloud to help me understand what I read. 8. I review the text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization. 29. When reading, I translate from English into my native language.? 16. I stop from time to time and think about what I am reading. 2. I take notes while reading to help me understand what I read. 21. I critically analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text. 30. When reading, I think about information in both English and my mother tongue. 15. I use tables, figures, and pictures in text to increase my understanding. 20. I use typographical features like bold face and italics to identify key information. 19. I try to picture or visualize information to help remember what I read. 26. I ask myself questions I like to have answered in the text. 4. I take an overall view of the text to see what it is about before reading it. 2.80 3.00 3.08 3.10 3.23 3.25 3.30 3.35 3.35 3.43 3.45 3.48 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 10 11 12

Overall Strategy Ranking (High Use) High use GLOB SUP SUP GLOB SUP GLOB SUP PROB GLOB PROB GLOB GLOB GLOB PROB GLOB PROB PROB PROB 6. I think about whether the content of the text fits my reading purpose. 18. I paraphrase (restate ideas in my own words) to better understand what I read. 13. I use reference materials (e.g. a dictionary) to help me understand what I read. 17. I use context clues to help me better understand what I am reading. 10. I underline or circle information in the text to help me remember it. 12. When reading, I decide what to read closely and what to ignore. 22. I go back and forth in the text to find relationships among ideas in it. 7. I read slowly and carefully to make sure I understand what I am reading. 1. I have a purpose in mind when I read. 28. When I read, I guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases. 23. I check my understanding when I come across new information. 3. I think about what I know to help me understand what I read. 27. I check to see if my guesses about the text are right or wrong. 14. When text becomes difficult, I pay closer attention to what I am reading. 24. I try to guess what the content of the text is about when I read. 25. When text becomes difficult, I re-read it to increase my understanding. 11. I adjust my reading speed according to what I am reading. 9. I try to get back on track when I lose concentration. 3.53 3.53 3.60 3.63 3.65 3.70 3.70 3.73 3.75 3.75 3.78 3.83 3.85 3.98 4.00 4.00 4.08 4.10 13 13 15 16 17 18 18 20 21 21 23 24 25 26 27 27 29 30