A Study on Strategies-Based Reading Instruction at College Level

This thesis intends to change the traditional English foreign language reading teaching pattern which focuses mainly on structural analysis, a representative in many Chinese universities. It studies the practical value of strategies in reading interaction and tries to explore a more effective way of teaching reading to students at college level.The aim of the study is to find out (a) if a strategies-based teaching approach to teaching reading will improve reading comprehension. (b) if the reading strategies used interact with the level of English proficiency of the students.The study investigates, with a questionnaire at the beginning of the experiment, the perceptions of college students in China in reading English. The experiment was carried out during a course, which was conducted under a 16-week period semester. The statistical analysis of a survey test on the effect of a strategic reading instruction indicates that strategies-based reading instruction aids in reading comprehension. The questionnaire for the experiment group after the survey test proves an improvement in students’ reading attitude and proficiency. The result is of some help in choosing teaching materials and methods for the improvement and efficiency of teaching reading.Key words: Reading strategies; Reading comprehension; Language proficiency; Teaching Approac