Reading strategy use and proficiency of EFL students in China

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between reading strategy use and reading proficiency among Chinese university students of English as a foreign language.  Participants were 241 students at two universities in northwest China: one Tier I university, and one Tier II university.  Strategy use was measured using Mohktari and Sheorey’s (2002) Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS).  Data analysis was conducted using quantitative measures, including bivariate correlation, multiple regression, and multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA).  Study results provided evidence that a significant relationship exists between reading strategy use and proficiency.  Results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that  (a) problem-solving strategies and global strategies are predictive of proficiency score among the study population, and (b) support strategy use is negatively correlated with reading proficiency score.  Results of the MANOVA revealed differences in strategy use and proficiency among students at the two different universities.  Taken together, these findings add support to previous research that has demonstrated a linkage between reading strategy use and reading proficiency overall, while also revealing a complex interaction between reading strategy use and proficiency among university students in China.