Effects of Reading Strategy Training on Japanese EFL Learners

Abstract

This paper describes how reading strategy instruction affects the reading strategy use and English ability of Japanese EFL college students. For 30 minutes of each class during the first semester of an English course, 45 lower-intermediate proficiency EFL college students were instructed in four major reading strategies: phrase reading, inferring referents, inferring unknown words, and understanding main ideas/summary. A reading test and a questionnaire to examine the frequency of strategy use were conducted before and immediately after the instruction. The findings revealed significant differences in frequency of strategy use between the instructed group and control group, although there was no significant differences in reading ability between them. Further analysis of instructed strategy use showed that frequency of inferring referents and identifying main ideas/summary had increased significantly. Other strategies such as activating background knowledge, paying attention to images/pictures, and grammar rules were also frequently used.