An Investigation into English Reading Motivations and Strategies

【Abstract】With questionnaire， the study investigated 128 ethnic minority students preferences for English reading motivations and strategies， correlations of their motivations， strategies with scores， as well as differences between the high proficiency group and the low proficiency group. The descriptive statistics showed that the subjects favoured reading for developing most. Biviriate Correlations Analysis indicated that their motivation of reading for developing and interest in reading were significantly positively correlated to their scores， but other factors were not. Independent-Samples T Test proved that the high proficiency group were much better in reading for developing， for grades and interest in reading， and there were no significant differences in their English reading ability and strategies between the two groups.

【Key words】English reading motivations； English reading strategies； ethnic minority students

I Research background

Nowadays， there are more and more Chinese people learning English because of its unquestionable importance. In English learning， reading is one of the most important aspects. Carrell and Grabe （2002） stated that reading ability of a foreign language is essential to language acquisition， academic studies and personal development. In China， Dong Ya-fen （2003）， Wu Gu-hua （2000）， Hu Wen-zhong （1999）， Li Guan-yi （2003） and He Qi-xin （2000） all strongly asserted that reading is a key means to English learning for most Chinese English learners （Xiao Li-quan， 2006）. According to English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School （Trial Edition）， Chinese high school students are required to do large amount of English reading. Besides， in National Matriculation English Test， reading comprehension takes up more than 60% of the total 150 points. Reading is “a psycholinguistic guessing game in which the reader reconstructs … a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display” （Goodman， 1967， 1971， cited by Carrell & Eisterhold， 2006）. It is influenced by many readers factors， such as motivation， individual cognition and prior knowledge （Carrell & Grabe， 2002）. Anderson （2009） also put forward verifying reading strategies and building motivation in English teaching. Hence motivations and strategies are highly significant in English reading.

Systematic research on motivation began with Gardner and Lambert （Yang Lian-rui et al.， 2007）. They （1972） classified language learning motivation into instrumental and integrative motivation and made AMTB （Attitude/Motivation Test Battery） to test foreign language learning motivation （Gardner & MacIntyre， 2006）. Subsequently， there are numerous researchers （such as Ellis， 1999， D?rnyei， 2005） contributing a lot to studying foreign language learning motivation.

The research into foreign language learning motivation in China began from the 1980s. In the past several decades， Dai Man-chun （2000）， Wu He-ping （2001） and Qin Xiao-qing （2002） concluded the development of foreign language learning motivation theory. Wu Yi-an et al. （1993）， Wen Qiu-fang （1996， 2001）， Gao Yi-hong et al. （2003a， 2003b）， Li Xin-ru （2015） and Cao Feng-long and Li Ke （2015） applied the theory to study Chinese English teaching and learning. Xu Yu-long （1998） focused on school， learner and instructional factors on Chinese learners reading proficiency in English. Ying Hui-lan and Xu Hui-fang （2001） put forward that students motivation in English reading course are different. Yuan Yong-fang （2003） found that the relevance between motivational strength and reading proficiency is significant.

Strategy is another essential factor in foreign language learning. From the 1970s on， many researchers （such as OMalley & Chamot， 1990， Cohen， 1998， cited by Yang Lian-rui et al.， 2007） have made great contributions to studying it. Oxford and Griffiths （2014） provided a panoramic view of the researches. Johnson （1998） held that reading strategy is a process of action to solve difficulties in reading （Meng Yue， 2004）. Hosenfeld （1976）， Olshavsky （1977）， Knight， Padron and Waxman （1985）， Block （1986） and Oxford （2008） also presented the categories and studied the use of reading strategies. Larsen-Freeman and Long （2000） found that extroverts use the affective strategies more frequently but less metacognitive strategies in reading than the introverts.

Studies on English learning strategies conducted by Chinese researchers started from the 1980s. Since then， a good many scholars made great effort into the research. Wen Qiu-fang and Wang Li-fei （2004） and Zheng Yu-rong （2011） reviewed empirical studies on English learning strategies by Mainland Chinese scholars. Ni Qing-quan （2008） provided a whole picture of forty years research abroad and home. Yang Xiao-hu and Zhang Wen-peng （2002）， Liu Dan-dan （2002） and Liu Yi-chun （2002） investigated students reading strategies use and the correlations. Lǚ Zhong-she and Tu Yuan-cheng （1998） and Meng Yue （2004） made the reading strategy training and got that reading strategy training can improve the students English reading ability.

From the literature review， it is true that there are a lot of studies on English learning motivation and strategy in China in the past decades， but researches into English reading motivations and strategies are inadequate， and those concerning that of ethnic minority students in senior high school are even rarer. It is expected that the results of present study are useful to the English teaching and learning in similar senior middle schools in ethnic minority areas.

Ⅱ Research Design

2.1 Main research questions

①What are main kinds of the subjects English reading motivations and strategies？ ②What are differences between the good and weak participants English reading motivations and use of reading strategies？

2.2 Subjects

Subjects in this investigation are students from four natural classes of Grade Three in Mojiang No.1 Middle School of Puer City. Of Grade Three students， ethnic minority students are more than 78%. There were 190 questionnaires delivered in total and 181 pieces collected， among which 169 responses were valid. The information showed that 128 ethnic minority students （47 boys and 81 girls） were included.

2.3 Instruments

The questionnaire includes two parts： the first part is subjects personal information （the gender， the nationality， the English scores in the mid-term test） and there are two inventories in the second part： the English reading motivation questionnaire adapted from questionnaire invented by Professor Gao Yi-hong （2003a） and made up of 30 items； the English reading strategy questionnaire formulated according to the learning strategy inventory put forward by Oxford （2008）， including 56 statements. All the items are in Chinese and designed as five-point scale scoring ranging from 1 （‘completely not coincident） to 5 （‘completely coincident）.

Ⅲ The Results

3.1 Results of descriptive statistics

With SPSS 11.5， factor analysis shows that KMO of English reading motivations is 0.904， and the significance of Bartletts Test of Sphericity is 0.000， and that KMO of English reading strategies is 0.887， and the significance of Bartletts Test of Sphericity is 0.000. The values indicate that the collected data are meaningful. The reliability analysis obtains that Cronbachs Alpha of the English reading motivation questionnaire is 0.73， and that of the English reading strategy questionnaire is 0.96， which dedicate that the data of both questionnaires are very reliable in the view of Yang Duan-he （2004）.

3.2 Preferences of ethnic minority subjects for English reading motivations and strategies， and correlations of their English reading motivations， strategies with achievements

From the collected data， the ethnic minority students preferences are as follows： reading for developing （3.315）， English reading ability （3.075）， reading for grades （2.768）， interest in reading （2.712）； cognitive strategies （2.854）， social-affective strategies （2.830）， metacognitive strategies （2.805）.

For the ethnic minority participants， correlations between reading for developing （0.614（**））， interest in reading （0.504（**）） and achievements are positively significant. However， their English reading ability （0.033）， cognitive strategies （-0.171） and social-affective strategies （-0.159） are not significantly relevant to achievements， while the motivation of reading for grades （-0.251（**）） and metacognitive strategies （-0.183（*）） are significantly negatively correlated to achievements.

3.3 Differences of English reading motivations and strategies between the high and low proficiency groups of ethnic minority participants

According to the subjects English scores （150 in total） in the mid-term test， the first 25% students were divided into high achievement group and the last 25% into the low group as suggested by Qin Xiao-qing （2003）， so there were 32 ethnic minority participants in each group.

The means from the questionnaires hint that the high proficiency group favour reading for developing （3.978）， English reading abilities （3.006）， interest in reading （2.984） and then reading for grades （2.319）， and they apply cognitive strategies （2.65）， social-affective strategies （2.619） and metacognitive strategies （2.594） closely. The low proficiency group prefer English reading ability （2.987）， reading for grades （2.937）， reading for developing （2.659） and interest in reading （2.444）， and it is interesting that their means of English reading strategies are all more than the formers： social-affective strategies （2.916）， cognitive strategies （2.853） and metacognitive strategies （2.831）.

Via Levenes Test for Equality of Variances and t-test for Equality of Means， two groups beliefs of their English reading ability and strategies are similar， and the high proficiency group prefer reading for developing and interest in reading while the low attach more importance of English reading to grades.

Ⅳ The Discussion and Conclusion

The study proved that ethnic minority students of the subjects read English mainly for their developing in the future and wholly it is at upper middle level， and overall their beliefs of English reading ability， the motivation of reading English for grades， interest in English reading and the use of cognitive strategies， social-affective strategies， metacognitive strategies are in the lower-middle level. Besides， the study indicates that their motivation of reading for developing and interest in English reading are significantly positively correlated to their scores， but reading for grades is significantly negatively relevant to the proficiency， while their beliefs of English reading ability and the use of strategies are not significantly correlated to achievements. The discrepancies between the high proficiency group and the low are also compared and the former are remarkably better in reading for developing， for grades and interest in reading， and there are no significant differences in their beliefs of English reading ability and the use of English reading strategies. The investigation intimates that English reading motivations and strategies do influence English study， so promoting students motivations and training their reading strategies are very important in English teaching， especially helping them develop correct attitudes to scores and interest in English， and appropriately apply reading strategies.

However， it is evident that there are some limitations in the study. In further study， there will be more participants from different grades or even different schools， and if possible， more ways will be used to study students English learning at different periods to make them learn English better and help English teachers work more effectively.

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About the author：

Yao Yong-hong（1982.11～），Male， Han nationality， Yunnan Songming， master， first grade teache；

Shen Shi-jin， Male， Han nationality，Yunnan Luoping， master， lecturer， research direction： English teaching， intercultural communication.