TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……............................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................... iv

LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................. viii

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................. ix

CHINESE ABSTRACT............................................................................................ x

ENGLISH ABSTRACT............................................................................................ xi

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1

1.1 Motivation and Goal.................................................................................... 1

1.2 Purpose of the Study.................................................................................... 3

1.3 Significance of the Study............................................................................. 5

1.4 Definition of Terms...................................................................................... 5

2. LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................... 7

2.1 Reading as an important skill...................................................................... 7

2.1.1 The Perspectives of Reading............................................................. 7

2.1.2 Models of Reading............................................................................. 8

2.2 Reading Strategies.................................................................................... 10

2.2.1 The Role of Reading Strategies....................................................... 11

2.2.2 Categories of Reading Strategies..................................................... 12

2.3 Reading Strategies Instruction.................................................................. 13

2.3.1 Transaction Reading Strategies across L1 and L2........................... 14

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 2.3.2 Explicit Strategy Instruction............................................................ 15

2.4 Selected Reading Strategies …………..................................................... 17

2.5 Research on Reading Strategies................................................................ 20

2.5.1 Research on ESL/EFL Reading Strategies Instruction.................... 20

2.5.2 Research on EFL Reading Strategies in Taiwan.............................. 21

2.6 Research Questions................................................................................... 24

2.7 Research Hypotheses................................................................................ 24

3. METHOD......................................................................................................... 26

3.1 Participants............................................................................................... 26

3.2 Instruments............................................................................................... 26

3.2.1 Materials of the Strategies Instruction............................................. 27

3.2.2 A Pretest and Posttest in Reading Comprehension.......................... 27

3.2.3 Questionnaires.................................................................................. 29

3.3 Procedures................................................................................................. 30

3.4 Data Analysis............................................................................................ 36

4. RESULTS.......................................................................................................... 38

4.1 Effects of Explicit Reading Strategies Instruction on Students’

Reading Comprehension........................................................................... 38

4.2 Effects of Explicit Reading Strategies Instruction on Different

Types of Students’ Reading Comprehension............................................ 40

4.3 The Frequency of Students’ Use of English Reading Strategies

Before and After the Instruction............................................................... 44

4.3.1 Comparison of Students’ Use of Reading Strategies before the

Instruction........................................................................................ 45

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 4.3.2 Comparison of Students’ Use of Reading Strategies after the

Instruction........................................................................................ 48

4.4 Students’ Responses to the Explicit Strategy Instruction..........................52

4.4.1 Students’ Responses to Question 1: My Reflection on Learning

the Instructed Strategies................................................................... 53

4.4.2 Students’ Responses to Question 2: My Evaluation of Applying

the Instructed Strategies to the Reading Comprehension

Tests................................................................................................. 56

4.4.3 Students’ Responses to Question 3: My Belief in the Effect of

Explicit Reading Strategies Instruction........................................... 59

4.4.4 Students’ Responses to Question 4: My Attitude toward the way

to teach the Instructed Strategies..................................................... 61

4.4.5 Students’ Responses to Question 5: My Liking of the Instructed

Strategies......................................................................................... 62

4.4.6 Students’ Responses to Question 6: My Comments on the Strategy

Instruction....................................................................................... 65

5. CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 67

5.1 Overview of Major Findings in this Study............................................... 67

5.1.1 Summary of Major Findings............................................................ 67

5.1.2 Discussion of the Findings.............................................................. 69

5.2 Pedagogical Implications......................................................................... 71

5.3 Limitation of this Study........................................................................... 74

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research............................................................ 75

REFERENCES........................................................................................................ 77

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APPENDIXES.........................................................................................................88

A. Reading Comprehension Test.....................................................................88

B. Questionnaire I: Students’ Use of English Reading Strategies...................99

C. Questionnaire I: Students’ Use of English Reading Strategies

(English Version).....................................................................................101

D. Questionnaire II: Students’ Responses toward the Explicit Reading

Strategies Instruction...............................................................................103

E. Questionnaire II: Students’ Responses toward the Explicit Reading

Strategies Instruction (English Version)..................................................105

F. Articles for Explicit reading strategies Instruction.....................................108

G. Timetable of Explicit Reading Strategies Instruction................................116

H. Original Grades of the Reading Comprehension Tests.............................117

I. Original Responses to the Questionnaires I-A............................................121

J. Original Responses to the Questionnaires I-B............................................123

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