6533b834fe1ef96bd129dd06

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Constructing Meaning and Knowledge Acquisition from Expository Texts through Self-Regulated Reading Activities in a Second Language.

subject

description

The underlying objective of the research reported in this thesis is to find an effective means of improving our students reading comprehension of expository texts written in English, and thereby provide them with the resources and the self-confidence necessary to make more productive and autonomous use of the vast quantities of information now available for their own academic professional and cultural purposes.After a general overview of the main issues, the thesis examines the current situation of foreign language learning in higher education in Spain, noting the reasons for the acknowledged importance of English in its role as an international language, and defining the sorts of knowledge and skills that are considered to be involved in 'knowing' a language and how these can be assessed, with particular reference to reading. From there, it goes on to explore some of the cognitive and knowledge variables involved in the reading process, and discusses some of the difficulties native Spanish readers may find in each of these areas, especially when reading expository texts. Following that, the results of a study carried out into the use and awareness of comprehension strategies by Spanish university students when reading expository texts in Spanish and in English are presented. The aim of this study is to identify the comprehension strategies employed in both languages in the context of specific reading tasks, and thus add to our knowledge of how students go about processing texts. Finally, the thesis investigates whether groups of native Spanish university students with a low-intermediate level of English can be trained to engage in self-regulated constructive reading activities when reading expository texts written in English, with a view to (i) enhancing their comprehension of such texts, and (ii) improving their long-term learning of the subject content of the texts. Self-regulated constructive reading activities are operationalised as self-explaining, note-taking and asking questions, and the group training takes place as normal classroom procedure.