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1.Introduction
Many linguists and language researchers regard reading as an important means of improving the level of language. Cawell(1998:1-7)believed that, in the world, most of the English learners in terms of taking English as foreign language will find that reading is the main reason why they learn English. Dong Yafang(2003,2-6), a professor, said “Reading is the main resource of language input and accumulation. Even though in English-speaking countries, the citizen also need to read books or newspapers to strengthen the ability to use language. If they do not, it is difficult for them to deal with the competition.” Therefore, reading not only can enhance the English learner’s ability but also 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供can strengthen the English learner’s language level. According to Eskey (1940:315-321) “Reading is a necessary activity in the world. At the same time, it is the means to absorb the knowledge and recognize the world. Reading is the basic to all branch of knowledge and it is the only way to master foreign language”. Meanwhile the importance of reading can be found in three perspectives. First, reading as a main way to get information is a vital way to learn foreign language well. Second, as a base of language competence some reading skills needed to be explained by teachers to students. Third, the ability of understanding is another important aspect of learning foreign language. (Huang Yongping, Li Qingping, 2001) As a result, reading is an essential skill for learners of English as a second language, especially for English major. Then, what is the real situation of after-class reading in the English majors? How do they solve the difficulties and problems in reading? What is their attitude toward after-class reading? Those questions are expected to be answered through the survey which was done in English Department of GZUN (Guizhou University for Nationalities). Another purpose of this thesis is to offer some suggestions and advices for students when they face problems while reading as well as provide some information for teacher’s teaching.
2.Methodology
2.1 Subjects :
The participants of this survey are all students of English Department at GZUN. All together, 183 students have taken part in this survey. The subjects age from 18 to 23 and they are divided into two groups. The first group is the students of grade one and grade two. The second group is the students of grade three and grade four. In this study, the first group is called junior group which includes 85 students. The second group called senior group has 98 students.
2.2.Questionnaire :
The questionnaire consists of 25 questions which are concerned about reading attitude, purpose, strategy, sources, effectiveness, and 本论文由英语论文网 www.51lunwen.org整理提供reading barriers in the after-class reading. Each question has 5 choices as follow:
1: “I never or almost never do this”
2: “I do this only occasionally”
3: “I sometimes do this ( about 50% of the time)”
4: “I usually do this”
5: “I always or almost always do this"
2.3. Data collection:
This survey was carried out on 12th march 2008. Participants have been informed that this survey has nothing to do with their academic records or exam. It aims to collecting data for the study in order to finish the author’s thesis. 183 questionnaires were handed out and all of them were collected.
3.Findings
After collecting the questionnaires, Excel 2003 is applied to analysis