Bottom-up Or Top-down: A Case Study Of The Chinese EFL Learners’ Reading Test-taking Strategics

Based on analytical results from international research projects on the impact ofcandidate-related variables of high-stakes English tests over two decades, Chinese test-takersof English as a foreign language (EFL) are found to favor testing items involving lower-levelor bottom-up processing skills while approaching reading tasks. Current thinking in the fieldof language testing, however, emphasizes the need for taking into account the processinginvolved in the test-taking situation and not solely the product. Therefore, it seems of greatnecessity to examine in depth1) whether the test performance pertains to the use of readingstrategies employed by the candidates in the reading assessment,2) whether these ChineseEFL readers have the same inclination to adopt bottom-up reading strategies, and3) what arethe root problems that have been hindering the Chinese EFL reading proficiency.Within the framework of this study, reading comprehension in a second language (L2) isa multivariate skill involving a complex combination and integration of a variety of cognitive,linguistic, and nonlinguistic skills ranging from the very basic lower-level processing abilitiesto higher-level skills of syntax, semantics, and discourse, and to still higher-order knowledgeof text representation and the integration of ideas with the reader’s global knowledge.Accordingly, reading strategies refer to the mental processes or behaviors that languagelearners employ in L2acquisition, use, or testing situations. Thus, five prominent areas ofcurrent research are reviewed as the theoretical basis of this study: language component skills,psycholinguistic processing models (including bottom-up, top-down, and interactive readingmodels), schema theory, reading comprehension assessment and strategies, and linguistic anddiscourse influence on reading.In order to examine the consistency of Chinese EFL readers’ inclination of readingstrategy use and the real effect of testing strategies applied, an exploratory study was carriedout with thirty first-year students studying EFL at Liaoning Shihua University by means ofquestionnaire, interviews, retrospective verbal report, and analyses. Based on theirperformance on the classroom reading comprehension tests as well as teacherrecommendations, participants fell into two groups of lower-level (LL) and higher-level (HL) L2readers. To begin with, a questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze quantitatively L2readers’ strategy-related reading difficulties and the inclination of mental processing modelwhen addressing a reading task. Then, to explore into the L2readers’ thought process andpsychological state of mind, retrospective think-aloud verbal data were obtained asparticipants attempted four College English Test Band Four (CET-4) reading passages andresponded to multiple-choice comprehension questions. Finally, individual interviews withtwo students of HL and LL readers were conducted to dig into the contributory conditions forthe Chinese L2readers’ strategy use tendency and the factors undermining the effectivenessof test-taking strategy practice. Through both quantitative and qualitative analyses built onlinguistic and discourse studies and schema theory, we arrive at the following conclusions:1)bottom-up processing is not the proclivity of most Chinese L2readers as all the participantsshow an active application of top-down test-taking strategies;2) Chinese L2readers areenjoying some favorable conditions for acquisition and practice of top-down strategies sincethe current reading teaching trend seems to emphasize excessively top-down approaches;3)the failure to utilize top-down testing strategies is due largely to their inadequate bottom-upskills, misinterpreting syntactic and discourse structures, and inefficient reading rate.Pedagogically, the findings are intended to arouse the attention of Chinese EFL readinginstructors to the point that L2reading instruction emphasis should be oriented towardenabling readers to acquire these basic skills, which should, in turn, improve top-downprocessing. Due to the limitations of the author’s personal ability, however, the function ofthis study is mostly exploratory and illustrative. Therefore, it is hoped that the findings of thisstudy would be inspiring for further discussions and research efforts in related areas.