The Relative Effects Of Fluent Reading And Recitation On English Reading Ability Of Chinese College Students

Reading ability plays an important role in learning English. It is not only an important index used to measure students’ English learning, but also one of the teaching objectives and priorities. Though traditional recitation and fluent reading have proved effective in improving Chinese learners of English and English natives’ reading ability, respectively, there is so far no study that examines both methods simultaneously. This study intends to investigate the relative effects of recitation and fluent reading on English reading of Chinese College students. So the purpose of this thesis is to answer:(1) Can recitation improve Chinese college students’ English reading ability? (2) Can fluent reading improve Chinese college students’ English reading ability? (3) Which method can better improve Chinese college students’ reading ability? (4) How do students perceive recitation and fluent reading? To answer these questions, this thesis adopted teaching experiment method, comparative method and questionnaire method. One hundred and forty-one freshmen of three parallel class participated in this two-month experiment. The three parallel classes were recitation class, fluent reading class and control class. Recitation and fluent reading classes received training four times a week using different methods, while the control class went without intervention.After the study, it is found that:(1) Recitation and fluent reading both could effectively improve Chinese college students’ English reading ability. (2) Compared with fluent reading, recitation could better improve Chinese college students’English reading ability. (3) Fluent reading done better in improving Chinese college students’ pronunciation and intonation than recitation, and Chinese college students were more interested in fluent reading. (4) Both methods could enhance Chinese college students’ confidence. But recitation was more effective in helping students understand the passage and learning words and expressions.Finally, the thesis concluded by putting forward suggestions for future research and practice for teachers and researchers.