A Study on Inhibiting Factors in EFL Reading Comprehension : A Comparison of Students in Different Grandes

通过对茨城市理工大学一年级和四年级359名学生的数据进行统计分析，探讨了英语阅读中理解失败的原因。学生们回答了一份关于阅读困难的李克特五分制问卷，由33个具体的问卷项目组成，答案从“非常不同意（1分）到非常同意（5分）”不等。问卷数据采用因子分析和方差分析进行计算。通过因子分析，提取了导致阅读理解失败的四个因素，即(a)信息整合(b)图式使用(c)自下而上处理(d)阅读英语动机。进一步的方差分析显示，一年级学生比四年级学生更重视他们在(a)信息整合和(b)阅读动机方面的问题。另一方面，四年级学生比一年级学生更强烈地感觉到他们在(a)图式使用和(b)自下而上加工方面存在问题。结果表明：(a)四年级学生更习惯于阅读说明文，他们比一年级学生更清楚自己在自上而下和自下而上加工方面的弱点；(b)在对一年级学生进行阅读理解教学时，需要更多地考虑学习者的动机。

Causes of comprehension failure in EFL reading were investigated based on statistical analyses of the data obtained from 359 students who belonged to the first- and fourth- year of Ibaraki National College of Technology. The students answered a five-point Likert scale questionnaire on reading difficulties consisting of 33 specific questionnaire items with answers ranging from "strongly disagree (1 point) to "strongly agree (5 points)". The data obtained from the questionnaire was calculated using factor analysis and ANOVA. As a result of factor analysis, four factors of reading comprehension failure, (a) integration of information (b) use of schemata (c) bottom-up processing, and (d) motivation for reading English, were extracted. Further analysis using ANOVA revealed that first-year students take their problems more seriously than fourth-year students in (a) integration of information and (b) motivation for reading. On the other hand, fourth-year students feel more strongly than first-year students that they have problems in (a) use of schemata and (b) bottom-up processing.The results suggest that (a) fourth-year students, who are more accustomed to reading the expository prose, are better aware of their weaknesses in both top-down and bottom-up processing than first year students, and (b) more consideration for learners' motivation is needed in teaching reading comprehension to first-year students.