Abstract

In the process of learning English, reading plays an essential role in improving EFL learners’ comprehensive language competence. Other than linguistic knowledge and background knowledge, reading strategy is also considered as an important factor to be tested in English reading comprehension test. Previous studies have investigated the influence of gender, proficiency level and other variables on university and senior high school students’ using condition of reading strategies in English reading comprehension test. However, few studies paid attention to junior high school students and no one investigated the gap between the reading strategies tested and actually employed by Grade 9 EFL students in English reading comprehension tests of Senior High School Entrance Examination in Hangzhou. Therefore, this study aims to explore three questions as following:

1. What reading strategies are mainly tested in English reading comprehension parts of Senior High School Entrance Examination in Hangzhou?

2. What reading strategies are actually used by Grade 9 students in English reading comprehension tests?

3. What is the gap between the reading strategies tested and actually used by Grade 9 students in English reading comprehension tests?

The participants were 65 students from Jialvyuan Middle School, Grade 9 Class 3 and Class 4. They were asked to complete the task of reading comprehension test and questionnaire. After that, the data were carefully analyzed and the findings are as follows:

1. In English reading comprehension parts of Senior High School Entrance Examination in Hangzhou, skimming, scanning, guessing meaning of words or sentences, inferring and summarizing are chiefly tested.

2. Students in Grade 9 are good at using reading strategies of skimming and guessing meaning of words or sentences while scanning and summarizing are a little difficult for them. However, the strategy of inferring is the most difficult one for them to use. 

3. From the previous two findings, we can see that there is a gap between the reading strategies employed by Grade 9 EFL students and tested in English reading comprehension tests for them. The reading strategy of inferring is lacked seriously.

4. Comparing students’ actual use of reading strategies and their using frequency, the writer finds that there is a positive correlation between the actual use of guessing meaning of words or sentences, scanning and summarizing and their using frequency, for the accuracy of those items aiming to test these reading strategies increases while students use them more frequently.

Therefore, suggestions are offered according to the findings. Firstly, English teachers are supposed to highlight the teaching of reading strategy of inferring in reading class. Secondly, students’ awareness of using the reading strategy of skimming should be raised. Thirdly, English teachers should increase their monitoring of students’ use of reading strategies. Fourthly, other reading strategies commonly tested in test like guessing, scanning and summarizing should not be neglected.

Key words: reading strategy; English reading comprehension test; Grade 9; correlation; influence