“Word Guessing Strategies in College English Reading”

This study examines the use of strategies in reading of English text by non-native (English)
speakers. It is comprised of a literature review, and a survey of Xianjian college students.

The overall design of the paper was very good, and the review of literature seemed very thorough.
The research srvey itself, as the author acknowledges, had statistical and other limitations, but was
a very good extension of prior work done by professional educators. It seems to provide a number
of useful suggestions for English language teachers.

The author expressed herself well. The subjects of discussion – language structure and statistics –
is very complex, and on the whole she used complex vocabulary very well. One of the main
linguistic challenges was in the description of surveys, and survey results. Description of the
conduct of a survey is usually done in the past tense, while description of the results is usually in
the present tense. However, there are exceptions: we discuss sufvey forms themselves in the
present tense. There was also difficulty with the use of “a” and “the”, something which is a
frustrating combination of grammar rules and cultural conventions.

Personally, I thought the paper very good, and very interesting, and merits a first class mark.. The
ability of an undergraduate student to undertake such a complex paper in a foreign language
should be lauded. Despite many editing suggestions, I think the author;s’ grasp of written English
is commendable. Good job!

Three Questions:

1. Why did upper level students avoided guessing words more than lower level students? (Table
3-5)?
2. How can teachers best encourage students to make guesses (and perhaps be wrong), instead of
always using dictionaries?
3. What suggestions do you have for foreign teachers teaching reading?