Investigating Reading Strategies in the CET-6 Reading Comprehension Test for Chinese Non-English Major Students

Abstract: Although substantial research has been conducted into reading strategies, the difference between the reading strategies the students think they learn in class and the reading strategies the teacher considers she teaches is given little critical attention in the academic world. This study aims to investigate the relationship between non-English major students’ application of seven reading strategies for the CET-6 test and the teacher’s formal instruction in these with a view to improving teaching practices at university level.   A reading comprehension test and a questionnaire were given to 16 non-English major sophomore graduate students to establish what reading strategies are most and least utilized by students. A questionnaire was also presented to the teacher to ascertain what reading strategies she had taught. It is established that there are differences in the students’ and the teacher’s perceptions of what reading strategies have been taught and their suitability in the CET-6 reading comprehension text.