ABSTRACT

Many experts from different fields have explored a lot about barriers and strategies in autonomous reading of English Majors at home and abroad. They mainly focus on different perspectives of the necessity and importance of autonomous reading. However, not enough books and thesis dwell on the topic in question and do not make a deep exploration into it in the undergraduate education. This thesis digs into our English majors’ daily conditions of autonomous reading and autonomous learning, and by means of questionnaire tries to perceive our students’ current situation on autonomous reading. Based on the analysis of the survey, barriers in autonomous reading are pointed out and relevant suggestions are offered. 

The whole thesis is divided into five parts: The first part is introduction, giving a brief introduction about this research’s background and meaning of research. The second part is literature review, illustrating what the experts have explored about autonomous reading and its barriers and strategies. The third part is methodology, the method of questionnaire is adopted to design questions and illustrate purposes. The fourth part is results and discussions, analyzing and discussing the results of the questionnaire in detail.

The results show that most of students who have certain consciousness of autonomous reading in their minds have realized the necessity and importance of autonomous reading. However, because of the impacts of traditional educational modes, they do not seek deep comprehension or practice in it. In a sense, this kind of condition has become the bad consequences under the traditional educational mode, and it also reflects our students are insufficient in autonomous reading. 

Finally, the limitation and implication of this research are pointed out, and the necessity for deeper exploration is also presented.

Key words: autonomous reading；autonomous learning；barriers；strategies

CONTENTS

摘要

ABSTRACT

I. Introduction-4

II. Literature Review-6

A.-Definition of Autonomous Reading-6

B. The Importance of Autonomous Reading-6

1. Formation of Knowledge Structure-6

2. Development of Meta-Cognitive Knowledge-7

3. Lifelong Learning in English-7

C.-Studies on Autonomous Reading-8

D. Studies on Barriers in Autonomous Reading-9

E. Strategies of Autonomous Reading-11

III. Research Methodology-14

A.-Subjects-14

B. Research Design-14

IV. Results and Discussion-15

V. Conclusion-27

A. Major Findings-27

B. Implications-28

1. Implication for Teaching-28

2. Implication for English Majors-29

3.Suggestions for Further Research-30

Bibliography-31

Appendix-32

Acknowledgments-34