Motivating foreign students' learning based on their reading skills: the example of foreign students studying in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China

Abstract

This study examines the reading comprehension skills of foreign students to identify the factors that influence their ability to read in a foreign language. A total of 174 Mongolian students from universities in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China have been participated in a questionnaire survey to assess their reading abilities. Among the participants, 70.1% were found to have an intermediate level of Chinese language proficiency, suggesting that the findings of this study are credible, as the participants represent a homogeneous proficiency group. While these students self-assessed their Chinese reading ability at 81.61%, actual results varied. Specifically, 54.2% reported difficulties with scientific texts, 32.18% found literary works challenging, and 31.03% struggled with newspaper articles. These findings suggest that insufficient knowledge of scientific vocabulary is a major impediment to improving overall reading ability.

Keywords

• reading proficiency
• comprehension strategies
• motivation
• independent reading