Exploring learners' self-directed learning strategies in academic reading: a multiple case study of English-medium high school students in mainland China

The use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has rapidly increased at the school level internationally and locally. In China, more and more high-school students are expected to read academic texts (e.g., science and history) in English in order to acquire both content and language. However, students, particularly those with limited exposure to academic English, may encounter numerous challenges in reading. For instance, students fail to understand how main ideas are developed throughout the text, or struggle with identifying key ideas through analyzing the discourse features of a particular discipline and using appropriate reading strategies.

Limited research has explored EMI learners’ self-directed learning strategies in academic reading. This study adopted a self-directed perspective to investigate EMI learners’ strategic behaviours in their reading. Drawing multiple sources of data (i.e., survey, interviews, and students’ reading journals) and theoretical frameworks such as RAND (Kirby, 2003), DRIVE (Cartwright & Duke, 2019) reading models, core constructs of disciplines (Goldman et al., 2016), self-directed learning theories (e.g., Knowles, 1975), we explore what kinds of self-directed strategies these Chinese students use when reading English disciplinary text.

Our finding shows that these EMI learners’ self-directed strategies are mainly process-based (e.g., goal-setting, planning, and evaluating), trait-based (e.g., autonomy, motivation regulation, and self-control), and disciplinary-specific strategies. The students’ interviews also reveal their strategic behaviours are dynamic and individualized decision-making processes, which can be explained by textual, environmental, and personal factors.

This study informs our understanding of the kinds of self-directed reading strategies that help EMI teachers develop instructional approaches on what and how to capitalize on these students’ grass-rooting reading behaviours to construct a self-directed reading environment in order to benefit their reading comprehension and support long-term disciplinary literacy skills. Pedagogical implications will be discussed.