Does exposure to English fiction and non—fiction predicts English language learning achievement？

【Abstract】The research mainly aimed to find out that whether students who had access to large amounts of English fiction and non-fiction texts such as English novel， science books or newspapers would get higher results in English exams than other learners. In addition， the research tried to figure out what kinds of English fiction and non-fiction texts enjoy tremendous popularity among English language learners. Questionnaire and interview were used to collect data. A total of 62 students in the third grade in English major of Anhui Agriculture University in China were involved in the questionnaire research. The TEM 4 English national test was used to judge studentsEnglish level.

【Key words】English fiction； non-fiction； predicts； English language

【作者簡介】王悠然（1989.7-），女，漢族，安徽合肥人，安徽經濟管理學院，碩士研究生，助教，研究方向：教學法。

1. Research background

As English grows popular around the world， whether reading more English materials does a great deal to help language learning raises a lot of discussions. Harry and Edith （1991） demonstrate that of a large number of background factors of which make a contribution to success in language learning， the extent of active exposure to reading is foremost. Since a number of studies have shown that the second language learning process depends on activating contextual background， it might be possible that reading English fiction and non-fiction texts serves English language learners needs of acquiring more knowledge about western culture in order to enlarge their background information.

2. Frame of research

Main research questions

This research is designed to figure out the following questions：

（1）How much English fiction and non-fiction have English major students in China been exposed to？

（2）Is it true that students who are more familiar with English fiction and non-fiction texts tend to get better results in English language tests？

（3）What kind of English fiction and non-fiction texts enjoy tremendous popularity among students and why？

3. Participants

The research is conducted in the English department of a foreign language school in Anhui Agriculture University in China. This is a comprehensive university and is not considered to be a ‘top university. In other words， it represents the common or average English learning situation in English major students in China. Students are on the same level when they enter into the English department. A total of 75 students in third grade are involved in this research. They are chosen as the focus group because they receive national English test results in 2012. The test is designed for students who specialize in English and is called TEM 4. However， since the research is conducted in one university， the result will have some limitations. In addition， it suggests that there are only 6 male participants in this research.

4. the Definition of English fiction and non-fiction

Since English language learning becomes more and more popular in China， there is no shortage of attention to be paid to English learning materials. It is widely accepted fact that a high level of exposure to English texts is clearly an advantage for students of English to be highly literate in the language. （Claridge， 2012， p1） There are two kinds of text： non-fiction and fiction. The fiction includes a large subclass of invented stories. （Olsen&Lamarque;， p255） fiction includes novels， short stories， fairy tales， plays， poetry and so on.

It is surprised to find out that non-fiction takes about 84% of all published articles. The non-fiction refers to texts opposed to fiction. There are a great many kinds of non-fiction text such as academic paper， dictionary， diary， science book and so forth.

The relationship between participants attitude towards English fiction and non-fiction text and their English achievement.

The research question is “ Do you like reading English fiction and non-fiction texts？” It was a “ Yes or No” question. Research indicates that language learners attitude was associated with their learning process. The more interesting learners were in one subject， the better they would perform.

students favourite kinds of English fiction and non-fiction texts.

This research question aimed to identify the students favourite kinds of books.

It is clear to see that novels were the most popular among all participants. novels account for approximately 50% of their favourite books. It also shows that nearly 80% of students reading choices were similar. Though Non-fiction materials played a vital role in reading passages， it turned out students preferred fiction texts. Mary （1990） demonstrated that Chinese intellectuals were keen on literature regardless of their professional background.

In the qualitative research， interviewees reported that they would read other non-fiction texts in their study but their first choice would still be novels. All 6 interviewees stated that their favourite novel was Pride and Prejudice.

Students attitudes towards exposure to English fiction and non-fiction texts

It seemed that most students preferred reading English fiction and non-fiction texts no matter they were English majors or non-English majors. In He and Wangs research， only about 5.26% students hated English fiction and non-fiction reading and insist that English fiction and non-fiction reading was of no value to successful language study. All other participants claimed they were in favor of having more access to English fiction and non-fiction reading.

My research showed that approximately 27.42% percentage of students in English major reported that they developed negative feeling towards English fiction and non-fiction reading. The percentage was much higher than that of non-English major. Professor Claire （1993） defined two kinds of English reading： aesthetic reading and efferent reading. Aesthetic reading provided students with opportunities to remember emotions. The efferent reading aimed to supply students with information. The two different aims required for different reading approaches. The reason why students of non-English major showed a more positive attitude than those of English major was perhaps that they could treat English fiction and non-fiction reading as a way of keeping relaxed. Most of time， students in non-English major enjoyed aesthetic reading to acquire some emotional reaction.

It needed to be paid attention to one interviewers report that she made efforts at study and analyzing a great amount of English fiction and non-fiction material just to achieve a satisfied results in exam. Mori （2004） conducted a research among Japanese English language learners in order to figure out the effective motivational predictors. The results indicated that study habits and task-specific motivation related factors were significant motivational factors.

But there is still no feeling of dislike to be found among the distinguish group. On contrary， about 60% of all participants in the fail group English major admits about their negative feelings. It might be probable that the fail group lose their confidence in English language study after their failure in examination and it is more difficult for them to have access to the same level of English fiction and non-fiction texts as their classmates after two years studies.

students favorite kinds of English fiction and non-fiction texts

He and Lis research revealed that the most popular kind of reading materials among non-English major students is newspaper and magazines. It is probably because that English magazines and newspapers were easy to understand. Participants in He and Wangs research indicates that they read not New York Times， Guardian or the Times but China Daily， Crazy English or 21stCentry Newspaper which are all published by Chinese publishers.

Though it seems that English language achievement was irrelevant to students reading interests， students should not ignore other English non-fiction texts because literary competence is built by reading various kinds of materials. Culler describes （1975） that the reader who are unfamiliar with fictions would be unable to understand poem even though he is acquainted with words and phrases in the poem.

Moss， Leone， & DiPillo （1997） set up five rules for teachers to pick non-fiction materials for their students： The authority of the reader： The accuracy of content； The complicity of materials； Books attractiveness； Literary artistry

My research also suggested that magazines and newspapers also interest English major students. What is more， they would like read fictions translated into Chinese rather than fictions written in target language because of the unfamiliar background information and complicated grammar and vocabularies.

The related research question shows that English major participants background information is in relation to their reading preferences. The content schema is slowly accumulated through exposure to English fiction and non-fiction.

In the end， teachers should play an active role in helping students form good reading habits as well as introducing English materials in various ways. Group discussion and role-play should be paid more attention.

References：

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