(submitted by Miao)

Miao Li, in her third year of Ph.D. in Education program in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s, went to Xi’an, China to conduct her research. Xi’an is the first city in China where English-immersion programs started, modeling after French immersion programs in Canada. The concept underlying English-immersion programs in China is to ensure that some non-language subjects are taught in English, attempting to expose Chinese students to more English input at an earlier age.  

While working with the director of China-Canada-USA English Immersion (CCUEI) collaboration program, Miao explored the cognitive processes underlying English reading comprehension in Chinese students in English-immersion programs under the supervision of Dr. John Kirby. She is interested in finding out whether the significant predictors (such as decoding, vocabulary, listening comprehension, working memory, inference, and strategy skills) of reading comprehension of students whose first language is English also influence reading comprehension of students who are learning English as a second language (ESL). It is important to study these factors in the development of reading so that educators can design the best type of instruction to improve ESL students’ English reading comprehension. If you would like to know more about Miao’s research in China, please contact her:  miao.li@queensu.ca