Effects of PASS Theory on Aged Chinese EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Ability

Abstract

This study investigates the English learning conditions of aged Chinese EFL learners including their reading comprehension ability through a cognitive approach-PASS theory. A quantitative-dominated research method is adopted in the study. After a 15- week semester, a significant distinction in both posttest (reading comprehension score, t = 3.39, p = .000) and retention test (reading comprehension scores, t = 4.62, p = .000) indicates that the cognitive teaching approach through PASS model outperforms the traditional teaching approach. As another independent variable, the quantity of Chinese characters used in English learning only sees a significant difference for the population according to reading comprehension scores in the posttest results (posttest, F = 4.56, p = .038 & retention test, F = 1.04, p =. 312). Besides, during the retention test, the Chinese characters quantity factor showed significant effect only on the experiment group’s English reading comprehension results. Through this study, an effective cognitive pedagogy for EFL aged learners has been claimed to public. Admittedly, there is still limitation. The investigation of corresponding details of the dynamic changes of the aged EFL learners’ cognitive process is insufficient. This limitation can be lifted up in future studies and transformed into further academic extension as well.