Yu-chen Liu is an English teacher at Ming-De Junior High School, Taipei. She is interested in the implementation and assessment of innovative approaches to the teaching of reading.
Hsi-chin Janet Chu is an associate professor in the English Department at National Taiwan Normal University. Her teaching and research interests include EFL reading, contrastive rhetoric, and TEFL Methodology.
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APPENDIX A
Sample Reading and Initiating Queries for Treatment
“The Miller’s Donkey”
11 One day a miller, who owned a very strong donkey, decided to sell it. He and 2his son set off to the town together, letting the animal walk in front of them.＊
12 As 3they went they met a group of girls playing along the road. When they saw the old man and little boy walking behind the donkey they began to laugh.
5 “See those two foolish people!” they said to each other. “They’ve got a fine 6donkey, but instead of riding on it, they walk behind it! Who ever heard of such a 7thing?”
8 The old miller, when he heard this, was very surprised.＊2 Quickly he made 9his son get on the donkey and sit on its back. He himself continued to walk behind.
10 Soon they met another party, not of young girls but of old men. They were 11shaking their gray heads and talking of the bad manners of the young.
12 “Look at that!” said one when he saw the miller’s son on the donkey. “Isn’t 13that what we were just saying? The young today don’t care about the old! That 14strong young boy riding easily on that donkey while his poor old father follows on 15foot. Get down, boy, so that your father may get up!”
16 The miller was quite upset by this new talk.＊3 He quickly made his son get 17off the donkey. Then he himself got on the donkey’s back while his little boy 18walked alongside. The child’s legs were shorter than the donkey’s and he had to run 19to keep up. Then some women washing clothes near the road called to the miller.
20 “If that was my child,” shouted one of them, “he wouldn’t be running himself 21to death behind your donkey! You call yourself a father! You’re not worthy of 22having a son at all!”
23 “Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” said the poor miller. “It seems that I’ve been wrong 24again!＊4 Get up here son, and ride behind me! Then perhaps nobody will say 25anything!”
26 So the boy got up and rode with his father. But in a short time they met a 27farmer who looked closely at them.
28 “Tell me, sir,” he said to the miller, “is that poor unhappy little donkey your
1 The initial number represents the line number of the line in the passage.
2 “＊1” means where one segment ends and the teacher starts giving queries.
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30 “Of course it is my own,” replied the miller. “Why do you ask?”
31 “Because only a fool would put so much weight on his animal!” answered 32the farmer.＊5“You and that boy are better able to carry that donkey than the 33donkey is to carry you! Why don’t you both get down and try carrying the 34animal!?”
35 Of course, he did not really mean what he said. But the foolish miller once 36again believed that the last speaker made the most sense.＊6 So he and his son got 37down. Then, with much difficulty, they tied the poor donkey’s legs together;
and 38with a long stick which they bought, they were ready to carry the donkey.
39 “Now,” said the already tired miller, “you pick up one end of the stick, my 40boy, and I’ll pick up the other. Then we will carry the donkey across the bridge and into 41the town on the other side of the river.”＊7
42 By this time a crowd had gathered to watch them. They stood and laughed as 43the miller and his little boy tried to pick up the crying donkey, hanging upside 44down.＊8 But the effort was too great for them. They suddenly dropped the stick 45and the donkey very hard. The poor animal then rolled into the river and 46disappeared under the water. It never came up again!＊9
47 The miller began to realize that he had made a fool of himself. Too bad he 48didn’t realize a little earlier.
49 “I have tried to please everyone!” he said loudly, “but I have pleased 50nobody—especially not myself! This is the result of following the opinions of 51others! The next time I want to do a thing I will do it my own way.”＊10
1. What does the author mean here?
2. What does the author mean by using “two foolish people?”
3. What has the author told us about the old miller?
4. How do things look for the old miller?
5. Based on how the author described the old miller, does it connect with what the author told us before?
6. What do you think of that?
7. What is the author trying to say here?
8. Given what the author has already told us about the old miller, what do you think he’s up to?
9. How has the author settled this for us?
10. What’s the author’s message?
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APPENDIX B
Sample Pretest-Posttest Reading Material
“The Foolish Friend”
Once upon a time there was a king. He fought, won his battles and beat all his enemies. Once, when the war was over the king went back to his camp; he needed a rest. In the camp there was a gentle ape. It had been taught to carry a sword and it looked so funny that it made the king laugh. The ape did what he was told. The king kept the ape as a good friend and a good body guard. The king told the ape,
"Nobody should bother my sleep, take care of it," and the king fell asleep. The ape took the sword and sat down beside the king's bed.
After some time, a bee came in making sounds and stayed on the king's head.
It was making sounds in the king's ear. The ape found that the sleep of the king was being bothered. The ape threw the bee away through a window but it came back.
Again and again the ape threw the bee away but each time it stayed again on the king's head. At last, the angry ape took the king's sword and hit at the bee. Oh, the hit that was meant for the bee killed the king! Then the ape cried sadly because it loved the king. So the king who had come safely through many wars was killed at last because he made a friend of an ape.
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APPENDIX C
A Sample Open-ended Questions (English Version)
“The Foolish Friend”
Factual:
1. What did the king do before he slept?
2. Where did the bee stay after it made sounds?
3. Why was the ape not happy with the bee?
Interpretive:
1. What did you learn from the sentence “So the king who had come safely through many wars was killed at last because he made a friend of an ape?” and why?
2. The king said, “Nobody should bother my sleep, take care of it?” Do you think he is a lazy king? Why or why not?
3. Finally, the king who won many wars died because of a bee. Is this a good ending? Was the ape a true friend? Why or why not?
Responsive:
1. If you were the king in the story, would you need a body guard? Why or why not?
2. Do you think the king will feel bad if he knows he was killed by a friend?
Why or why not?
3. If you were the ape, what would you do to make the king sleep well? Why?
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