Effects of visual aids on intermediate Chinese reading comprehension

Abstract

This study adopted the between-subjects and within-subjects group designs to examine the impact of visual aids on 26 intermediate Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners’ reading comprehension in an American college. Students were assigned into two groups to complete multiple-choice and translation tasks to test effects of visual aids. The results show that visual aids have an overall positive effect on intermediate CFL reading. The results from the within-subjects design were partially statistically significant. This study postulates that this complication was due to factors such as learners’ backgrounds, the types of tasks, and the nature of the visual aids. Using Dual-Coding Theory, this study offers implications for CFL pedagogy.