This present study borrows the framework of action research as a tool for improving the quality of instruction in a university reading comprehension course by reflecting previous and current teaching practices, by incorporating students’ feedback and preferences, and by intervening students’ beliefs and strategy use. In doing so, the study examines the potential effects and problems of strategy-based instruction in the reading comprehension tasks that integrate TETE in collaborative, task-based learning environment. The students were assigned to the training of two different types of strategies in terms of language processing: paraphrasing vs. translation strategies in a TETE class. A total of 107 students from two reading comprehension courses were asked to take a TOEFL and answer a self-report questionnaire both at the beginning and at the end of the semester. While students’ use of metacognitive and cognitive strategies increased significantly, their use of translation strategies and beliefs about translation were persistent to change as the students seemed to regard translation an important tool for reading comprehension. A follow-up interview and course evaluation were also used for triangulating the quantitative findings. It is suggested that the role of L1 in language classes should be revisited and the English-only policy be reconsidered.

The goal of this study was to explore foreign language learner anxiety and strategy use associated with English listening and reading. For the purpose of the study, 98 high school freshmen took the test designed to measure their listening and reading comprehension. The participants were also asked to respond to the questionnaire items constructed to measure their anxiety and strategy use in English listening and reading. For data analysis, correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed. The study found that the students’ listening and reading anxiety showed strong, inverse correlations with their listening and reading proficiency. The students’ listening and reading skills were found to be more influenced by anxiety than by strategy use. The findings of the study are presented and discussed in more detail. The pedagogical implications of the findings are also discussed, along with some suggestions for future research.