II. The Present Situation of Middle School Students English Reading
2.1. The Meaning of Reading
    As for the meaning of reading, different people have different opinions. The most prominent feature is that reading to some extent can bridge the gap between people and enhance people's self-restraint. Traditionally many psychologists and teachers have insisted that reading is nothing more than decoding written symbols to sounds (i, e figuring out what the painted word says). The reader was seen as the “recipient” of information or as an “empty vessel” that brought nothing to the text, This motion of “text as object” is now frequently discredited in reading circles because readers are not entirely passive. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers believe that reading process is an active process in which reading skills can be developed. The viewpoint has moved from the “text as object.” to that of the “text as process” by encouraging close interaction between the reader and the text. In addition to model-making in second language reading during the two decades, considerable attention has been paid to understanding what proficient, skilled readers typically do while reading including identifying the strategies. This line of research has been useful in instructing non-proficient first and second languages readers to increases their awareness and use of reading strategies to improve comprehension.(Garner, 1985).
Many previous studies recognized the role of metacognitive awareness in reading comprehension, whether one is reading in the native language or a second language. Indeed, the consensus process is critically important aspects of skilled reading. Many researchers have applied matacognitive theory to reading in recent years. Researchers generally agree that metacognition is one of the most important elements to influence reading comprehension. O’Mallt et al (1985) finds that intermediate ESL students use more metacognition than beginners. They thought students of higher proficiency in target language could even better use meta-cognition to control their learning than beginning students. Collins et al (2003) have done a research synthesis to examine recent research on the relation between metacognition and reading comprehension based on reviews and primary researches since 1985 and 1986.
Although there is an explosion of research related to the relationship between metacognitive awareness an reading proficiency, it is easy for researchers to ignore the two factors. First, in China most research on metacognitive awareness is measured by different instruments:Oxford’s SILL and Mokhtari and Reichard’d MARSI, making it difficult to compare the results from different instruments; Secondly, the instruments have been widely used in western countries, but in china, the potentially influential variables such as the learners’ cultural background, personality, learning style, motivation, attitude and so on are significantly different. As a result, the other results may not be consistent with that in China. 论提高中学生英语阅读能力的策略(2):http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_18494.html