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“a word or statement that can be understood or interpreted in more than one way”.From Mclain’s (1993) definition, ambiguity refers to insufficiency of information,considering particular stimuli or contexts. Ambiguous stimuli may be perceived asnew and unfamiliar, unpredictable, or may be too complex to understand.Ambiguous stimuli may also be perceived as having multiple and incompatibleinterpretations.One elements are further clarified by Budner (1962)—the nature of“ambiguous situation”. An ambiguous situation may be defined as one which cannotbe adequately constructed or classified by individuals due to deficient cues. It ispossible to identify three types of ambiguous situations: 1) a totally new situationwhere there is lack of familiar cues, 2) a complex environment where there is a poolof information to be taken into consideration, and 3) a contradictory context wheredifferent elements suggest varied structures. Afterwards, eight categories onambiguity have emerged entailing 125 uses of the term “ambiguous”: (1) multiplemeanings, (2) incompleteness, vagueness, fragmented, (3) being a probability, (4)unconstructed, (5) lack of information, (6) uncertainty, (7) contradictions, contraries,inconsistencies, (8) unclear (Norton, 1975). In accordance with classification ofambiguous situations by Budner, Norton has enriched ambiguous situations fromthe structure aspect. In a nutshell, ambiguous situations are labeled as novelty,insolubility, complexity and short of structure (Kazamia, 1999).
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2.2 Reading Strategy
Regarding the large amount of input (in the form of reading texts) to whichEnglish language learners, especially those learning English as a foreign language(such as Chinese EFL learners), are exposed during any stage of language learning,it is expected that learning a foreign or second language be facilitated by learners’improvement in reading skill. For EFL/ESL learners, reading is the most importantskill to master in order to ensure success in academic learning and to make greaterprogress in other areas of language learning (Carrell 1989a). Obviously, theeffective use of reading strategies has been recognized as an important means toincrease reading comprehension (Huang et al 2009).Transitions and changes, both in theory and in practice, are best documented inSilberstein (1987). In the mid- to late 1960s, as Silberstein notes, reading was seenas little more than a reinforcement for oral language instruction. Yet this view ofreading was challenged by the changing views of reading theory. In 1979,Widdowson defined reading as “the process of getting linguistic information viaprint”, which switched focus on reading comprehension (Widdowson, 1979 inUrquhart & Weir, 1998:16).
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Chapter 3 Research Methodology........ 34
3.1 Research Design...... 34
3.2 Subjects .... 35
3.3 Instruments .... 35
3.3.1 Questionnaire of College Students’ English Learning ....... 35
3.3.2 Tests for Reading Comprehension ....... 38
3.3.3 Think-aloud Protocols ...... 39
3.4 Procedures ..... 40
Chapter 4 Results and Discussion........ 48
4.1 Tolerance and Reading Strategies ofNon-English Majors.... 48
4.2 Strategies Use between High-tolerant andLow-tolerant Learners ..... 51
4.3 Ambiguity Tolerance and Reading Proficiency ofNon-English Majors.... 55
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