Analyzing Post-Reading Questions from the Viewpoints of Cognitive Skills

摘要

The present study investigates the characteristics of post-reading questions in EFL/ESL reading textbooks for lower English proficiency students. Two types of textbooks were compared using Bloom's Revised taxonomy. The first textbooks aim at enhancing learners' critical thinking skills as well as their English skills whereas the other textbooks aim at improving learners 'reading skills as well as their English skills. The focus of this investigation is on whether there are any differences in the cognitive skills that learners are expected to employ while using these textbooks and if so how they differ. The results illustrate that the two types of textbooks actually show different patterns of usage in the cognitive process. The cognitive skills enhancing textbooks use a variety of cognitive processes (12 of 19 subcategories). The reading skills improving textbooks use only 6 of them.