Reading ability and challenges in a project-based academic report writing course: A test of the threshold hypothesis

Interest in the use of project-based academic report writing (PBARW) has continued unabated for the past 10 years in Asian countries, especially in China. However, cognitive challenges faced by second language (L2) learners – most notably the challenge of reading authentic academic literature – are often reported by practitioners. This article explores the relationship between Chinese college students’ English reading comprehension ability and the challenges they encountered in a project-based academic report writing course. A total of 274 students in Shanghai were surveyed on the challenges they met when implementing PBARW tasks. Their English reading abilities were also collected. With ANOVA and piecewise regression analyses, the study revealed a clearly discernible reading comprehension ability threshold: below the threshold, English reading ability had a direct counteractive effect on the challenges of studying a PBARW course; the higher the reading ability, the lower the challenges perceived. Beyond that threshold, English reading ability stopped mitigating challenges directly. English reading abilities divided by the threshold moderated the effects of writing topic knowledge and writing strategies on student difficulties: only the good readers were able to overcome challenges they encountered effectively by drawing on the topic knowledge possessed and writing strategies adopted. In the future, researchers may observe the reading abilities required in different disciplines and PBARW tasks. Pedagogical implications for the findings of the research are discussed.