Applying the Kintsch-Van Dijk Model to Evaluate Impact on Foreign Language Learning: A Case Study

Abstract

Reading comprehension is not an area of much attention in the EFL scene in Saudi Arabia. The reason is simple: In the current teacher perception of foreign language acquisition in the country, vocabulary and grammar are the only two components paid any attention. With the teacher at the center of the learning process, learner centric tasks such as reading are left to the ingenuity of the learners and kept strictly out of the class boundaries. Consequently, learners never acquire reading ability and their little exposure to the foreign language dies as soon as they leave the structured education system. This runs contrary to the very basis of language acquisition as being a life long process. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the possibility of greater learner autonomy by developing and training them in reading techniques that can be used beyond the classroom. The idea was to intervene using the theory of Kintsch-Van Dijk as proposed in their model of reading comprehension. Conducted as a case study with a proficient learner of English, the results indicated that the model can be applied to the advanced learner with much success, giving such learners a potent tool for lifelong language acquisition.