Abstract
The present study aims to build a model of second language (L2) reading, taking into account working memory capacity and first language (L1) literacy as variables within structural equation modeling (SEM). In this study, a total of 120 Japanese L1 high school students were given a series of tests: 1) English reading span tests, 2) English vocabulary size tests, 3) English grammar tests, 4) Japanese literacy tests, and 5) two kinds of English reading tests. One of the English reading tests was on a general topic, and the other required specific background knowledge to control for the effects of topic familiarity. SEM revealed that L2 working memory, L2 grammatical knowledge, and L2 vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted general L2 reading, while general L2 reading, along with L1 literacy, was the significant predictor of L2 reading on a specific topic. Furthermore, L1 literacy predicted L2 vocabulary knowledge, and skilled L1 readers excelled at creating situation model for L2 reading comprehension, even when they lacked topical knowledge. The present study presents a more refined model of L2 reading comprehension, which accounts for L1 literacy and working memory more comprehensively than previous research has.
Highlights
The goal of this study is to create a more refined model of second language (L2) reading that includes working memory and first language (L1) literacy as variables within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework
The current study found the following relationships between L1 literacy and L2 text comprehension: First, L1 literacy was correlated with the information search, gist, and textual information variables (Table 1), it was not a significant predictor of L2 reading of general topics (Table 2, Figure 1); second, L1 literacy significantly predicted the L2 reading of a specific field text, where the use of background knowledge was restricted (Table 2, Figure 1); and, third, skilled readers with high L1 literacy were significantly better at learning from reading an L2 text, even when they could not use their background knowledge (Table 3)
Based on the scores of these tests, a model of L2 reading was constructed using SEM. This model differs from the models in previous studies because working memory and L1 literacy are included as variables
Summary
The goal of this study is to create a more refined model of second language (L2) reading that includes working memory and first language (L1) literacy as variables within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. L2 reading is a highly complex endeavor, involving multiple cognitive processes that are supported by subskills, including vocabulary knowledge (Moghadam, Zainal, & Ghaderpour, 2012), background knowledge (Hauptman, 2000), visual word recognition (Hamada & Koda, 2011), phonological awareness (Zhang & Koda, 2013), syntactic processing (Bowden, Steinhauer, Sanz, & Ullman, 2013), inference (Alptekin, 2006), and prediction (Keung & Ho, 2009). These factors have been included in L2 reading models in previous studies. The present study aims to build a more refined model of L2 reading that includes working memory and L1 literacy as variables in SEM
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