L1-L2 Reading Comprehension Transferability in Factual and Inferential Tasks

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the transferability of reading comprehension abilities from L1 to L2 between languages with distant orthographies. Furthermore, this study examined the degree of transferability based on different levels of tasks and different L2 proficiency groups. The scores of sixty-five Korean EFL high school students’ Trial-CSAT of English and Korean language tests were used as criteria for their level of L2 proficiency and L1 reading comprehension, in addition to a self-designed English reading test with factual and inferential tasks as L2 reading comprehension. This study has statistically analyzed the acquainted data and identified the following research findings: (1) Korean EFL students’ L1 reading comprehension ability did transfer to their English reading comprehension ability; (2) Korean EFL students’ L1 inferential reading comprehension ability was more transferable to L2 reading comprehension than their L1 factual reading comprehension ability; (3) A meaningful transferability of Korean inferential reading comprehension ability in English reading comprehension test (especially in English inferential reading tasks) was observed on the lower proficiency EFL learners, whereas no obvious transferability of Korean reading comprehension ability was found in higher proficiency EFL learners.