Psycholinguistic determinants of reading comprehension in english as a foreign language

Javier Vivaldo-Lima,Rosa Obdulia González-Robles,Miguel López-Olivas

doi:10.1590/s1413-85572003000100003

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of linguistic and psychological variables in the explanation of the variance associated with reading comprehension in English (L2). Two hundred and eighty Mexican university students participated in the study. The variables analyzed within the linguistic dimension were: reading strategies in Spanish, linguistic competence in English, and ability to perceive lexical transparency between L1 and L2. The psychological dimension evaluated the influence of the reader’s cognitive style, locus of control, and action control orientation on reading comprehension in L2. Subjects were administered a battery of seven evaluation instruments. Multiple regression analyses suggested a two-stage explanatory model of reading in L2. Firstly, psychological variables accounted for 10.0% of the variance in reading comprehension in the first language. Secondly, reading comprehension in Spanish, linguistic competence in L2, and perception of lexical transparency, accounted for 35.5% of the variance in reading comprehension in English.

Highlights

The ability to read proficiently in at least one foreign language has become a major requirement of the curricula of institutions of higher education throughout the world
The main research hypothesis of this study was that that the variation in reading comprehension in English in Mexican university students was a function of the interaction of both linguistic variables and psychological variables
Even though the influence of the aforementioned variables was partially validated from the series of regression analyses performed, it became evident that the explanation of the variability in reading comprehension in L2 was not straightforward

Summary

Introduction

The ability to read proficiently in at least one foreign language has become a major requirement of the curricula of institutions of higher education throughout the world. Given the current need to improve the reading skills of our university students, it is considered of utmost importance to achieve a deep comprehension of the mechanisms, processes, and variables that promote the acquisition of relevant discourse processing skills in a second or a foreign language, with particular emphasis on reading. Such understanding would address a major research priority (Pugh & Ulijn, 1984) and promote the development of research-grounded instructional approaches in the field. They contend that the reader’s linguistic competence in L2 may play an important role in the construction of meaning from text in a foreign language, it is not necessarily the main determinant, considering the facilitation effect associated with the reader’s knowledge of the linguistic system of the L1 and its strategic application

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