Abstract
Abstract We examined the unique role of textbase memory and situation model building ability in first (L1) and second (L2) language reading comprehension. Participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children in 4th grade. A pathfinder network approach was used to assess textbase memory and situation model building ability, on top of other well-known cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading comprehension (working memory, nonverbal reasoning, decoding, vocabulary, and grammar). Reading comprehension was assessed by a standardized task unrelated to the textbase and situation model building task. The results showed that there was no difference between L1 and L2 readers in nonverbal reasoning, working memory, textbase memory and situation model building. L2 readers were more efficient decoders than L1 readers, but lagged behind on vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. Situation model building ability was found to predict reading comprehension over and above the other cognitive and linguistic predictors to the same extent in both groups.
Highlights
Reading comprehension is a prerequisite for academic success and societal participation
L2 readers were more efficient than L1 readers at word decoding (p < .01, d = −0.45) and pseudoword decoding (p < .001, d = −0.57), but L2 readers had lower scores than L1 readers on vocabulary depth (p < .001, d = 0.62), vocabulary breadth (p < .001, d = 0.67), grammar (p < .05, d = 0.31), and general reading comprehension (p < .01, d = 0.47)
The present study extended previous research on the predictors of reading comprehension, by investigating textbase memory and situation model building ability in 4th grade L1 and L2 readers, and relating these to their general reading comprehension, as assessed by an unrelated standardized measure
Summary
Reading comprehension is a prerequisite for academic success and societal participation. Learning from text requires readers to to build up a literal memory of propositions in a text (i.e., the textbase), and to build a coherent situation model of concepts in the text and their interrelations, integrated with prior knowledge (van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983). In building such a situation model, vocabulary is crucial, as it forms the bridge between word decoding and higher-level integration processes, such as inferencing and comprehension monitoring (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). This is problematic given the central role of integration processes in proficient reading
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