The Mediated/Unmediated Contributions of Language Proficiency and Prior Knowledge to L2 Multiple-Texts Comprehension: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

Abstract

The knowledge base informing reading instruction/research in Applied Linguistics comes mainly from single-text reading research. To begin to develop a knowledge base informing research into and instruction of multiple-documents literacy, as the immediate current need of L2 students in academic contexts, this study was conducted. The study aimed to explore the contributions of language proficiency and prior knowledge to comprehension across multiple-texts and single-text modes of reading. To this end, a structural model was developed that subsumed hypothesized links between language proficiency, prior knowledge, single-text and multiple-texts reading comprehension. Data were collected from 207 Iranian undergraduate students studying midwifery and paramedical emergencies who took measures of language proficiency, single-text comprehension, multiple-texts comprehension, and a prior knowledge measure. The data were analyzed through structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings revealed that language proficiency and prior knowledge contribute to multiple-texts comprehension both directly and indirectly via impacting single-text comprehension. Moreover, the contributions of these two variables were found to vary across single-text and multiple-texts modes of reading. Implications for theoretical modelling and instruction of reading are presented.