Second Language Reading Comprehension Research Articles

Do vocabulary, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in second language facilitate the development of each other in young children?

This study explored whether children's second language (L2) vocabulary, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension contributed to the growth of each other. A total of 184 Chinese primary school children (91 girls) aged 8–10 years old in Hong Kong participated in the pre-test of this study. Among them, 88 were in Grade 3 and 96 were in Grade 4. One year later, 178 of these children also participated in the post-test. These children learned English as an L2 at school. They completed a series of English language tasks. The results from a cross-lagged panel model show that vocabulary predicted the growth of syntactic awareness and reading comprehension. Syntactic awareness predicted the growth of vocabulary and reading comprehension. Reading comprehension facilitated the growth of vocabulary, and it also predicted the growth of syntactic awareness in Grade 4 students but not in Grade 3 students. Implications for teaching children an L2 are discussed.

Impact of Supra-segmental Features on Reading Comprehension in First and Second Language: A Comparative Study of Iranian EFL learners

Supra-segmental features refer to various forms of intonation and how words and sentences are uttered. Such features challenge meaning and comprehension, too. Despite the importance of these features and their reported association with phonological awareness and linguistic comprehension, their effects on reading comprehension have not been explored. The current work investigated the impact of a remedial program on Persian and English reading comprehension of a group of English language learners (N=30 divided into experimental and control groups). The measurements tested the components of reading comprehension based on the Simple View of Reading (SVR). Additionally, supra-segmental features were assessed by Profiling Elements of Prosody (i.e., supra-segmentals) in Speech-communication (PEPS) in both languages. As a result, English and Persian elision and also Persian listening were affected by teaching supra-segmental features. Assessing the transfer of linguistic skills revealed that Persian listening and knowledge of supra-segmentals, in particular, recognizing short syllables and awareness of stress position in a sentence, contribute to English reading comprehension. It indicates that reading and listening comprehension are affected by similar cognitive processes that may lay in the knowledge of supra-segmentals. The findings also suggest that simpler systems of supra-segmentals are more likely to transfer. Pertinent pedagogical implications were presented, as well.

From the Editors

From the Editors

Compreensão leitora em inglês no ENEM: desvelando processos de inferência

While the role of inferencing has been widely acknowledged as key to reading comprehension, little has been done to approach these issues in teaching and assessing second-language reading comprehension in the Brazilian educational system. With this in mind, this research paper sets out to investigate the types of inferences that might be required for test takers to answer questions in the most important Brazilian university entrance exam, ENEM ( Exame Nacional do Ensino Medio ). This exam is taken by Brazilian students at the end of secondary school in order to assess their performance according to the school curriculum. The students’ grades can be used not only for scholarships, but also as a resource for applying for more than 500 Brazilian universities. In order to analyze the ENEM tests, we formulated a framework based on the extensive work of Kintsch and van Dijk and on the model of fluent reading comprehension established by Gagne and colleagues. The framework considered three main types of inferences: bridging, elaborative, and summarizing. The results show that test takers might have to draw more elaborative inferences, meaning they might need a significant amount of background knowledge in order to select the correct alternatives. Summarizing, inferences were also significant, which means the test takers might have to build a complete mental representation of the text, i.e., to integrate world knowledge with the ideas expressed in the text in order to construct meaning. Overall, the results are in consonance with the literature on inferencing, meaning that it does have an essential role in text comprehension. In conclusion, there should be teaching and assessing programs in place designed around tackling these issues. Keywords: reading, inferencing, assessment, ENEM.

Cognate Awareness in French Immersion Students: Contributions to Grade 2 Reading Comprehension

ABSTRACTCognate awareness is the ability to recognize the cognate relationship between words in two etymologically related languages. The current study examined the development of cognate awareness and its contribution to French (second language) reading comprehension among Canadian French immersion children. Eighty-one students were tested at the end of Grade 1 and again at the end of Grade 2. Children were administered a cognate awareness task in French, in which they were asked to decide whether a French word had a cognate in English. Overall, performance on the cognate awareness task was significantly above chance at both time points, and it improved overtime. Thus, for the majority of the participants, cognate awareness was evident as early as first grade. Regressions revealed that cognate awareness measured in Grades 1 and 2 made a significant contribution to Grade 2 French reading comprehension, beyond multiple controls. The results of the study suggest that cognate awareness is a unique aspect of second-language reading comprehension in young bilingual children.

The Impact of Video-based Materials on Chinese-Speaking Learners’ English Text Comprehension

<p>This study investigated whether video-based materials can facilitate second language learners’ text comprehension at the levels of macrostructure and microstructure. Three classes inclusive of 98 Chinese-speaking university students joined this study. The three classes were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: on-screen text (T Group), concurrent narration with on-screen text (NT Group), and video with concurrent narration and on-screen text (VNT Group). The data were collected through the macrostructure and microstructure reading comprehension pre- and post-tests and the immediate test. The statistic results of the immediate test and the post-tests showed that the VNT group performed significantly better on the macrostructure comprehension than the T and NT groups. Armed with the perspectives of multiliteracies and the significant results, the study makes instructional recommendations to integrate video in second-language reading comprehension instruction.</p>

The role of first-language listening comprehension in second-language reading comprehension.

Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening comprehension in L1 is a significant predictor of language minority students’ reading comprehension in L2. In addition, we explored whether the cross-linguistic relationship is particularly pronounced at higher levels of L1 proficiency. The sample included 502 9th grade students with Russian as L1 and 662 9th grade students with Turkish as L1 from a nationwide study conducted in Germany. The L1s of these students differ in their similarity to their L2, German: Russian is considerably more similar to German than is Turkish. In both language groups, L1 listening comprehension significantly predicted L2 reading comprehension in linear regression models; this was also true after important control variables were taken into account. Polynomial regression models indicated that the relationship between L1 proficiency and L2 proficiency was linear in the Russian sample, yet stronger at higher levels of L1 proficiency in the Turkish sample. Thus, the prediction that transfer should be more pronounced at higher levels of L1 proficiency was also partly supported. Our study extends the range of L1 skills previously known to transfer to L2 reading. We found the predicted relationship between L1 listening comprehension and L2 reading comprehension in 2 language groups with varying degrees of language similarity, suggesting that the effect is language-independent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The effects of stress on reading: A comparison of first-language versus intermediate second-language reading comprehension.

This study investigated how resource-demanding reading tasks and stressful conditions affect 1st-language (L1) and intermediate 2nd-language (L2) reading comprehension. Using the attentional control theory framework (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007), we investigated the roles of central executive working memory (WM) resources, reading task difficulty, trait reading anxiety, and social evaluative stress on L1 and L2 readers’ comprehension. Eighty-six L2 Spanish readers and 70 L1 English readers were tested for comprehension using noninference (fact), bridging inference, and pragmatic inference questions under either no-stress or social-evaluative stress conditions. Stress reduced processing efficiency (producing longer reaction times) for L2 readers who were high in reading anxiety and increased processing efficiency for L1 readers who were high in WM capacity. Stress did not affect reading effectiveness (accuracy). Thus, stress only impaired reading efficiency when task difficulty was high due to high inferential complexity or reading in an L2 and when anxious thoughts competed for limited central executive WM resources. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Relationship between Prior Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

This study investigates the relationship between prior knowledge and reading comprehension in second language among postgraduate students in UPM. Participants in the study were 20 students who have the same level in English as a second language from several faculties. On the basis of a prior-knowledge questionnaire and test, students were selected; they were asked to sit a two-passage reading comprehension exam. According to the questionnaire and the short prior quiz, students had high prior knowledge in one of the two passages, and low prior knowledge in the other. The result showed significantly high relationship between the high prior knowledge and reading comprehension. However, the results showed significantly low relationship between low prior knowledge and reading comprehension. Yet the performance of students in a reading comprehension with high prior knowledge was significantly better than reading comprehension with low prior knowledge.

Effects of CALL Versus Traditional L1 Glosses on L2 Reading Comprehension

Meta-analytic research of experiments conducted on the effects of native-language (L1) glosses on second-language (L2) reading comprehension have revealed a significant difference between groups of studies with traditional and computer-assisted L1 glosses. This means that learners provided with L1 glosses comprehend significantly more text--through the medium of a computer--than learners with traditional, paper-based L1 glossing aids. The average weighted effect size of studies with computer-assisted L1 glosses is large (g = 1.09) and differs significantly (p < .001) when compared to studies with traditional L1 glosses (g = .39). This article explores factors explaining how and when computer-assisted L1 glosses can be effective in L2 reading comprehension.

Exploring the factors that affect reading comprehension of EAP learners

As far as academic reading comprehension is concerned, a network of linguistic skills and strategies operate in a complex and integrated matter. Since it is impossible to examine all the factors affecting reading comprehension all at once, it is more reasonable to compare and contrast the predictive effects of specific variables against each other and elicit the role of each of them in determining academic performance. For this reason, the present study aims to investigate whether specifically the depth of vocabulary knowledge, syntactic awareness or metacognitive awareness was a more powerful predictor of academic reading comprehension. 45 students from the English Language Teaching Department in an English-medium foundation university in Turkey participated in the study. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that with a sample of homogenous first language (L1) background learners, depth of vocabulary knowledge was not a strong predictor of academic reading comprehension for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students. However, it was found that syntactic awareness was a significant predictor of academic reading comprehension in second language (L2) and of the investigated variables, metacognitive reading strategies have much to contribute to academic reading comprehension.

Guiding Biliteracy Development: Appropriating Cross-Linguistic and Conceptual Knowledge to Sustain Second-Language Reading Comprehension

To examine the second-language reading development of 45 fourth-grade Latino bilinguals, a sequential mixed methods study was conducted in two phases (Creswell, 2009). The quantitative data collected in the first phase generated an index of the group's reading performance based on two grade-level assessments, a state-mandated standardized reading assessment and an informal reading inventory (IRI) of a grade-level passage written in English. The qualitative data collected in the second phase informed in depth about each bilingual's reading process and use of comprehension strategies. The findings indicated that while both reading performance scores paralleled the varying school-designated English-proficiency classification represented among the participants, the bilingual readers also shared similar reading strategies without distinction when they read difficult text. Guided reading that integrated explicit cross-linguistic and cross-cultural knowledge was found to mediate comprehension of the grade-level passage for all the participants regardless of their reading performance scores and designated English-proficiency classification. Implications for providing responsive literacy instruction for bilingual readers are outlined.

Roles of morphological awareness in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking language minority learners: Exploring partial mediation by vocabulary and reading fluency

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the direct and indirect roles of morphological awareness reading comprehension for Spanish-speaking language minority learners reading in English. Multivariate path analysis was used to investigate the unique contribution of derivational morphological awareness to reading comprehension as well as its indirect contributions via three hypothesized mediators for students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (N= 101). Results indicated a significant unique contribution of morphological awareness, controlling for phonemic decoding, listening comprehension, reading vocabulary, word reading fluency, and passage reading fluency. Results further indicated significant indirect contributions of morphological awareness via reading vocabulary and passage fluency, but not via word reading fluency. Findings suggest that morphological awareness may play multiple important roles in second-language reading comprehension.

The explicit/implicit knowledge distinction and working memory: Implications for second-language reading comprehension

ABSTRACTFollowing an extensive overview of the subject, this study explores the relationships between second-language (L2) explicit/implicit knowledge sources, embedded in the declarative/procedural memory systems, and L2 working memory (WM) capacity. It further examines the relationships between L2 reading comprehension and L2 WM capacity as well as those between L2 reading comprehension and L2 explicit/implicit knowledge sources. Participants were late adult learners of English as an L2, with a relatively advanced level of English proficiency. They completed tests measuring their WM capacity, explicit knowledge, implicit knowledge, and L2 reading comprehension. Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between L2 WM capacity and both explicit and implicit L2 knowledge. Exploratory factor analysis showed that explicit knowledge, WM capacity, and L2 reading comprehension loaded on a single factor whereas implicit L2 knowledge formed an independent factor with no relationship to L2 reading. The results suggest that L2 WM is able to manipulate and store both explicit and implicit L2 input through controlled and automatic processes. They also suggest that L2 explicit knowledge, connected with the control processes of the declarative system's lexical/semantic features, and L2 WM, reflecting attentional resource capacity/allocation associated with control processes, play an important role in L2 reading comprehension.

Contribution of Morphological Awareness to Second-Language Reading Comprehension

This study investigates the contribution of second-language (L2) morphological awareness to foreign language reading comprehension. Tenth graders (n = 188) at a South Korean high school were assessed on 6 reading- and language-related variables: phonological decoding, listening comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, passage-level reading comprehension, metacognitive reading awareness, and morphological awareness. A series of 10 sequential regression analyses were conducted to determine the unique reading variance accounted for by each of the 2 morphological awareness tests included in this study (i.e., the Test of Morphological Structure–Revised [TMS–R], the Verbal Suffix Knowledge Test–Revised [VSKT–R]). The result revealed that morphological awareness was a significant predictor of L2 reading comprehension when other variables were controlled. Of the 2 tests, the TMS–R—a measure that primarily tested derivational morphological knowledge—showed stronger predictability. This provides evidence that morphological awareness, especially derivational morphological knowledge, is an important variable to be considered in explaining L2 reading comprehension among older readers.

Vocabulary knowledge is a critical determinant of the difference in reading comprehension growth between first and second language learners

This study examines the role of decoding and vocabulary skills as longitudinal predictors of reading comprehension in young first (L1) and second (L2) language learners. Two-group latent growth models were used to assess differences in growth and predictions of growth between the 198 L1 and 90 L2 language learners. L1 learners had better initial reading comprehension skills and faster growth in these skills over time. Individual differences in decoding and vocabulary predicted initial reading comprehension skills, but only vocabulary predicted the subsequent growth of reading comprehension skills. Vocabulary seemed to be a stronger predictor of growth in reading comprehension among the L2 learners than among the L1 learners. Vocabulary appears to be a critical predictor of the early development of reading comprehension skills in both L1 and L2 learners. The limitations in vocabulary skills in the L2 learners seemed sufficient to explain their lag in developing reading comprehension skills, and this suggests that oral vocabulary training should be given a high priority in this group.

Are first- and second-language factors related in predicting second-language reading comprehension? A study of Spanish-speaking children acquiring English as a second language from first to second grade.

First-language (L1) and 2nd-language (L2) oral language skills and L2 word reading were used as predictors to test the simple view of reading as a model of 2nd-language reading comprehension. The simple view of reading states that reading comprehension is related to decoding and oral language comprehension skills. One hundred thirty-one Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) were tested in 1st grade and many were followed into 2nd grade, including a full sample of 79. Structural equation modeling confirmed that a 5-factor measurement model had the best fit, suggesting that L1 and L2 phonological awareness should be viewed as separate but related constructs and that L1 and L2 oral language proficiency, measured by vocabulary and grammatical awareness, were separate constructs. The structural model indicated that for this group of ELs, who were educated in English, English oral language proficiency and word reading were the strongest predictors of English reading comprehension. Other models that deleted 1 of these crucial components resulted in significantly poorer fit. Therefore, the results support the validity of the simple view of reading as a model for the development of reading comprehension in young ELs. Implications for theory and practice, specifically assessment of ELs, are discussed.

Hierarchical Dependence in Meta-Analysis

Meta-analysis is a frequent tool among education and behavioral researchers to combine results from multiple experiments to arrive at a clear understanding of some effect of interest. One of the traditional assumptions in a meta-analysis is the independence of the effect sizes from the studies under consideration. This article presents a meta-analytic review of 13 experiments with 18 study reports all involving the effect of native-language (L1) vocabulary aids on second-language (L2) reading comprehension. Some experiments produced multiple study reports, creating a dependence structure among the resulting effect size estimates. The covariance among these effect size estimates is estimated and incorporated into a proposed meta-analysis model that accounts for the dependence at a hierarchical level. The overall effect size estimate (g =. 63) indicates that L1 vocabulary aids can be an effective L2 reading comprehension aid in the short term. An interpretation of the hierarchical components is discussed.

Linguistic Knowledge, Processing Speed, and Metacognitive Knowledge in First- and Second-Language Reading Comprehension: A Componential Analysis.

The authors report results of a study into the role of components of first-language (L1; Dutch) and second-language (L2; English) reading comprehension. Differences in the contributions of components of L1 and L2 reading comprehension are analyzed, in particular processing speed in L1 and L2. Findings indicate that regression weights of the L1 and L2 components are different. Although correlations between most processing speed components and reading comprehension are substantial, there are no unique contributions to the explanation of either L1 or L2 reading comprehension when linguistic and metacognitive knowledge are accounted for. In addition, L1 reading comprehension is shown to have a large contribution to L2 reading comprehension, supporting theories of L1-L2 transfer of reading skills. Results are discussed from a developmental perspective.

Are We Conditioned to Follow Links? Highlights in CALL Materials and Their Impact on the Reading Process

This article argues the case for evaluation of some of the additional features of CALL materials designed to enhance second-language reading comprehension. The experiment carefully analysed the effects of highlights indicating a link towards dictionary definitions on the second language reading process. The findings demonstrate that randomly highlighting words in a text on screen influences the amount of vocabulary incidentally learned by the reader. Moreover, the results strongly indicate that reading in a highlighted or marked setting is fundamentally different from reading a text in an unmarked condition. This calls for reflection on how to present the learner with the enhancements of CALL.