L2 Reading Research Articles

Resilience and Reflectivity as Predictors of L2 Reading Comprehension: A Case of Iranian EFL Learners

Resilience and Reflectivity as Predictors of L2 Reading Comprehension: A Case of Iranian EFL Learners

Individual differences in L1 attainment and language aptitude predict L2 achievement in instructed language learners

AbstractAlthough most children learn to communicate in their first language (L1), there is normal and expected variation in their rate of acquisition across all components of the language system. Until recently, most second language acquisition and second language (L2) researchers have assumed that individual differences (IDs) in L1 acquisition are small and irrelevant to IDs in L2 acquisition. However, growing evidence has found strong relationships between IDs in L1 attainment and ultimate L2 achievement. In this longitudinal study, US secondary students were administered measures of L1 written and oral achievement, L1 cognitive processing, and L2 aptitude, then followed over 3 years of Spanish instruction and administered standardized measures of L2 literacy and oral proficiency at the end of each year. Hierarchical regressions followed by regression commonality analysis showed that IDs in L1 achievement alone (reading, writing, vocabulary, and print exposure) accounted for substantial unique variance in L2 reading, writing, listening comprehension, and oral proficiency, while L2 aptitude accounted for additional unique variance at the end of each year. A new finding showed that variance accounted for by L1 skills increased from first to second to third year. Results lend additional support to the conclusion of strong L1–L2 relationships between IDs in L1 attainment and IDs in L2 achievement.

The roles of vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive awareness as mediators between prior knowledge and L2 academic reading

AbstractIn recent years, reading comprehension studies have followed a componential approach aimed at determining the way in which variables interact. However, in L2 academic reading comprehension, this progress is still in its initial stages. With this context in mind, this paper aims to explore the relationship between prior knowledge and L2 reading comprehension by proposing a mediation model that considers L2 vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive awareness as mediating variables. A final sample of 75 Chilean university students with an intermediate level of English was used for the study. The variables measured were prior knowledge, vocabulary breadth, metacognitive awareness of reading strategies, and reading comprehension. Among the findings of this study, we propose a simple mediation model in which vocabulary knowledge functions as a mediator between prior knowledge and reading comprehension. Unexpectedly, the impact of metacognitive awareness was not found to be statistically significant.

Extensive Reading and Science Vocabulary Learning in L2: Comparing Reading-Only and Reading-While-Listening

This paper presents a study analyzing second language vocabulary gains after an extensive reading program that included non-fiction graded readers of scientific content in English. The study was conducted in a Spanish primary school (N = 96) and implemented in two different modalities: reading-only and reading-while-listening, which included audiobooks. The study lasted one school year and involved 39 science graded readers, making it unique in its duration and scope. The findings indicate that the practice of extensive reading resulted in notable improvements in vocabulary acquisition during the first half of the school year; however, the advantages were less evident in the second half. Different factors intrinsic to the program but also related to students’ motivation will be discussed in order to explain the findings.

The Development of Receptive Language Skills from Captioned Video Viewing in Primary School EFL Learners

The evidence obtained to date supports the use of captioned videos for L2 learning purposes, such as vocabulary acquisition and the development of L2 listening skills. However, little research has been conducted with primary school learners, and even less so on the extent to which L2-captioned videos foster the development of L2 reading skills. Thus, the present investigation aimed to determine the extent to which five groups of primary school EFL learners from Chile (n = 96, 9–11 years old, years 4 and 5) benefited from their viewing experience (11 captioned videos) as regards the development of L2 listening skills and L2 reading efficacy (measured at pretest, posttest, and delayed-posttest). In addition, we assessed the influence of L1- and L2-related factors on learners’ performance over time (L1 and L2 reading efficacy, L2 vocabulary knowledge, and L2 listening skills). Overall, the results revealed that the treatment led to significant gains in English listening skills and reading efficacy in fourth and fifth graders. However, learners’ performance was also found to be predicted by language-related factors, especially L2 vocabulary knowledge. On the whole, the findings of this investigation support the use of age-appropriate captioned videos at primary school to increase children’s exposure to the target language and enhance the development of receptive language skills.

Different aspects of vocabulary depth knowledge in L2 Chinese reading comprehension: Comparing higher‐ and lower‐proficiency readers

AbstractGrammatical and vocabulary knowledge (i.e., breadth and depth) are widely acknowledged as key predictors of reading comprehension in a second language (L2). However, it remains unclear how different aspects of vocabulary depth may independently contribute to L2 reading comprehension and how learners' proficiency may moderate the relative contributions of vocabulary knowledge. Based on the Lexical Quality Hypothesis and the Reading Systems Framework, this study investigated 238 L2 Chinese learners who were college‐level students in China, using a set of reading‐related tasks. The results showed that (1) vocabulary breadth and grammatical knowledge independently contributed to L2 reading comprehension with grammatical knowledge being a more deciding factor; (2) different aspects of vocabulary depth (i.e., polysemy and synonymy), over and above vocabulary breadth and grammatical knowledge, played an independent role; and (3) more importantly, lower‐proficiency learners relied more on vocabulary breadth whereas higher‐proficiency learners made more use of vocabulary depth during text‐level comprehension.

A Review of Studies on the Selective Attention Strategy During Language Comprehension: The Present and the Future

Selective attention (SA) is an important strategy for language comprehension both in L1 and L2. Much of the existing research on L2 listening and reading has identified SA as a distinctive ability of effective and skilled L2 listeners and readers. However, extensive and intensive research on this specific strategy is relatively sparse. Therefore, this article provides an in-depth review of previous research involving the SA mechanism in both L1 and L2 language comprehension. As a result, this article identifies that there are two-levels of SA existing in previous academic research: the word level and sentence level SA. They may represent different cognitive processes as well as different SA strategies in real practice. However, this kind of classification on SA has not been fully recognized and specifically pinpointed by previous literature, since previous studies focused on only one type of SA while ignoring the other. Therefore, this article proposes to classify these two kinds of SA and then reviews previous literature according to this novel classification. In addition, this article summarizes the most frequently investigated modulators of SA as well as commonly used research methods for SA-related research. Some possible research gaps are pinpointed accordingly. Finally, this article illustrates several concepts and models that could explain the SA mechanism from psychological and linguistic perspectives, which could serve as a theoretical framework in future study. This article may offer some inspirations for future academic research in this field and listening or reading practices in the real world.

Establishing meaning recall and meaning recognition vocabulary knowledge as distinct psychometric constructs in relation to reading proficiency

The purpose of this paper is to (a) establish whether meaning recall and meaning recognition item formats test psychometrically distinct constructs of vocabulary knowledge which measure separate skills, and, if so, (b) determine whether each construct possesses unique properties predictive of L2 reading proficiency. Factor analyses and hierarchical regression were conducted on results derived from the two vocabulary item formats in order to test this hypothesis. The results indicated that although the two-factor model had better fit and meaning recall and meaning recognition can be considered distinct psychometrically, discriminant validity between the two factors is questionable. In hierarchical regression models, meaning recognition knowledge did not make a statistically significant contribution to explaining reading proficiency over meaning recall knowledge. However, when the roles were reversed, meaning recall did make a significant contribution to the model beyond the variance explained by meaning recognition alone. The results suggest that meaning recognition does not tap into unique aspects of vocabulary knowledge and provide empirical support for meaning recall as a superior predictor of reading proficiency for research purposes.

Profiling Adult L2 Readers in English Bridge Programs: A Not-So-Simple View of L1 Effect.

This study aimed to validate the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in L2 English readers with alphabetic and morphosyllabic L1 writing system backgrounds. Forty-five L2 English learners enrolled in American university bridge programs completed a set of tasks that measured real word decoding efficiency, pseudoword decoding efficiency, linguistic (listening) comprehension, passage reading comprehension, and word meaning inferencing. There were two major findings: (1) only pseudoword decoding efficiency predicted passage reading comprehension in learners with a morphosyllabic L1, whereas both pseudoword decoding efficiency and linguistic comprehension were significant predictors in learners with an alphabetic L1; (2) pseudoword decoding efficiency was a significant predictor of word meaning inferencing in learners with a morphosyllabic L1, and moderated the effect of real word decoding efficiency on word meaning inference in learners with an alphabetic L1. The findings indicate the complex relationships among word decoding, linguistic comprehension, and passage reading comprehension in adult L2 English learners.

Mandarin Chinese L1 and L2 complex sentence reading reveals a consistent electrophysiological pattern of highly interactive syntactic and semantic processing: An ERP study.

A hallmark of the human language faculty is processing complex hierarchical syntactic structures across languages. However, for Mandarin Chinese, a language typically dependent on semantic combinations and free of morphosyntactic information, the relationship between syntactic and semantic processing during Chinese complex sentence reading is unclear. From the neuropsychological perspective of bilingual studies, whether second language (L2) learners can develop a consistent pattern of target language (i.e., L2) comprehension regarding the interplay of syntactic and semantic processing, especially when their first language (L1) and L2 are typologically distinct, remains to be determined. In this study, Chinese complex sentences with center-embedded relative clauses were generated. By utilizing the high-time-resolution technique of event-related potentials (ERPs), this study aimed to investigate the processing relationships between syntactic and semantic information during Chinese complex sentence reading in both Chinese L1 speakers and highly proficient L2 learners from South Korea. Normal, semantically violated (SEM), and double-violated (containing both semantic and syntactic violations, SEM + SYN) conditions were set with regard to the nonadjacent dependencies of the Chinese complex sentence, and participants were required to judge whether the sentences they read were acceptable. The ERP results showed that sentences with "SEM + SYN" did not elicit early left anterior negativity (ELAN), a component assumed to signal initial syntactic processing, but evoked larger components in the N400 and P600 windows than those of the "SEM" condition, thus exhibiting a biphasic waveform pattern consistent for both groups and in line with previous studies using simpler Chinese syntactic structures. The only difference between the L1 and L2 groups was that L2 learners presented later latencies of the corresponding ERP components. Taken together, these results do not support the temporal and functional priorities of syntactic processing as identified in morphologically rich languages (e.g., German) and converge on the notion that even for Chinese complex sentence reading, syntactic and semantic processing are highly interactive. This is consistent across L1 speakers and high-proficiency L2 learners with typologically different language backgrounds.

RAN and two languages: a meta-analysis of the RAN-reading relationship in bilingual children

RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming) is known to be a robust predictor of reading development in different languages. Much less is known about RAN predictive power in bilingual contexts. This is the first meta-analysis of research with bilingual children, assessing the strength of the RAN-reading relationship both within and across languages. It also explored the moderators that may affect this relationship. The search identified 38 published studies of bilingual children with 47 samples, 313 effect sizes and 5312 participants. Analyses of random-effects models with robust variance estimation revealed weak-to-moderate overall effect sizes of RAN and reading concurrently (r = −.39) and longitudinally (r = −.38). Moderator analyses of concurrent correlations revealed that RAN correlated more strongly with reading fluency (r = −.56) than accuracy (r = −.38). Alphanumeric RAN tasks (digits r = −.39, letters r = −.42) showed stronger associations with reading than non-alphanumeric RAN tasks (objects r = −.38, colors r = −.25). RAN-reading correlation was statistically significant both within and across languages. It was somewhat weaker when the two skills were measured in different languages (rL1RAN—L2 reading = −.34, rL2RAN—L1 reading = −.36) compared to when they were measured in the same language (rL1 = −.40, rL2 = −.44), though those differences failed to reach statistical significance. In addition, the type of bilingualism was found to be a potential moderator of the RAN-reading relationship longitudinally, with its magnitude being the strongest in simultaneous bilinguals. Our results suggest that, as a predictor, RAN taps into general, language-independent processes underlying reading.

Previewing Novel Words Before Reading Affects Their Processing During Reading: An Eye‐Movement Study With First and Second Language Readers

AbstractIn this study, we examined the effect of previewing unfamiliar vocabulary on the real‐time reading behavior of first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. University students with English as their L1 or L2 read passages with embedded pseudowords. In a within‐participant manipulation, definitions of the pseudowords were either previewed before reading or reviewed after reading. Previewing significantly affected reading behavior on early and late eye‐movement measures, and the patterns of change on the first three contextual encounters with the pseudowords differed for L1 and L2 readers. On the multiple‐choice cloze posttest, encountering novel words in reading followed by definitions resulted in somewhat more accurate responses for L1 but not L2 participants. The learning condition did not affect the results of the meaning recall posttest. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between vocabulary support approaches and the reading behavior of L1 and L2 readers when they encounter unfamiliar words in texts.

Word reading transfer in two distinct languages in reading interventions: How Chinese-English bilingual children with reading difficulties learn to read

PurposeSkills developed from literacy training in L1 are shown to transfer to reading in L2 when both languages involve an alphabetic writing system. However, transfer of literacy skills between a logographic L1 and an alphabetic L2 is less studied. This study examined whether the gain in literacy skills after an 8-week training on 1) Chinese character recognition or 2) English phonics, may generalize across the two languages in Chinese elementary students with reading disabilities. MethodsChinese-speaking students identified with reading difficulties were randomly assigned to the Chinese intervention (Chinese character orthography training), English intervention (English phonics training), and control groups. Their Chinese and English literacy skills were measured before and after the interventions. ResultsThough training on the orthography of Chinese characters significantly improved performance in Chinese word reading and Chinese orthographic awareness, our results did not provide evidence for the generalization of word-decoding skills from L1 Chinese to word reading in L2 English. However, phonics training in L2 English benefitted not only English word reading, but also cross-language word reading in L1 Chinese. ConclusionWe postulated that teaching children analytical skills in decoding words in an alphabetic writing system might likewise benefit their word decoding in a logographic script.

A Review of Factors Affecting the Acquisition of Second Language Reading Skills

Effective reading skills are essential prerequisites for L2 reading proficiency which demand different metacognitive and cognitive skills to deal with the problems before and during the reading. These reading strategies adopted by L2 proficient readers are effective methods to handle the primary factors that influence reading proficiency. Therefore, the current research provided a comprehensive review of factors affecting the acquisition of second-language reading skills. The review consisted of thirty-two research articles related to L2 reading acquisition. The results demonstrated primary factors which impacted the L2 reading skills and a wide range of reading techniques adopted by proficient English language learners to construct meanings from the written text. Finally, it is likely to expect that the review of factors affecting reading skills can provide English language teachers and English language learners with in-depth insights into social and cognitive factors affecting L2 reading literacy.

Are You Listening Strategically or Randomly? Examining Listening Comprehension Strategies Among Saudi University EFL Students

Listening is obviously an essential skill for anyone who wishes to acquire a new language, but second-language (L2) listening research is scarce compared to research on L2 reading. Additionally, the literature indicates that Saudi students, regarding listening, lag behind students from other nationalities on standardized international language tests. Hence, in this study, I examined the use of L2 listening comprehension strategies in an English as a foreign language Saudi university context. Based on an existing 19-item psychometrically validated questionnaire followed by a listening test, the results revealed that students were aware of L2 listening strategies and used cognitive strategies slightly more often than metacognitive strategies. However, notably, their less frequent use of practice-based self-regulation listening strategies (e.g., having good partners in practicing listening skills) could adversely impact their L2 listening success. The results also showed a rather weak significant difference between the listening strategic trait and listening test performance; a weak negative significant relationship between listening strategies, age, and years of learning English; and an insignificant relationship between listening comprehension strategies and academic level. However, the results suggest that the number of years of learning English is linked to better listening test performance. Finally, the items in the existing questionnaire, which was employed to assess listening comprehension strategies, lacked internal consistency and had problematic subscales; nevertheless, an acceptable one-factor model emerged from this study.

Digital Games and Second Language Learning among Tertiary-level EFL Learners: A Critical Review

Despite the increased interest in the possibilities of digital games in second language education, their use in higher education is a relatively uncharted territory. This review was carried out to examine how digital game-based language learning is used, and what its effects are on language learners at tertiary level in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Twenty-seven studies were short-listed from academic literature and were analysed for research methodology, theoretical frameworks, research foci, game types and specifications, research results, and pedagogical implications. The research revealed six types of digital games, each with its own affordances that could enhance language learning. It was also found that these games increased vocabulary uptake and long-term lexical retention, enhanced L2 reading and listening comprehension, fostered writing ability and communicative competence, and increased motivation and willingness to communicate in the L2. Therefore, it may be deduced that digital games can be employed as a beneficial tool for the development of L2 competence and for the enrichment of the language learning experience. Suggestions for further research and educational implications have been provided.

Characteristics of Second Language Reading Processing

Several studies mostly focus on a specific area of research, the current paper’s aim is to bring together the various research in a single volume, indicating their particularities as well as demonstrate their inter-relations. Phonological, lexical and syntactic processing Second Language Processing (SLP) are discussed as SLP is a cognitive form of acquisition, and is debated o be bottom-up processes, up-down processes, or a combination of both resulting in integrated interactive processes. SLP faces more complicated issues and involves more factors in comparison with L1 processing as L2 reading comprehension observes the effect of higher-order processes and chances of crosslinguistic transfer in relation to the reader’s L2 linguistic knowledge, L2 proficiency levels, or other language-general reading processes. Furthermore, the major reading process models are mentioned in categories of word identification, syntactic parsing and discourse processing, as well as text and reader related variables are reviewed. Finally, some of the main pedagogical associations with teaching reading comprehension are examined.

Proficient L2 readers do not have a risky reading strategy

Abstract Proficient first-language (L1) readers of alphabetic languages that are read left-to-right typically have a perceptual span of 3–4 characters to the left and 14–15 characters to the right of the foveal fixation. Given that second-language (L2) processing requires more cognitive resources, we hypothesize that L2ers will have a smaller perceptual span than L1ers, and may rely on a compensatory risky reading strategy with a more symmetrical perceptual span similar to that seen in older L1 adults. Here, we test the size and symmetry of the perceptual span in German L1/English L2ers reading in English. We manipulate the amount of information available (3,6,9 characters-left/3,9,15 characters-right) during reading, and also account for the influence of English skills. Results show that L2ers benefit from an increase of window size from 3 to 6 characters to the left, and from 3 to 9 characters to the right, with higher-skilled L2ers further benefiting from an increase to 15 characters to the right. Contrary to our hypothesis, proficient L2ers exhibit an asymmetric perceptual span similar to college-aged L1ers and do not employ a compensatory risky reading strategy. This suggests that L1 and L2 language processing are not qualitatively different, but are rather modulated by individual differences.

Approaches, Methods, and Resources for Assessing the Readability of Arabic Texts

Text readability assessment is a well-known problem that has acquired even more importance in today’s information-rich world. In this article, we survey various approaches to measuring and assessing the readability of texts. Our specific goal is to provide a perspective on the state-of-the-art in readability assessment research for Arabic, which differs significantly from other languages on which readability studies have tended to focus. We provide background on readability assessment research and tools for English, for which readability studies are the most advanced. We then survey approaches adopted for Arabic, both classical formula-based approaches and studies that combine Machine Learning (ML) with Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. The works we cover target text corpora for different audiences: school-age first language readers (L1), foreign language learners (L2), and adult readers in non-academic contexts. Therefore, we explore differences between reading in L1 and L2 and consider how they play out specifically in Arabic after describing language characteristics that may impact readability. Finally, we highlight challenges for Arabic readability research and propose multiple future directions to improve readability assessment and related applications that would benefit from more attention.

The Role of Context in Learning to Read Languages That Use Different Writing Systems and Scripts: Urdu and English

Language learning involves linguistic and societal factors that interact to facilitate or hinder second language learning. Different contextual factors provide an opportunity to examine and understand the similarities and differences that occur among bilingual children who learn the same first (L1) and second language (L2) in different countries and contexts. This paper explored the role of context, learners’ profiles and linguistic differences of Urdu–English bilinguals in Canada and Pakistan. Within- and cross-linguistic comparisons were conducted for 76 Urdu–English speakers from Pakistan and 50 participants from Canada. Children, ages 8–10 years, were tested on language and literacy measures in both languages. Group comparisons of performance on language measures across languages and countries confirmed that relative strengths were based on the societal languages of each country (Urdu in Pakistan and English in Canada). Despite some similarities in relations among skills within language, differences in the language learning context provided interesting findings regarding the role of L1 skills for acquiring L2 reading skills. These findings challenge the theories developed using data from L2 learners, where learners acquire the societal language in immersion contexts, such as in North America or Europe.