The road to second language reading: How do we get there?
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TextDescription: 197 pISBN: 0493179933Subject(s): Language, Linguistics | Education, Bilingual and Multicultural | Education, Educational Psychology | 0290 | 0282 | 0525Dissertation note: Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of New York, 2001. Summary: This study investigated the relationship of various processes to second language reading (SLR) comprehension for fifty-five Spanish-speaking, adult subjects. Reading comprehension was defined as global reading comprehension, and was measured by a standardized multiple-choice reading test. A series of second language (L2) tasks were administered to assess the relationship of L2 micro-skills, word level skills, grammatical skills, and reading strategies. To assess the relationship of first language (L1) literacy, subjects were also given tests of Spanish grammar and Spanish reading comprehension.Summary: Individual regression analyses were conducted to construct a model of SLR comprehension and to determine whether the same processes which are assumed to contribute to first language reading (FLR) contribute to SLR comprehension, specifically phonological, orthographic, and decoding skill. The results indicate that basic phonological skill did not make a direct contribution to the model SLR comprehension, whereas complex, or lexically based phonological skill did make an important contribution. In this respect, the model of SLR comprehension was shown to differ from the model of FLR comprehension. Regression analyses confirmed the importance of L1 literacy. As Spanish reading comprehension made an important contribution to the model SLR comprehension. However, Spanish grammar did not make a direct contribution.Summary: The study makes an important empirical contribution to the L2 literature and the reading literature because it links micro-skill proficiency to global reading comprehension, illustrates how the model of SLR comprehension corresponds to the language processing model of FLR comprehension, demonstrates the relationship of explicit L2 grammatical knowledge to SLR comprehension, and provides evidence for the transfer of FLR comprehension skill to SLR comprehension. The data from this study also suggests that there is an indirect relationship of basic L2 phonological decoding skill and L1 grammatical knowledge to SLR comprehension. In general, the study illustrates the crucial importance of L2 lexical knowledge, which was a strong component of all processes related to SLR comprehension.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 62-03, Section: A, page: 0990.
Adviser: Gita Martohardjono.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of New York, 2001.
This study investigated the relationship of various processes to second language reading (SLR) comprehension for fifty-five Spanish-speaking, adult subjects. Reading comprehension was defined as global reading comprehension, and was measured by a standardized multiple-choice reading test. A series of second language (L2) tasks were administered to assess the relationship of L2 micro-skills, word level skills, grammatical skills, and reading strategies. To assess the relationship of first language (L1) literacy, subjects were also given tests of Spanish grammar and Spanish reading comprehension.
Individual regression analyses were conducted to construct a model of SLR comprehension and to determine whether the same processes which are assumed to contribute to first language reading (FLR) contribute to SLR comprehension, specifically phonological, orthographic, and decoding skill. The results indicate that basic phonological skill did not make a direct contribution to the model SLR comprehension, whereas complex, or lexically based phonological skill did make an important contribution. In this respect, the model of SLR comprehension was shown to differ from the model of FLR comprehension. Regression analyses confirmed the importance of L1 literacy. As Spanish reading comprehension made an important contribution to the model SLR comprehension. However, Spanish grammar did not make a direct contribution.
The study makes an important empirical contribution to the L2 literature and the reading literature because it links micro-skill proficiency to global reading comprehension, illustrates how the model of SLR comprehension corresponds to the language processing model of FLR comprehension, demonstrates the relationship of explicit L2 grammatical knowledge to SLR comprehension, and provides evidence for the transfer of FLR comprehension skill to SLR comprehension. The data from this study also suggests that there is an indirect relationship of basic L2 phonological decoding skill and L1 grammatical knowledge to SLR comprehension. In general, the study illustrates the crucial importance of L2 lexical knowledge, which was a strong component of all processes related to SLR comprehension.
School code: 0046.
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