KEY STUDIES IN L1 AND L2 READING

The studies show

o how research can be understood

o how it can be interpreted better

o how good research studies on reading have been carried out

SIMILARITIES IN L1 AND L2 RESEARCH STUDIES

Topics

Methods and procedures

Ways of analysing the information collected

DIFFERENCES IN L1 AND L2 RESEARCH STUDIES

L2 looks at the roles of language proficiency and language knowledge as important factors in reading development.

L2 often explores transfer issues of L1 linguistic, strategic and content knowledge on L2 performance, and whether this transfer might be positive or negative.

L2 research explores cultural factors and unique instructional resources that might influence reading development.

KEY STUDIES IN L1 READING

A review of these studies will help practitioners

understand important aspects of reading, including the following:

the relationship between exposure to print and reading abilities

the role of student attitudes, intersts and motivation on reading develpment

the influence of incidental exposure to words on vocabulary development and reading

the impact of fluency training and strategy instruction on reading

TOPICS OF L1 RESEARCH STUDIES

Research studies as stories:

An extended example

TOPICS

1-Relationship between exposure to print and reading abilities. Cipielewski and Stanovich (1992)

2- Role of incidental exposure to words in vocabulary development and reading. Nagy, Herman and Anderson (1985)

3- Impact of fluency training on reading. Stahl, Heubach and Cramond (1997)

4- Influence of discourse organisation on reading comprehension. Beck, Mckeown, Sinatra and Loxterman. (1991)

5- Impact of strategy instruction on students´reading. Brown, Pressley, Van Meter and Schuder (1996)

6- Process of reading-to-learn. Perfetti, Britt and Georgi (1995)

7- Reading development in relation to different instructional techniques. Tan and Nicholson (1997)

8-Role of student attitudes, intersts and motivation on reading development. Guthrie, Wigfield, Metsala and Cox (1999).

9- Development of a theory of reading. Carver (1997)

KEY STUDIES IN L2 READING

TOPICS TO EXPLORE IN L2 READING RESEARCH

AREAS TYPICAL OF L2 READING RESEARCH

1- Word-level issues in reading development 2- Discourse organisation and text

comprehension 3- Main idea comprehension and instructional

routines 4- Extensive reading and motivation 5- Topics unique to L2 reading settings 6- Social and cultural context influences on

reading 7- Assessment of reading

RESEARCH STUDIES ASSOCIEATED WITH DIFFERENT L2 READING RESEARCH AREAS

General L2 research areas

Word-level issues in reading development

Studies associated with research areas

1-A study on learning new words (Parry, 1991)

2- A study on L2 word-recognition abilities (Muljani, Koda and Moates, 1998)

3. A study on knowing enough words for academic success (Hazenburg and Hulstijn, 1996)

RESEARCH STUDIES ASSOCIEATED WITH DIFFERENT L2 READING RESEARCH AREAS

Discourse organisation and text comprehension

4. A study on the benefits of recognising discourse organisation (Hazenburg and Holston, 1996)

5. A study of strategy uses by L2 readers (Anderson, 1991

6. A study of mental translation as a reading strategy (Kem,1994)

General L2 research areas Studies associated with research areas

RESEARCH STUDIES ASSOCIEATED WITH DIFFERENT L2 READING RESEARCH AREAS

Main idea comprehension and instructional routines

Extensive reading and motivation

7. A study on using previews and preview discussions before reading (Chen and Graves, 1995)

8. A study on the benefits of extensive reading (Elley, 1991)

General L2 research areas Studies associated with research areas

RESEARCH STUDIES ASSOCIEATED WITH DIFFERENT L2 READING RESEARCH AREAS

Topics unique to L2 reading settings

Social and cultural context influences on reading

9. A study on metacognition and the language threshold (Schoonen, Hulstijn and Bossers, 1998)

10. A study on becoming literate in a second language (Bell, 1995)

General L2 research areas Studies associated with research areas

WORD-LEVEL ISSUES IN READING DEVELOPMENT

A STUDY ON LEARNING NEW WORDS

(PARRY, 1991)

How do L2 students in academic courses cope with the heavy demands of so many new words and terms, and what strategies do they adopt to be successful in their studies?

A STUDY OF L2 WORD-RECOGNITION ABILITIES(MULJANNI,KODA AND MOATES, 1998)

First, will word frequency lead to different speeds of word recognition across different L2 student groups with differing L1 orthographic backgrounds: Indonesian (Bahasa) and Chinese (MIandarin)? Second, will L1 familiarity with an alphabetic orthography (Bahasa) lead to more rapid word-recognition abilities? And third, will L2 words that match L 1 orthographic letter be recognised more rapidly?

A STUDY ON KNOWING ENOUGH WORDS FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS (HAZENBURG AND

HULSTIJN, 1996)

One of the most important, but elusive, questions for fluent reading abilities is how many words a reader needs to know to read most texts fluently. In an important study, Hazenburg and Hulstijn (1996) wanted to find out if the commonly cited argument among L2 researchers of 5,000 words was a realistic minimum number of words needed to understand beginning university text material in an L2. They were sceptical of this claim, and set out to answer the following question: What is the minimal number of words that a beginning university student needs to read successfully in an L2?

DISCOURSE ORGANISATION AND TEXT COMPREHENSION

A STUDY ON THE BENEFITS OF RECOGNISING DISCOURSE ORGANISATION

(HAZENBURG AND HOLSTON, 1996)

Do L2 students’ recognise and use discourse organisation information for differing types of texts? Do L2 students recall more information from certain types of discourse organisation? What is the relation between discourse organisation and recall of information more generally?

A STUDY OF STRATEGY USES BY L2 READERS (ANDERSON, 1991)

Will there be differences in strategy use when students only read a passage versus when they take a reading test? Will weaker students differ from stronger students in their use of strategies while doing each task?

A STUDY OF MENTAL TRANSLATION AS A READING STRATEGY (KEM,1994)

How is mental translation used as a positive, even though sometimes limited, strategy for L2 reading comprehension?

MAIN IDEA COMPREHENSION AND INSTRUCTIONAL ROUTINES

A STUDY ON USING PREVIEWS AND PREVIEW DISCUSSIONS BEFORE READING (CHEN AND

GRAVES, 1995)

Does reading comprehension improve when students are given previews of thee story, background knowledge of the reading or both supports in combination?

EXTENSIVE READING AND MOTIVATION

A STUDY ON THE BENEFITS OF EXTENSIVE READING (ELLEY, 1991)

Would students engaged in an extensive reading curriculum centred on appropriate book-reading activities outperform a more traditional ESL curriculum?

TOPICS UNIQUE TO L2 READING SETTINGS

A STUDY ON METACOGNITION AND THE LANGUAGE THRESHOLD (SCHOONEN,

HULSTIJN AND BOSSERS, 1998)

What are the contributions of vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive knowledge on L1 reading abilities? What are the contributions of vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive knowledge on L2 reading abilities? Do the ability combinations appear similar across both languages or does L2 reading look different from L1 reading abilities? Will a language threshold effect arise with lower-proficiency L2 readers?

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT INFLUENCES ON

READING

A STUDY ON BECOMING LITERATE IN A SECOND LANGUAGE (BELL, 1995)

Jill Sinclair Bell (1995) carried out an important diary study on becoming literate in a second language.

The question that she asked was whether she would learn Chinese, particularly written Chinese, in the same way that she assumed she had learned to read and write in English.

CONCLUSION

We can explore research ideas, claims and interpretations within our own classrooms.

We can see if the claims make sense in specific teaching contexts and if they can lead to improved teaching practices and better student learning.