Reading Comprehension in Polish and English

• Druk: Kraków, 2013
• Autor: Monika Kusiak
• Wydawca: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego

This book is about reading. Throughout the book, the author explains the complexity of the dual-language involvement of FL/L2 reading by showing how L1 and FL/L2 factors interplay in FL/L2 reading. The main aim of the book is to explore reading in English in the foreign/second language context as a cross-linguistic phenomenon and to present the results of a think-aloud study which investigated reading in Polish as the L1 and English as the FL of Polish learners of English. The project consisted of six stages, each focussing on a different aspect of reading. Thus, the following was explored: reading strategies, problems and solutions, the way the subjects constructed their representations of the texts, the students’ individual patterns of developing comprehension and effectiveness in identifying the main ideas. The findings revealed both differences and similarities between the subjects’ reading in Polish and their reading in English. The book offers implications for further research and elucidates the usefulness of think-aloud protocols in foreign language instruction.

• Kategorie:
  1. Ebooki i Audiobooki »
  2. Ebooki »
  3. Nauka języków
• Język wydania: polski
• ISBN: 978-83-233-3513-9
• ISBN druku: 978-83-233-3513-9
• Liczba stron: 238

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  11
INTRODUCTION  13
PART I: ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF READING – A CROSS-LINGUISTIC APPROACH 15
1. FL/L2 reading – a language problem or a reading problem? 16
	1.1. Th e Linguistic Th reshold Hypothesis  16
	1.2. Th e Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis  17
	1.3. Consolidating the Linguistic Th reshold and the Linguistic Interdependence Hypotheses  18
2. Lower-level language processing – word and sentence level  19
	2.1. Phonological processing  20
		2.1.1. Th e importance of phonological decoding in L1 reading  20
		2.1.2. Phonological processing in diff erent orthographic systems  20
		2.1.3. Phonological processes in reading English as L1 and Polish as L1  21
		2.1.4. Cross-linguistic variations: Th e infl uence of L1 orthographic background on FL/L2 reading  22
	2.2. Word recognition  23
		2.2.1. Th e role of phonological mediation in word recognition  23
		2.2.2. Word recognition in the rauding theory  25
	2.3. Vocabulary knowledge  26
		2.3.1. Th e importance of vocabulary knowledge in L1 and FL/L2 reading  26
		2.3.2. Cross-linguistic studies  27
	2.4. Sentence processing  28
		2.4.1. Factors infl uencing sentence processing  28
		2.4.2. Sentence processing in the competition model of language acquisition  29
		2.4.3. Cross-linguistic variations in sentence processing  30
3. Higher-level language processing – discourse level and text structure knowledge  32
	3.1. Discourse processing  32
		3.1.1. Th e Kintsch model  32
		3.1.2. Mental models  33
		3.1.3. Studies on L1 and FL/L2 discourse comprehension  34
	3.2. Coherence development  35
		3.2.1. Coherence in the psychological perspective  35
		3.2.2. Contrastive studies  35
	3.3. Establishing coherence through inferencing  36
		3.3.1. Elaborative and bridging inferences  37
		3.3.2. Studies on coherence building in L1 and FL/L2 reading  37
	3.4. Text structure and comprehension  38
		3.4.1. Narrative texts  39
			3.4.1.1. Story grammar  39
			3.4.1.2. Causal network models  40
		3.4.2. Expository texts – focus on the text structure  41
			3.4.2.1. Meyer’s system  41
			3.4.2.2. Contrastive studies  42
		3.4.3. Expository texts – focus on the reader’s comprehension  43
			3.4.3.1. Th e Gernsbacher model  43
			3.4.3.2. Britton’s grammar of exposition  47
			3.4.3.3. Inducing insights by exposition  50
	3.5. Contrastive rhetoric  51
		3.5.1. Pioneering studies  52
		3.5.2. European languages  52
		3.5.3. Th e Polish language  54
		3.5.4. Summary  56
		3.5.5. Implications for FL/L2 reading  57
4. Language-independent factors  58
	4.1. Background knowledge  58
		4.1.1. Conceptual knowledge  59
		4.1.2. Domain knowledge  59
		4.1.3. Cultural knowledge  60
		4.1.4. Th e relationship between background knowledge and FL profi ciency  61
		4.1.5. Teaching implications  62
	4.2. Metalinguistic knowledge  62
		4.2.1. Defi nition of the term  62
		4.2.2. Interrelations among metalinguistic knowledge, metalinguistic	awareness and metalinguistic ability  64
		4.2.3. Metalinguistic phenomena in bilingual learners’ reading  64
		4.2.4. Summary  66
	4.3. Metacognition  67
		4.3.1. Various conceptions of metacognition  67
		4.3.2. Metacognition of L1 readers  68
		4.3.3. Metacognition of FL/L2 readers  69
		4.3.4. Metacognition in the Bernhardt constructivist reading model  70
		4.3.5. Cross-linguistic studies  71
		4.3.6. Eff ects of metacognitive training  73
5. Summary of the fi ndings and implications for future research  74
	5.1. Vocabulary, syntax and discourse  75
		5.1.1. Th e role of L1 in FL/L2 reading  75
		5.1.2. Diff erences between L1 and FL/L2 reading  75
		5.1.3. Interlingual transfer  76
	5.2. Metacognition, metalinguistic knowledge and background knowledge  78
	5.3. Suggestions for future research  79
		5.3.1. A call for a unifi ed theory of reading  79
		5.3.2. Th e need for more cross-linguistic reading research in Poland  80
PART II: THINK-ALOUD READING COMPREHENSION STUDIES  83
1. Th ink-aloud methodology  83
	1.1. Aspects of reading investigated by think-aloud methodology  83
	1.2. Using protocol analysis in theory building and research  85
	1.3. Th eoretical underpinnings of think-aloud methodology  85
	1.4. Ericsson and Simon’s model and text processing  87
	1.5. General methodological guidelines for think-aloud research  88
2. A review of selected studies in the L1 reading context  92
	2.1. Reading as a problem-solving process  94
	2.2. Reading as a process of constructing a text model  94
	2.3. Evaluating text understanding  95
	2.4. Strategies used by expert readers  96
	2.5. Diff erences between expert and novice readers  97
	2.6. A summary of research fi ndings  99
	2.7. Conclusions – reading in L1  102
		2.7.1. Th e relationship between the think-aloud method and reading  102
		2.7.2. Th e view of reading and the reader created by the studies  104
3. A review of selected studies in the FL/L2 reading context  106
	3.1. FL/L2 readers’ approach to the text  107
	3.2. Strategies used by successful and unsuccessful readers  108
	3.3. Monitoring comprehension by profi cient and less profi cient readers  109
	3.4. Factors that make texts diffi cult to read  110
	3.5. Conclusions – reading in FL/L2  110
		3.5.1. Skilled vs. less skilled FL/L2 readers  111
		3.5.2. FL/L2 reading vs. L1 reading  112
4. A review of selected comparative studies in L1 and FL/L2  113
	4.1. Processing strategies in L1 and FL/L2 reading  115
	4.2. Interpretation problems of L1 and FL readers  117
	4.3. Test-taking strategies in L1 and FL reading  117
	4.4. Transfer of reading processes from L1 to FL  118
	4.5. Conclusions – reading in L1 and FL/L2  119
PART III: THE THINK-ALOUD STUDY  125
1. Description of the study  125
	1.1. Th e goal of the study  125
	1.2. Subjects  126
	1.3. Texts  126
	1.4. Tasks  127
	1.5. Directions to subjects  128
	1.6. Transcription process  128
	1.7. Process of analyzing the protocols  129
2. Analysis of students’ strategies: Stage 1  130
	2.1. Research questions  130
	2.2. Results  130
	2.3. Discussion  140
	2.4. Conclusions  144
3. Analysis of problems and solutions: Stage 2  145
	3.1. Research questions  145
	3.2. Procedures applied in the analysis  146
	3.3. Results  146
		3.3.1. Problems and solutions applied in reading in Polish and English – a comparison of comprehension processes  146
		3.3.2. How did the students cope with vocabulary problems inreading the English text?  150
		3.3.3. How did the students cope with diffi culties in understanding concepts?  151
	3.4. Conclusions about the students’ comprehensionof the text  154
4. Analysis of propositions: Stage 3  156
	4.1. Research questions  156
	4.2. Results  157
		4.2.1. Identifying diff erent types of propositions  157
		4.2.2. Th e role of predictions in understanding the text  160
		4.2.3. Th e role of pictures in understanding the text  163
		4.2.4. Strategies the students used to evaluate their comprehension  164
	4.3. Conclusions  165
5. Students’ idiosyncratic patterns of constructing comprehension: Stage 4  166
	5.1. Research questions  166
	5.2. Results and conclusions  166
6. Evaluating the readers’ comprehension – how well the subjects understood the texts: Stage 5  169
	6.1. Research focus and analysis of results  169
	6.2. Conclusions  173
7. Th e interview with the students: Stage 6  174
	7.1. Research focus  174
	7.2. Results  174
		7.2.1. Students’ individual styles of reading in relation to the Polish and the English text  174
		7.2.2. Diff erences between reading in Polish and reading in English  176
	7.3. Conclusions  178
8. Evaluation of the study  179
	8.1. General comments on the design of the study  179
	8.2. Evaluation of the reliability and validity of the study  180
	8.3. Triangulation  182
	8.4. Limitations of the study  185
9. Implications of the fi ndings  189
	9.1. Implications for further research  189
	9.2. Teaching implications  191
CONCLUDING SUMMARY  195
APPENDICES  199
APPENDIX 1.  199
APPENDIX 2.  201
APPENDIX 3.  211
BIBLIOGRAPHY  215
INDEX  235