Stephen van Vlack

Sookmyung Women`s University

Graduate School of TESOL

Teaching Reading

Week 8 - Answers

Grabe and Stoller (2002), Chapter 2

Carrel and Eisterhold (1998), Chapter 5

1. How do L1 and L2 readers process their reading differently and what might be some of the causes for this?

Grabe and Stoller (2002) list 7 different variables which affect the processing of texts in L1 and L2 readers. One of the important aspects of looking at this list is simply not to try to find problems necessarily with L2 reading situation or foreign-language situation, but rather simply to be aware of these differences so that we can teach more effectively. It should be clear that while there are certain challenges to a foreign language situation recent research is shown that there are also positive advantages of not only learning a second language (this is quite obvious) but actually learning a new language in a foreign language situation. Let`s not forget this as we look through these different variables.

1. Linguistic knowledge at the outset of literacy development

This is quite obvious. Students who are coming in to a second language with no background in that language are going to have to be taught in a different way. One of the chief differences is something we have already discussed a great length and that is the difference in orality and literacy. Learners coming into their L2 for the first time or any oral skills in that language. This means that we can not use standard teaching techniques used for L1 learners who are extremely oral and common to the classroom at this huge amount of knowledge about their first language though it may be restricted to orality. The obvious conclusion to be made from this is that we can not make references to sound structures in the target language simply because students do not have them. If we are trying to teach orality at the same time that we are trying to get basic literacy this may be somewhat problematic at least in the beginning stages. It might be better to build a lease part of one system first before moving on to build the other and of course the obvious choice here would be to build orality first, but learners who are older might not understand dealing with orality prior to literacy. So really, we have to take the student`s knowledge into serious consideration when we think about which type of approaches and techniques we might use in trying to develop their literacy still.

2. Greater metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness in L2 readers

This is one of the advantages that L2 readers would have over L1 readers. Studies have shown time and time again that one of the greatest advantages of learning a second language is the development of metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness and of course strategies which come with this awareness. Such awareness and their company strategies help us not only to deal with more than one language, but they also actually help us in our daily life. This means that we can use different strategies to teach our students in the L2 reading classroom. We expect our L2 readers to be able to analyze language more and understand more formal types of reading because all of the more fixed meanings they might have based on their L2 experience. So, L2 readers can actually do more than L1 readers and to a certain extent better. This, however, is not a license to push your L2 readers too much. While L2 readers may be cognitively more able to deal with more abstract types of texts and analyze them, this does not mean that they enjoy reading these types of texts. And of course is also the trade-off with their linguistic knowledge. While they do have certain skills for analysis analyzing something you don`t understand because you don`t have the vocabulary or the linguistic knowledge to figure out the text will not help. So don`t overestimate what L2 readers can do or what we want to do based on these powerful skills.

3. Varied exposure to L2 reading

This pertains to the old adage that the more you do something the better you are at it. And of course this is definitely true. The more one reads the better they will be at reading. And of course for L1 readers even if people don`t read as much as others they probably have reached some sort of threshold level which makes the experience factor at less important. For L2 readers not only is their experience highly limited in relation to L1 readers but small differences in experience in L2 readers will create quite different types of proficiency levels. So we have higher variability within the L2 readers themselves. This observation of course also lends credence to the idea of silence sustained reading or free voluntary reading. We need students not only to read more but they need to read more various types of things so that they can develop different types of strategies based on different types of genres.

4. Different linguistic structures in the reader`s languages

This is obvious. We are well aware than English and Korean have different types of structures in the language. As far sentences go English tends to put things in the beginning of the sentence which are the most important, while Korean tends to put things at the end which are more important. This oversimplified difference plays an important role in actual language processing. We’ve set over again that in order to read efficiently people need to read at a certain speed. Your brain, powerful goal might be, is always looking for possible shortcuts it can take in order to process faster and more efficiently. For Korean reading the brain will focus all its attention towards the end of sentence units and even paragraph units. When Koreans initially are exposed English they will carry this type of processing over onto English because this is simply what they are used to. It is a well ingrained habit. It is also a damning habit when you happen to try to read English where all the important information is exactly the opposite place you`re looking. So, again, as teachers we need to try to develop techniques that will get our students to change their habits. Of course over time and with lots and lots of practice students might eventually switch over to some different processing for English, but I will be a long and difficult road. As teachers we need to provide some activities certain techniques which will allow them to make a smoother, more efficient transition. And of course we want them to be successful while doing it. Especially in reading, but of course is applies to all aspects of language, we want to create scenarios where our students will always be successful and never be unsuccessful or fail miserably.

5. Variant L2 proficiencies as a foundation for L2 reading

The basic idea that comes out of this is the idea of threshold levels. This threshold hypothesis is extremely powerful and useful one for us as language teachers because it helps us figure out how we might go about selecting texts for our students. The basic idea is that all students have a certain threshold level in relation to a particular text. Based on their proficiency they will either be able to read a text of both their threshold level or below the threshold level. If a text is above their threshold level they will not be able to read that text efficiently. They will suffer. If the text is below their threshold level than they will be able to read that text efficiently using efficient processing. How we actually do to her and this threshold level is up by first looking at the vocabulary of the text, the length of the text, the topic area of the text, among other things such as the grammatical construction of the text, or even how well written the text may be. We need to rate this text begins what we know about what the students actually have. This of course is a difficult endeavor in a classroom filled with multiple level students and of course makes an excellent argument for trying to divide classes into different groups. If for whatever reason you can not divide your class into different groups then I think that is often better to try to go for the lower end of the spectrum rather than higher end and just give the higher-level learners something extra to do. Again, we want everybody to succeed.

6. Varying language transfer results

Transfer is a wonderful thing, but it is also extremely elusive thing. What all the different studies on transfer have really pointed out is that transfer is something that we can not necessarily count on. It is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. What this means is that even though we get a certain amount of exposure and even different types of exposure to the target language there is never any guarantee that such exposure will necessarily lead to transfer. Transfer is something which must be pushed and prod and fostered and fondled. As teachers we need to try to do things to make transfer work and not just through lots of exposure. While this all sounds darkened damning one piece of advice that can be supplied is the recognition that transfer occurs in the face of similarities as opposed to differences. So, if you are trying to get your students to transfer knowledge from one system to another then you need to try to point out similarities between what they know and what they are trying to do.

7. Disparate workings of the two languages

The basic claim here, and thankfully we don`t need to worry too much about this in our situation in Korea, is that different societies, different cultures, value literacy in very different ways. Students sometime encounter difficulty in learning to read and write in a foreign language because they don`t understand the purpose of reading and writing in that foreign language. Well, literacy is extremely important to both the Korean society and in English-language societies and his use pretty much for similar purposes.

2. How does the variable of experience affect reading, especially for L2 readers?

The more experience one has in L2 reading the better one will be in reading. This simple adage was discussed briefly above but bears repeating at this point. It cannot be overvalued. As a teacher of English who is interested in developing literacy skills in your students you will need to do some sort of background check/survey of your students related to their reading habits. You need to find some way to measure their type of experience it with reading so that you can find appropriate materials based on their experience. So that is the beginning. Once you`ve established a level of the students experience than you need to try to build on their experience. This involves of course not only increasing the quantity but also the quality of their experience of and in reading this would also necessarily include different varieties of experience. The basic ideas that we need to get our students to read more and more diverse types of texts.

3. How do cultural differences affect the L2 reading process?

Simply put, different languages/cultures tend to use differing rhetorical structures. As we discussed in class English tends to use a more linear type of rhetorical structure that in Korean which is often described as using a more circular type of rhetorical structure. Getting our students to understand these different types of rhetorical structures is going to be extremely important. In addition, as I mentioned in class, this is one of the areas where students greatly benefit by not only reading but also writing. It is the writing that we can really solidify some of the basic ideas that we can quickly introduced through reading. It is the experience of writing which forces us to really come to terms with and internalize some of the aspects of rhetorical structure which we need to help us understand a text and read a text better. Students coming into this reading process and different cultural backgrounds will surely be looking for different types of rhetorical structures based on their own general use. To be good readers, we need to get our students to become used to English rhetorical structures. This is a little bit tricky because rhetorical structure varies from genre to genre. Good writers will divert from accepted rhetorical structures in order to focus on certain aspects of their writing while and writers may not follow accepted norms of rhetorical structures simply because they are bad writers. Based on then is we need to really be able to a valuate the quality of the writing in relation to these different rhetorical structures.

4. What is schema theory and how does it work specifically in relation to reading processes?

It is basically background knowledge. There is no such thing as a new idea. All meaning presented can only be understood in relation to what is known. This means that background knowledge is absolutely essential for reading. It is background knowledge which drives the entire reading process. Of course this background knowledge is it aided and abetted by bottom-up types of analytical processes. These bottom-up processes basically work first to activate background knowledge and second as a way of checking the accuracy of the background knowledge which we have come up with. In relation to schema there are basically two different types presented in this article.

Formal schemata

This is specific knowledge which relates to rhetorical structure.

Content schemata

This is more general knowledge related to the actual content of the text.

5. How might teachers best apply ideas from schema theory into the teaching of literacy?

Carrel and Eisterhold (1998) basically give as five different ideas for how we might integrate schema theory into our teaching of literacy. They advocate five different, but similar approaches. These approaches are listed below.

LEA

Narrow reading

Highly familiar text topics

SSR

Previewing

I think the most common element that all these different approaches share would be the idea of familiarity. Certainly the great advantage on the Language Experience Approach (LEA) is the degree of familiarity that students have with the actual text that are being created simply because the texts come from the students themselves. Now her reading works because it allows students to develop familiarity with a particular type of either structure, writing style, or theme. SSR relates to familiarity because students are going to choose their own texts and they will probably choose texts they have some degree of familiarity with. And finally, as we have discussed in class, the whole purpose of previewing is to unique to familiarity with the subject at the students might not necessarily be familiar with prior to exposure to the text. So looking at these five different suggestions they have made for us what we really might derive from all this is that familiarity really is the key to good reading, and efficient reading skills.