Reading Second Language (L2) Theory

                    

 “ISSUES IN READING”

THE OUT LINE

Ø  INTRODUCTION

Ø  Second language Reading

Ø  Examining Some of The Processes

Ø  Synthesis of Reading Requirements

Ø  Some Concerns about Reading that motivate this text

Ø  Summary and conclusion

High reading capacity is one of wondrous ability belongs to human as the consequence of their existence as “human thinker “, meanwhile no other creatures who accepted this great gift as a result of no potential to think. This ability has the human to communicate some ideas and appear their creativity one another.

Truly, reading is a skill that has to be well attempted by certain individual since this skill cannot appears from certain individual automatically. Grabe (2009:7) defined that reading was the process of interpreting letter and word to gain certain meaning which was written either explicitly or implicitly on the certain text. As long as the process of becoming professional readers, the readers keep on reading a collection of some various sources through the spread media around the world. However, the skilled reader has some problems in the process of reading due to individual high reading skill ability, determined by their reading frequency, vocabulary mastery, and their background knowledge of the reading topic.

In addition, throughout the processing of text, applying background knowledge to the messages, the interference of grammar mastery, vocabulary mastery, and background knowledge, there are some other aspects contribute a big influences to students reading capacity those are reading motivation and purpose such as, a man who accept a letter from the woman whom he loves, He will read the letter seriously, even he will read a word by word of the letter  repeatedly.

Therefore, it is crucially needed to view reading process as a series of literacy events or literacy acts since throughout this text, we will be focused on both of the basic information processing and what the reader does with both of the text and the information has been achieved; moreover, this concept also concern on second or foreign language context likes, how well the student can read a second language (L2) and perform some act based on the text, such as summarization or synthesis. However, it is prominent to continually recognize that many second language readers also have literacy in their first language that they use routinely, simultaneously with the target language (Reder 199).

Second Language Reading

            The approaches applied to second or foreign language reading include linguistic and psycholinguistic , and socio linguistic approaches. The first approaches can be seen as seated in an autonomous language base-approaches to reading in which this approach concern on the form of the language and its relationship to reading. The second approach is emerging from psycholinguistics and focuses on cognitive aspect of reading clearly how people acquire, organize, and use their bilingual abilities. The third concerns on sociolinguistic traditions that emphasize social –psychological factor in acquiring reading ability, such as, home, business, academic environment.

            Next, we have to overcome some questions that appear to help us explaining the variability in second language reading performance from one person to another for examples, is this reading problem or language problem?, how are lower-level learners different from higher-level learners?, and how does research in to reading processes translate in to implication for reading pedagogy?

Examining Some of The Processes

            In accordance with some texts or discourses, written in the text, the second language reader had to take look carefully the features of reading process, or some aspects will make the discourse read easily. It is called background knowledge, or what categories of knowledge are crucially needed for successful processing the text.  

Synthesis of Reading Requirements

            Both of first and second language readers had to consider several variables when we examine the reading process, for the variable influence the degree of students success in reading various discourse, take look on table 1.2 for deeper information. Clearly, the possible correlation of these variables imply how complex and varied the reading process is, therefore all o the variables need to be considered to build a correct guide of reading process.

Some Concerns about Reading that motivate this text

1.      Books 2.      Newspaper, Magazine 3.      Articles, Photocopies , and Notices

(take look further on Theory of reading book) Reading Sources’ Diagram

           

Reading Sources

Raw data, Fiction, Song, and Palys.,etc.

Chart, Graphs, illustration, Free form .,etc.

Skimming, Scanning, Proof reading etc.

      Summary and conclusion

                                                        

          In brief, the introductory chapter has given us a very deep knowledge toward the reading process is obliged to be trained since human created with the very high reading capacity. Moreover, it also recommended to consider the variables that contribute significant interference to the L2 and foreign language reader ability , and strengthen the grammar and vocabulary mastery and background knowledge.

   List of Questions

1.      Explain the appropriate and correct approaches for reading academic sources and fiction?

2.      What is the main point of reading?

3.      From all of the variables , Does reader’s culture and ideology influence their understanding of the text give your reasons!

4.      Describe the process of reading process which occur on you when you were reading?

5.      Mentions some specific current issues in reading around Indonesian learners.  

“THE THEORIES AND MODELS OF FIRST LANGUAGE READING PROCESES

THE OUTLINES

v  Introduction

v  A brief overview of research on reading processes

v  Bottom-up approaches

v  Top-down approaches

v  Interactive Approaches

v  Reading Model

v  The Rumelhart Model

v  The Kintsch and Van Dijk models

v  The Just and Carpenter Model

v  The Stanovich Model

v  The Anderson and Pearson Schema-theoritic review

v  The Pearson and Tierney reading/writing model

v  Perferti’smodel .,etc.

Most of second language reading addressed the historical improvement of theories, approaches, and models that have been developed to explain the process involved in first language, however the first language model that have been improved mainly describes two different processes of how a skill is acquired? And what is the process of skilled reader look like?

A brief overview of research on reading processes

   Research on reading process was traced back to cognitive psychologist; however, reading research traditionally was focused on reading primarily as a vehicle for examining perceptual process like, eye movement, field of vision, perceptual span, and word recognition.

Next, further discussion regarding the nature of reading which vary across a scale between the two paradigmatic approaches, called bottom-up approaches and top-down approaches, which currently improved becoming interactive approaches.

Bottom-up approaches

Bottom-up approaches concerns to the cognitive and information psychological processing which assumed that reader construct meaning from letters, words, phrases, clauses, and sentences by processing the text in to phonemic units that represent lexical meaning, and then builds meaning in a linear manner. In addition, there are some reading theories, first “Ones Second of reading” assumed that the reader passes through a reading process in which the visual system scans the series of letters one by one, moreover Gaugh saw this process as proceeding serially from left to right in which he also saw the little problem with misinterpretation of lexical items, such as bass ( as fish type of guitar). Second theory is the initial incarnation of the framework. 

Top-down approaches

            This approach view this information –processing circuit as being slower than assumed by the bottom-up approaches a text which conceptualization above the textual level already in operation and then works to the text it self. Clearly, the process reading through this process is started with Goodman’s view “Psycho linguistic Guessing Game” in which the readers use their syntax semantic knowledge to reduce their dependence on the print and the phonics of the text,moreover,the readers also specify four process in reading : predicting, sampling, confirming, and correcting. While , bottom-up model are generally linear, Goodman’s model value the cognitive economy of linguistic information over graphemic information.

      

Grapheme

Meaning

 

              

Grapheme

Phoneme

Meaning

 

Interactive Aprroaches

         This approach concern on building the interactive frameworks, focus on the process of reading where the core is on the process of interaction of componential cognitive process in fluent reading, or whether the interactive focus is on the products of the readers int-action with the information in the text and the readers background knowledge during comprehension.Besides. There are some orientations of reading which will build how the intaction is. The first is the emphasis of reading is on the process rather than the product of reading, the second orientation to reading is the association of background knowledge  ant text, Last, necessity of addressing social context, and associated with the new transliterates.

3 READING ORIENTATIONS

1.      The Rumelhart Model 2.      The Kintsch and Van Dijk models 3.      The Just and Carpenter Model 4.      The Stanovich Model 5.      The Anderson and Pearson Schema-theoritic review 6.      The Pearson and Tierney reading/writing model 7.      Perferti’smodel.,etc.

INTERACTIVE APPROACHES

READING MODEL

 

Questions

1.      What are the indicators of successful reading?

2.      What are the indicators of intraction occurs among the text and the readers .

Give your explanation based on the Inratctiveapproache view!

3.      A student whoes high reading comprehension skill of first language will also has high reading comprehension skill of second language . Give your logical reasons if you were aggree or dissagree with that statement ?

4.      In accordance with the model above, which models do  help you very much in achiving three orientaions of reading or three perspectives of reading?  Give your reasons!

5.      How to be critical reader ?

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT, THE SUMMARY OF

THEORY OF READING AND ITS TEACHING

“SECOND AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING ISSUES”

            In term of EFL context, second language reading and first language reading carry out a very logic questions bearing in the experts’ mind “whether It is language problem or reading problem?. Both of the questions are crucially to be addresed and explored more deeply by the professional EFL teachers, since intefearence of student’s  low linguistic intellegence and reading skills whose students of their first language correlate negatively to their  second and foreign language reading achievement. In other words, Hudson (2007) postulated that reading is process of transfer from the first language to the second language.

            In accordance with the truht above, the experts have their own views to second language reading in term of assumption, hyphothesis, research finding, and theory. One of the familiar hyphothesis inserted by (Alderson1984:4) as follows:

1.      Poor reading in foreign language is due to the interfearence of poor reading ability in fisrt language.

2.      Poor reading in foreign language is due to poor knowledge of target languange .

3.      Poor reading in foreign language is the contribution of reading strategies in first language  notbeign applied in second language and foreign language reading process.

            Similiarly, some researchers concluded that the students’ reading abilityorrelatepossitively with English students proficiency, reading strategy, background knowledge, and linguistic intellegemce such as, grammar and vocabulary mastery.

            On the other hand, some experts set out many researches or studies to deal with the problems in term of first language and second language relationship in which those studies attempt to find out the strenght correlational level of independent variable and one predictor or some predictors for instance, the relationship among first language reading ability,second language proficiency, and second language reading ability.

            Through out all studies, the reader is impulsed to conclude that the relation of first language reading ability and second language reading performance, and second language proficinecy is interarelationship among them. Clearly,  high second language reading performace, caused by some factors as it was explained by the research finding, formulated by the reserachers.

List of Questions :

1.      How to view the relationship between first language reading and second language reading in term of teaching English  reading in EFL context ?

2.      In term of Historical of language English and Malay is not allied, invice versa a certain language is in one familly with English; moreover, In term of CA (contrastive analysis) Malay and English have different linguistics concept and Pronounciation. In accodance with the fact above, there are some questions crucially to be addresed :

a.       Do the students whose high first language reading ability (not allied to English) will high second language reading performance?

b.      How to improve students second language reading performance if the students were homogenouse?

c.       Give your view to the relationship among first language reading ability, second language reading performance, and language proficiency! 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT, THE SUMMARY OF

THEORY OF READING AND ITS TEACHING

“STRATEGIES AND METACOGNITIVE SKILLS”

NAME            : ZOBI MAZHABI                        CLASS               : III/C

NPM               : 2102073072                                  LECTURER       :Dr. AlfanZuhairi.,M.Pd

Email               :brotherzobi@gmail.com       Day/Date          :  Wenesday 27 11 b2015

            As a process, reading requires not only the understanding of vocabulary but also the prior knowledge of what the reader read about. According to Flavell (1976), who invented the term “metacognition”, (as cited in Forrest-Pressley & Waller. 1984:1), metacognition refers to “one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them”. It means that a student who metacognitively active will aware of his own cognition (i.e., mental processes) and demonstrate strategy consciously in the learning process in order to accomplish the learning (Bruning, Schraw, Norby, &Ronning, 2004). Therefore, metacognition will likely to give beneficial phases in learning process, particularly by helping students to plan and use resource more effectively, to monitor their learning progress accurately, and to evaluate their performance (Schraw, 1998). Principally, there are two interrelated dimensions of metacognitive ability: “knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition” (Brown as cited in Bruning et al., 2004:81).

            Knowledge of cognition refers to what people know about cognitive processes and how they can be controlled (Bruning et al., 2004). As suggested by Brown, knowledge of cognition includes at least three different components of metacognitive awareness (as cited in Bruning et al., 2004). The first component is declarative knowledge, where someone is able to know ‘about’ a thing. For example, a student knows that skimming is a reading strategy. The second component is procedural knowledge, where someone may know ‘how’ to do thing. Here, a skilled reader will likely to apply the various strategies in reading comprehension, such as “taking notes, slowing down for important information, skimming unimportant information, using imagery, summarizing main ideas, and using periodic self-testing (Bruning et al., 2004:81). The third component is conditional knowledge, where someone knows ‘why’ and ‘when’ to use a strategy. For example, an effective student is aware of when to skim a text and why (Schraw, 1998).

            Regulation of cognition refers to “a set of activities that help students control their learning” (Schraw, 1998:114). The implementation of regulation in reading includes students’ awareness of and capability to identify messages in a text, the application of different strategy in different purposes of reading, and students’ ability to separate important from unimportant information (Carell, 1989). Typically, regulation of cognition has three components: planning, regulation, and evaluation (Jacobs & Paris as cited in Bruning et al., 2004).

Metacognitive Reading Awareness and Strategies
            Reading requires language comprehension, some sort of semantic processing, and the ability to understand the meaning of the visual symbols which provide the form of language to be comprehended. Reading, per se, must involve not only particular type of language behavior, but also special form of non-verbal thinking (i.e., metacognition) (Waterhouse, 1980). Furthermore, the crucial issue of the role of metacognitive awareness in reading will be stated by knowing and understanding two dimensions of metacognitive ability, which have discussed above. Therefore, it is expected to make a student aware of what is needed to perform effectively, and then it is possible to take steps to achieve the goals of reading condition more effectively

 Metacognition and Comprehension in Second Language Acquisition
Forrest-Pressley and Waller (1984) proposed that metacognitive aspects of comprehension include knowing when readers have understood what they have read, knowing what they do not understand, and being able to use this knowledge to monitor comprehension. Further, they said that advanced readers can monitor their own reading comprehension, and if necessary, modify reading activities to increase comprehension. The purposeful use of reading strategies will most likely to increase reading efficiency since they are able to know how to read in different ways for different purposes and can do it properly. It also has been suggested that achievement in any given reading situation depends not only on the flexibility of using reading skills, but also on the capacity to monitor the progress of reading in order to correct the failures of comprehension (Brown, 1980). Then, it is argued that the ability to monitor comprehension depends upon what a reader knows about the comprehension processes.

In principle, conscious control and awareness during reading comprehension is influenced by several factors (Collin as cited in Yin & Agnes, 2001) The first factor is textual features of the particular text read, such as the syntax, vocabulary, clarity of the author’s designation, arrangement ideas in the text, and the reader’s interest and familiarity with the text may influence reading comprehension. The second factor is background knowledge of the text will likely facilitate reader to have greater control of strategies use. The last factor is the maturity of the reader is also essential. In addition, the mature readers have the flexibility in applying reading skills, such as have the ability to use strategies of reading for a purpose.

The ability includes skimming and reviewing in order to extract information to achieve a particular purpose. The metacognitive aspects of these advanced strategies involve knowing that the readers will read differently depend on the situation, that there are several ways to help retention, and that some strategies are more appropriate and efficient that other in any particular situation (Forrest-Pressley and Waller, 1984).

Devine (as cited in Imtiaz, 2004) who investigated second language readers perception about their reading in second language suggested that younger and less skilled readers tend to focus on reading as decoding process. Therefore, novice readers need to be trained to use appropriate strategies since the goal of strategy use is to “affect the learner’s motivational or affective state or the way in which the learner selects, acquires, or organizes, or integrates new information” (Imtiaz, 2004:35). Moreover, Qubukcu, (2008) asserted that unskilled readers can become skilled readers when they are given instruction in effective strategies and taught to monitor and check their comprehension while reading. An effective reading instruction program involves “the identification of complementary strategies that are modelled by an expert and achieved by the learner in a context reinforcing the usefulness of such strategies” (Palincsar in Qubukcu, 2008:86). Based on Forrest-Pressley and Waller’s study (1984), they concluded that performance on advanced reading skills such as comprehension and strategies expands with level and reading ability, and the ability to monitor comprehension (also to predict efficiency) and to apply appropriate strategy about comprehension develops with level and reading ability.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT, THE SUMMARY OF

THEORY OF READING AND ITS TEACHING

“CONTENT SCHEMATA AND BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE”

NAME            : ZOBI MAZHABI                        CLASS               : III/C

NPM               : 2102073072                                  LECTURER       :Dr. AlfanZuhairi.,M.Pd

Email               :brotherzobi@gmail.com                Day/Date             :  Wenesday 04 11 b2015

            There are two different types of schema, or background knowledge, that the readers bring on a text. The first is content schema, which is related with the content area and cultural knowledge. The other is formal schema which deals with syntax, cohesive relations, and rhetorical organization of different text types.

Content Schema

Some experts have argued whether the existence of background knowledge affects reading comprehension or hinders comprehension. Reynolds et al. proved that cultural schema as well as personal knowledge influence reading comprehension. Further, prior knowledge affects memory performance that it supports short-term memory for reading ability. However, topic-related attitudes influence the long-term memory of a text, but play a minor role to change immediate recall of a text. In addition, Gaskin (1996) noted that a reader’s attitudes and affiliations affect the interpretation of the text.   

Further discussion will about the influence that prior knowledge has on strategies both in familiar and unfamiliar topics (Afflerbach, 1990). This brings to an understanding that low-knowledge and high-knowledge utilize different methods in identifying the main idea of a passage. Afflerbach proposes draft-and-revision and listening strategy to address unfamiliar content text. Meanwhile, readers use automatic construction and initial hypothesis testing strategy with familiar content text. In addition, topic/comment strategy is used either in unfamiliar or familiar content text.

Cultural knowledge as part of background knowledge shows significantly affects the comprehension. This can be viewed from various findings, such as Steffensen, Joag-Dev, Anderson and others. Hudson (ibid) sums it up that background knowledge facilitate the reading process, to the extent that speed of processing is a reflection of reading ease.

Further study is about the relationship between background knowledge and text complexity. Johnson (1981) concluded that content familiarity can overcome linguistic complexity. In contrast, Carrell (1983) argued that non-native readers failed to use background information since they are linguistically bound. Later, Malik (1990) concludes that the use of schemata most likely played a role in the superior comprehension of the familiar topic and thus enables a reader to distinguish important information from less important information. According to Carrel (1987), content of the text was a stronger predictor of performance than was the familiar or unfamiliar organization of the text. In other words, topic familiarity is of more importance than familiarity with text structure.  

Formal Schema

Formal schema refers to reader’s knowledge towards the language, conventions, and rhetorical structures of different types of text. Formal schema involves orthography, syntax, cohesion, and text structure.

Hudson (ibid, 166) mentions that orthographic features are similar to those of the second language will affect the ease with which they make the transition into fluent second language reading. Further, Chatiri argues that word recognition differs between languages depending upon the writing system and the ability to deal with this writing system depends upon reading proficiency in each of the language. Akamatsu adds that this type of word recognition does not affect comprehension.

Text simplification, which refers to syntactic control, may essential to comprehension. Barry and Lazarte (1995) found that reader’s familiarity with content could be cancelled out by text containing complex embedded clauses. Yano, Long, and Ross (1994) further supported that both simplified and elaborated text versions increased comprehension of texts over the unmodified ones. However, Blau (1982) as well as Leow (1993) revealed that there were no significant evidences to say that syntactic adaptation make the text more comprehensible.

QUESTIONS

1.      What are the differents between formal schema and content schema?

2.      Explain one of the research finding which support this statement and explain yiurresaons why does it occur?

“The readers whoes enough schemata/background knowledge will understand the text faster and deeper”.

3.      Jhon (1981) satated that that content familiarity can overcome linguistic complexity, whereas Carrell (1983) argued that non-native readers failed to use background information since they are linguistically bound. Give your logic clarification related to both of  contradictions finding!

4.      In Perspective of  TEFL and Psychology Schemata and Background knowledge are differents what are the differenst ?

5.      A reader read an unfimiliartetx (the redaer does not have enough background knowledge)  since he/she has to fulfill the resources of his frriend paper in medical discipline. What are the function of content schema/background knowledge in thios case?.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT, THE SUMMARY OF

THEORY OF READING AND ITS TEACHING

“FORMAL SCHEMA AND L2 READING’

NAME            : ZOBI MAZHABI                   CLASS        : III/C

NPM               : 2102073072                              LECTURER: Dr. AlfanZuhairi.,M.Pd

Email               : brotherzobi@gmail.comDay/Date    :  Wednesday 09-12-2015

                 A strong view of schemata sees them as something influencing the reader's opinion even before a text is read. Schemata are higher-level complex knowledge structures (van Dijk, 1981, p.141) that function as "ideational scaffolding" (Anderson, 1977). A weaker view of schemata would be one of organized background knowledge on a topic leading to predictions of discourse. Messages are seen in a certain way determined by a person's personal history, interests, gender, excreta (Anderson et al., 1977). As far back as 1932, Bartlett saw memory as constructive and mental representation was built from current discourse and background knowledge. Schema was an active feature organizing the pieces to develop memory. Schemata, whether fixed or flexible, are a way to account for interpretation and production of discourse (Brown and Yule, 1983, p.25).  In another words, Schank and Abelson (1977, p.10) see schemata as knowledge structures used for understanding what is read. Schema theory has been used in social psychology and was active during the 1970s. The specific details, though, of an individual structure are not so easily discovered. Reality is understandable when specific instances conform to expectations even though there is an infinite amount of variation possible in content. Conceptual Dependency Theory is a theory of representation of the meaning of sentences. Words have been broken down into primitives. Schank and Abelson's (Ibid.) work was intended to enhance computer processing so that eventually natural language could be understood by machines. Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) led these researchers to notice inherent ambiguities in language. Next, The three classifications of schemata are content, formal and abstract. Content schemata are defined as being based on "abductive judgments about particular facts and states of affairs" (Oller Ibid. p.286, quoted in Sasaki 2000, p.87). Formal schemata seem to be developed from more distant connections of states of affairs that are somewhat similar. The third classification of abstract includes pure symbols and inductive integration. Abduction is recognizing a distinct representation; however induction is done if the recognition is more personal. The abstraction is an expansion of a single reference to act as a type through deduction.

    On the other hand, Wallace (1992, p. 33) writes about the activation of Schemas and that they predict what will come next in spoken or written discourse as well as organize information. Jokes are an obvious example of a genre that requires cultural insight to appreciate. Different types of texts require readers to adjust their schema and shape constructs with their own experiences. So much beyond basic meaning is inferred from what is read.Then, Carrell (1998, p.101) calls schema theory a rubric of knowledge representation. Relying on bottom-up processing is considered text-boundness and means that a reader has limited his comprehension by not accessing, or not possessing, a formal or abstract schema, therefore schema theory suggests that an extensive reading program is required. David Eskey (1986, p. 21) sums ups his theory in a motto: "People learn to read, and read better, by reading". Strategies may sound as if short cuts to proficiency are possible but actually they are only additions to a learner's repertoire. The development of good reading habits, more vocabulary structure, and encouraging factors come from extensive reading. Students can read in the classroom silently for pleasure or take material home to gain more from a book than what can be learnt from only concentrating on short passages.

    The theory supports such activities as, activating prior knowledge through pre-reading, strategy training, and developing 'automaticity' skills. Automaticity, in this case, means to be able to read without becoming stuck. Rapid reading, repeated reading, and extensive reading and teaching structural aspects, all contribute to automaticity.

1.            What is the function of formal Schema in reading Comprehension text?

2.            How does the formal schema help  the readers in comprehending text when we read in L2 context?

3.            How is the way to activate formal schema?

4.            How is the implemention of formal Schema in L2 reading?

5.            How to enhance our formal schema?

                   

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT (THE SUMMARY OF THEORY OF READING AND ITS TEACHING) “Genere and Constrastive Theoritic”

NAME            : ZOBI MAZHABI                CLASS           : III/C

NPM               : 2102073072                          LECTURERS : Dr. AlfanZuhairi., M.Pd

Email               : brotherzobi@gmail.com

Genre refers to a type of writing that serves a specific purpose and that is shared by a discourse community who share similarities like, recipes or an academic persuasive essay. It focuses on structure, purpose, and organization. In another words, (Bazerman 1997:19) Genres are not just forms.  Genres are forms of life, ways of being framed for social action.  They are also environments for learning genres shape the thoughts we form and the communications by which we interact.

 On the other hand, traditional rhetoric identifies exposition, argument, description, and narration as genres, but they are really modes because these texts may use any number of combinations of these at the same time. Genre structure changes from one language to another, so limited knowledge of a genre can be problematic to an ELL.

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