Reading and understanding a text presents a variety of processing problems for L2
learners. The organizational pattern of a text has been considered by some
researchers to have an important influence in this process. This article describes
an experimental study of a group of Hong Kong schoolchildren and presents evidence
that learners reading in English as a second language experience unexpected
comprehension problems that may be related to L1-L2 rhetorical differences. Results
indicate predilections which favour particular rhetorical patterns: it is suggested
that specific teaching strategies should be employed to raise reader awareness of
this aspect of comprehension.
References
1.
Alderson, J.C.1979‘The Cloze Procedure and Proficiency in English as a Foreign Language’
, Journal of Research in Reading2:
108-119
.
2.
2000Assessing Reading (
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
).
3.
Armbruster, B.B.1984‘The Problems of Inconsiderate Text’, in
G.G. Duffy
,
L.R. Roehler
and
J. Mason
(eds.), Comprehension Instruction (
New York: Longman
).
4.
Armbruster, B.B.
,
T.H. Anderson
and
J. Ostertag1987‘Does Text Structure/Summarization Instruction Facilitate
Learning from Expository Text?’
, Reading Research Quarterly22:
331-346
.
5.
Ballard, B.
, and
J. Clanchy1984Study Abroad, a Manual for Asian Students (
Kuala Lumpur: Longman
).
6.
Bernhardt, E.B.1983‘Three Approaches to Reading Comprehension in Intermediate German’
, Modern Language Journal67:
111-115
.
7.
Block, E.1986‘The Comprehension Strategies of Second Language Readers’
, TESOL Quarterly20.3:
463-494
.
8.
Bloom, A.H.1981The Linguistic Shaping of Thought, a Study in the Impact of Language on
Thinking in China and the West (
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
).
9.
Bodycott, P.1997‘Using Top-Level Structures to Enhance Reader Comprehension of
Content Area Texts’
, New Horizons38:
28-35
.
10.
Brown, A.L.
,
J.D. Day
and
R.S. Jones1983‘The Development of Plans for Summarizing Texts’
, Child Development54:
968-979
.
11.
Brown, A.L.
,
S.S. Smiley
,
J.D. Day
,
M.A. Townsend
and
S.C. Lawton1977‘Intrusion of a Thematic Idea in Children’s
Comprehension and Retention of Stories’
, Child Development48:
1454-1466
.
12.
Carrell, P.L.1983‘Some Issues in Studying the Role of Schemata or Background
Knowledge in Second Language Comprehension’
, Reading in a Foreign Language1:
81-92
.
13.
1984‘The Effects of Rhetorical Organization on ESL Readers’
, TESOL Quarterly18.3:
441-469
.
14.
Chan, J.1986‘Sex Differences in Reading’
, International Research in Reading3:
11-16
.
15.
Chan, W.K.
,
Y.K. Hui
,
K.F. Wong
and
S.W. Kong1993Understanding Integrated Science book 3A (
Hong Kong: Aristo Publications
).
16.
Clyde, M.1987‘Cultural Differences in the Organization of Academic Text’
, Journal of Pragmatics11:
211-247
.
17.
Connor, U.1984‘Recall of Texts, Differences between First and Second Language Learners’
, TESOL Quarterly18:
239-256
.
18.
Davis, J.N.
,
D.L. Lange
and
S.J. Samuels1988‘Effects of Text Structure Instruction on Foreign Language
Readers’ Recall of a Scientific Journal Article’
, Journal of Reading Behaviour20.3:
203-214
.
19.
de Beaugrande, R.1980Text, Discourse and Process (
Norwood, NJ: Ablex
).
20.
Dole, J.A.
,
G.G. Duffy
,
L.R. Roehler
and
P.D. Pearson1991‘Moving from the Old to the New, Research on Reading
Comprehension Instruction’
, Review of Educational Research62.2:
239-264
.
21.
Eggington, W.G.1987‘Written Academic Discourse in Korean, Implications for Effective
Communication’, in
U. Connor
and
R.B. Kaplan
(eds.), Writing across Languages, Analysis of L2 Text (
Reading, MA: Addison Wesley
).
22.
Farhady, H.
, and
M.N. Keramati1996‘A Text Driven Method for the Deletion Procedure in Cloze Passages’
, Language Testing13.2:
191-207
.
23.
Flick, W.C.
, and
J.L. Anderson1980)
‘Rhetorical Difficulty in Scientific English: A Study in Reading Comprehension’
, TESOL Quarterly14.3:
345-351
.
24.
Foo, R.W.K.1989)
‘A Reading Experiment with L2 Readers of English in Hong Kong -
Effects of the Rhetorical Structure of Expository Texts on Reading Comprehension’
, Hong Kong Papers in Applied Linguistics12:
49-62
.
25.
Fuchs, L.S.
,
D. Fuchs
and
L. Maxwell1988‘The Validity of Informal Reading Comprehension Measures’
, Remedial and Special Education9.2:
20-28
.
26.
Goh, S.T.1990‘The Effects of the Rhetorical Organization of Expository Prose
on ESL Readers in Sinagapore’
, RELC Journal21:
1-13
.
27.
Grimes, J.E.1975The Thread of Discourse (
The Hague: Monton
).
28.
Hinds, J.1990‘Inductive, Deductive, Quasi-Inductive, Expository Writing in
Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai’, in
U. Connor
and
A. Johns
(eds.), Coherence in Writing, Research and Pedagogical
Perspectives (
Alexandria, VA: TESOL
).
29.
Hoosain, R.1991Psycholinguistic Implications for Linguistic Relativity, a Case Study in
Chinese (
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
).
30.
Horowitz, R.1985‘Text Patterns, Part 1’
, Journal of Reading28.5:
448-454
.
31.
Hu, Z.
,
D.F. Brown
and
L.B. Brown1982‘Some Linguistic Differences in the Written English of Chinese
and Australian Students’
, Language Learning and Communication1.1:
39-49
.
32.
Johns, A.M.1984‘Textual Cohesion and the Chinese Speaker of English’
, Language Learning and Communication3.1:
69-74
.
33.
Johnson, R.E.1970‘Recall of Prose as a Function of the Structural Importance of
the Linguistic Units’
, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour9:
12-20
.
34.
Johnson, R.K.
, and
A.Y.S. Ngor1996‘Coping with Second Language Texts, the Development of
Lexically-Based Reading Strategies’, in
D.A. Watkins
and
J.B. Biggs
(eds.), The Chinese Learner, Cultural, Psychological and Contextual
Influences (
Hong Kong, Comparative Education Research
Centre; Australian Council for Educational Research
).
35.
Jonz, J.1990‘Another Turn in the Conversation, What Does Cloze Measure?’
, TESOL Quarterly24:
61-83
.
36.
Just, M.A.
, and
P.A. Carpenter1987The Psychology of Reading and Language Comprehension (
Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon).
37.
Kaplan, R.B.1966‘Cultural Thought Patterns in Intercultural Education’
, Language Learning16:
1-20
.
38.
1987
‘Fact and Counterfact, an Exploration of Chinese Writing’
(TESOL Conference, Miami).
39.
Kintsch, W.
, and
T.A. Van Dijk1978‘Towards a Model of Text Comprehension and Production’
, Psychological Review85:
363-394
.
40.
Kowal, K.H.1998Rhetorical Implications of Linguistic Relativity (Berkeley
Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics, 27;
New York: Peter Lang
).
41.
Leon, J.A.
, and
M. Carretero1995‘Intervention in Comprehension and Memory Strategies, Knowledge
and Use of Text Structure’
, Learning and Instruction5:
203-220
.
42.
McGee, L.M.
, and
D.J. Richgels1985‘Teaching Expository Text Structure to Elementary Students’
, Reading Teacher38.8:
739-748
.
43.
Meyer, B.J.F.1975The Organization of Prose and its Effect on Memory (
Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company
).
44.
Meyer, B.J.F.
,
D.M. Brandt
and
G.J. Bluth1980‘Use of Top-Level Structure in Text: Key for Reading
Comprehension and Ninth-Grade Students’
, Reading Research Quarterly16.1:
72-103
.
45.
Meyer, B.J.F.
, and
R.O. Freedle1984‘Effects of Discourse Types on Recall’
, American Educational Research Journal21.1:
121-143
.
46.
Mohan, B.A.
, and
W.A. Lo1985‘Academic Writing and Chinese Students, Transfer and
Developmental Factors’
, TESOL Quarterly19.3:
515-534
.
47.
Murphy, D.
(1987)
‘Offshore Education, a Hong Kong Perspective’
, Australian University Review30.2:
43-44
.
48.
Piccolo, J.1987‘Expository Text Structure, Teaching and Learning Strategies’
, The Reading Teacher40.9:
828-847
.
49.
Porter, D.1983‘The Effects of Quantity of Context on the Ability to Make
Linguistic Predictions: A Flaw in a Measure of General
Proficiency’, in
A. Hughs
and
D. Porter
(eds.), Current Developments in Language Testing (
London: Academic Press
).
50.
Raphael, T.E.
,
C.S. Englert
and
B.W. Kirschner1986The Impact of Text Structure Instruction and Social Context on
Students’ Comprehension and Production of Expository Text
(Research Series, 177;
Institute for Research on Teaching;
Michigan: Michigan State University
).
51.
Raymond, P.M.1993‘The Effects of Structure Strategy Training on the Recall of
Expository Text for University Students Reading French as a Second Language’
, The Modern Language Journal77.4:
445-458
.
52.
Rutherford, W.1983‘Language Typology and Language Transfer’, in
S. Gass
and
L. Selinker
(eds.), Language Transfer in Language Learning (
Rowley, MA: Newbury House
).
53.
Sharp, A.1999‘Aspects of English Medium Textbook Use in Hong Kong Secondary Schools’
, New Horizons40:
93-102
.
54.
2003Reading Comprehension and Text Organization (
New York: Edwin Mellen Press
).
55.
Slater, W.H.
, and
M.F. Graves1989‘Research on Expository Text, Implications for
Teachers’, in
K.D. Bluth
(ed.), Childrens Comprehension of Text (
Newark, DE: International Reading Association
).
56.
Sun, C.
, and
T. Givon1985‘On the So-Called SOV Word Order in Chinese: A Quantified Text
Study and its Implications’
, Language61.2:
329-351
.
57.
Talbot, D.
,
P. Ng
and
A. Allan1991‘Hong Kong Students Reading Expository Prose: Replication of the
Effects of Rhetorical Organization on ESL Readers by Patricia Carrell’
, Working Papers of the Department of English, City Polytechnic of
Hong Kong3.1:
52-63
.
58.
Urquhart, A.H.D.1984‘The Effect of Rhetorical Ordering on
Readability’, in
J.C. Alderson
and
A.H.D. Urquhart
(eds.), Reading in a Foreign Language (
New York: Longman
).
59.
Wang, M.1988‘Comments on Sun and Givon’s study of the SOV
Constructions in Chinese’
, CLTA23.2:
33-53
.
60.
Young, L.W.1982‘Inscrutability Revisited’, in
J.J. Gumperz
(ed.). Language and Social Identity (
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
).
