Essay Questions
Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the three major approaches to teaching L2 reading: Comprehension-Based, Language-Based, and Skill/Strategy-Based.
Explain the concept of multidimensional mental representation in reading comprehension. How can L2 reading materials promote the development of such representations?
Discuss the relationship between Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) and reading proficiency. How can materials development address and potentially mitigate FLRA?
"Engaging affect should be the prime concern of reading materials." Discuss this statement, highlighting the role of affective engagement in L2 reading development.
Compare and contrast the process of learning to read in L1 and L2. What implications do these differences have for the design and implementation of L2 reading instruction and materials?
Glossary of Key Terms
Automaticity: The ability to process information quickly and effortlessly, without conscious attention. In reading, automaticity in word recognition and syntactic parsing is crucial for fluent comprehension.
Bottom-Up Processing: A reading process that primarily relies on decoding linguistic information from the text, such as recognizing letters, words, and grammatical structures.
Cognitive Overload: A state where the demands on working memory exceed its capacity, leading to difficulties in processing information effectively.
Comprehension-Based Approach: A teaching approach that focuses on assessing and developing students' understanding of a text's meaning through activities like answering comprehension questions, identifying main ideas, and summarizing.
Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA): The feeling of uneasiness, apprehension, or stress experienced by individuals while reading in a foreign language.
Language-Based Approach: A teaching approach that emphasizes building strong linguistic foundations, particularly vocabulary and grammar knowledge, as a prerequisite for developing reading fluency.
Mental Representation: The internal, cognitive model or image that a reader constructs in their mind while processing a text.
Metacognitive Strategies: Higher-order thinking skills that involve monitoring and controlling one's own learning processes, such as planning, self-assessing, and adjusting strategies.
Multidimensional Mental Representation: A rich and elaborate mental image of a text, integrating sensory, motor, emotional, and cognitive experiences.
Prosodic Structuring: The use of intonation, rhythm, and stress patterns in spoken language, which can be mirrored in reading to enhance comprehension and fluency.
Skill/Strategy-Based Approach: A teaching approach that focuses on equipping learners with specific reading skills and strategies to help them navigate and comprehend texts effectively.
Top-Down Processing: A reading process that utilizes prior knowledge, predictions, and contextual cues to anticipate and construct meaning from the text.
Verbal Protocol Studies: A research method where participants verbalize their thought processes while performing a task, such as reading, providing insights into their cognitive strategies and difficulties.