Some Hypotheses on the Nature of Difficulty and Ease in Second Language Reading: An Application of Schema Theory

Abstract

This article reviews the empirical and pedagogical literature on the concept of “difficulty” (or “ease”) in second language (L2) reading at the university or adult level and discusses it within the framework of schema theory. A traditional view of difficulty/ease is explained as consisting of two factors: (1) Language (grammar and vocabulary) and (2) Text Length. A modern view of difficulty/ease is then proposed via four hypotheses: (1) The first Primary Ease Factor in L2 reading is background knowledge; (2) Signalling becomes the Primary Ease Factor in L2 reading when background knowledge is not useful for accessing content schemata; (3) Other factors being equal, the degree of signalling determines the degree of accessibility of a text for the L2 reader; and (4) Other factors being equal, Language, Discourse, and Length are of secondary importance — after Background Knowledge and Signalling — for accessing a text by L2 readers.

Strategies-Based ESP Instruction (SBI) of Reading Comprehension: Male vs. Female Students

“…Making use of the learners' existing knowledge to understand new material and matching new knowledge with their schema are macro-skills; and recognizing logical relationships, definitions, generalizations, examples, explanations and predictions, and distinguishing fact from opinion are some crucial micro-skills. Similarly, Hauptman (2000) also noticed that learners with well-provided background knowledge but low language proficiency could get the main ideas of texts. Some studies have revealed that different reading strategies are used for different types of texts focusing on differential nature of reading strategies used by poor and good readers and male and female students, as well.…”

Incorporating Sociocultural Theory Into English Reading Instruction: A Unit Plan for Chinese EFL Learners

“…Mental habits and functioning depend on our interaction and negotiation with others, which are also affected by factors like environment, context, and history (Mantero, 2002). Studies on mind can also be explored in terms of schema theory, which explains the role of past experiences, or background knowledge, in comprehension (Hauptman, 2000). Schema theory proposes that experience is organized in people's minds or schemata, and stored in our brains at all levels of abstraction (Rumelhart, 1977(Rumelhart, , 1980.…”

The use of language criteria for admission to higher education in South Africa: issues of bias and fairness investigated

“…This ability transfers to a second language once a threshold level of proficiency in an additional language, and in academic discourse in the first language, exists. This can be attributed to a common underlying proficiency (Cummins, 1980(Cummins, , 1984(Cummins, , 2000Enright et al, 2000;Hauptman, 2000).…”

“…On the other hand, the academic competence of second-language readers, coupled with their ability in their first language ('strategic competence'), as well as their content knowledge, often compensates for such limitations, provided that a certain threshold level of proficiency in the second language has been acquired, along with a certain level of academic competence in the first language (Bachman, 2005;Bachman & Palmer, 1996;Hauptman, 2000;Roberts, 1994). However, research evidence suggests that in reading, for example, circumstantial bilingual 3 and monolingual readers differ in their use of information-processing strategies (Valdés & Figueroa, 1994); and it may be possible that these two groups draw on different strategies in order to comprehend a language that is the first language of some, and an additional language for others.…”