ELIA 9, 2009, pp. 31-57
A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGE AS ONE OF THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE READING COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE
Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
Uni e sidad de O iedo
lahue a@unio i.es
The aim o his pape is o e iew he esea ch ca ied ou o da e on he use
and e ec o backg ound knowledge on eading comp ehension. We wan o
e lec on he use o backg ound knowledge in i s (L1) and second (L2)
language eading comp ehension and on he in e ela ion be ween language
p o iciency and backg ound knowledge in eading comp ehension
pe o mance. This s udy aims o p o ide mo e insigh in o he ela ionship
be ween p io knowledge and eading comp ehension, which will add o he
knowledge o eading esea ch and will help be e unde s and he ole o
hese ac o s and how hey a ec one ano he .
Key wo ds: e iew, esea ch, backg ound knowledge, eading
comp ehension, language p o iciency
El obje i o de es e a ículo es e isa la in es igación que se ha lle ado a
cabo has a la echa ace ca del uso y e ec o del conocimien o p e io en la
comp ensión esc i a. Que emos e lexiona sob e el uso del conocimien o
p e io en la comp ensión lec o a en una lengua na i a y en una segunda
lengua, así como sob e la in e elación en e la compe encia lingüís ica y el
conocimien o p e io en la comp ensión lec o a. Es e es udio p e ende
p o undiza en la elación en e el conocimien o p e io y la comp ensión
lec o a, lo que inc emen a á el conocimien o de la in es igación lle ada a
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
32 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
cabo en el campo de la lec u a y ayuda á a en ende mejo el papel de es os
ac o es y qué e ec o ienen en e sí.
Palab as cla e: e isión, in es igación, conocimien o p e io, comp ensión
lec o a, compe encia lingüís ica
1. In oduc ion
Resea ch on eading has a emp ed o look o componen s ha a ec
eading pe o mance. Gende , backg ound knowledge, in e es , and language
abili y ha e been seen as amongs he majo ac o s ha in luence eading
comp ehension pe o mance (B an meie , 2001, 2003; Bügel and Buunk,
1996; Ca ell, 1987; G abe and S olle , 2002; Hyde and Linn, 1988; Koda,
2005; Rosén, 2001; Pae, 2004; U quha and Wei , 1998; Yongqi, 2002).
The aim o his pape is o e iew he esea ch ca ied ou o da e on
he use and e ec o one o hese ac o s -backg ound knowledge- on
eading comp ehension. We wan o app oach he ole o p io knowledge in
eading comp ehension and analyse how hese wo ac o s a ec each o he .
We will also s udy he in e ela ion be ween language p o iciency and
backg ound knowledge in eading comp ehension.
2. The Use o Backg ound Knowledge in L1 and L2 Reading
Comp ehension
Backg ound knowledge ela i e o he con en domain o he eading passage
ha he eade b ings o a ex plays a suppo i e ole in comp ehending a
w i en message. The ole o backg ound knowledge in language
comp ehension has been o malized as schema heo y. A schema heo y is a
heo y abou how knowledge is ep esen ed and abou how ha
ep esen a ion acili a es he use o he knowledge in pa icula ways.
Acco ding o schema heo ies, all knowledge is packaged in o uni s. These
uni s a e he schemas o schema a. Embedded in hese packe s o knowledge
is, in addi ion o he knowledge i sel , in o ma ion abou how his knowledge
is o be used. Each schema con ains many componen s, pa s, o "slo s",
which a e hie a chically linked, ep esen ing he ela ionships among he
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ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
componen s ela i e o he schema in ques ion (Ande son and Pea son 1984;
Ca ell 1991). I new in o ma ion is incomple e, he eade makes in e ences
on he basis o he selec ed schema in o de o ill in he missing pa s. The
ea lies s udy on he impac o schema a on eading comp ehension da es
back o he classical esea ch o Ba le (1932). In his s udy, English
pa icipan s we e asked o ead and ecall a s o y om an un amilia cul u e,
and he majo inding was ha he ecall was inaccu a e. They ended o al e
he ex in he di ec ion o hei own cul u al backg ound knowledge.
2.1. Resea ch Ca ied Ou on he E ec o Backg ound Knowledge on
L1 and L2 Reading Comp ehension
Resea ch in o he schema-comp ehension ela ionship has been conduc ed
ini ially and p ima ily in he ealm o English as a i s language. Much o
he esea ch in o con en schema a use has cen ed on he ele ance o he
eade ’s cul u al backg ound knowledge o he con en schema ic a ea o he
ex in eading comp ehension, i.e. looking in o schema use om a c oss-
cul u al pe spec i e. Resea ch has shown ha ex s whose con en schema ic
a ea co esponds o he eade s’ cul u al backg ound a ea a e mo e easily
p ocessed. Sch eck (1981) examined he ela ionship be ween con en
schema a and eading comp ehension o i h- and six h-g ade eade s om
h ee di e en Ame ican cul u al g oups (Hispanic, Black and Whi e).
Pickens (1982) wo ked wi h six h g ade s om h ee Ame ican cul u ally
di e se g oups (Hispanic, Ame ican Indian and Anglo-Ame ican). They
ound ha amilia i y wi h he cul u al con en schema ic a ea o he ex
acili a es eading comp ehension.
The use o con en schema a, which do no in ol e cul u al speci ic
knowledge-, has also been examined. B ans o d and Johnson (1972) ha e
shown ha subjec s ind i di icul and some imes impossible o unde s and
a ex when hey canno access i s con en schema ic a ea i he e a e no
enough clues in he ex . They ha e shown ha some imes a i le o he
passage o a d awing makes he con en schema accessible and,
consequen ly, he passage is unde s ood.
34 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
O he s udies in o L1 eading comp ehension also show ha wo ld
knowledge has s ong e ec s on eade s’ cons uc ion o meaning om a
ex . Thus, Beaug ande (1980) p esen s e idence h ough miscues in o al
eading ha subjec s ac i a e con en schema a. Thus, miscues a e signals o
he subjec s’ p edic ions on he basis o he con en schema a ins an ia ed.
Fo example, as Beaug ande (1980:227) explains, a subjec eading a ex
abou a ocke which was i ed in he p esence o gene als ead “wa ” o
“ oa ”. He also shows ha subjec s end o add in o ma ion o a ex hey
ead when asked o ecall i on he basis o he con en schema ac i a ed.
When ecalling a ex abou he launching o a ocke om a dese , hey
added in o ma ion abou he b igh ness o he sun in he dese , which seems
o be e idence o schema use in eading comp ehension.
Ca ell (1983) in es iga ed he ole o h ee componen s o
backg ound knowledge as iden i ied in he li e a u e in L1 eading
comp ehension: (1) p esence o absence o con ex (indica ed by clues like a
i le and a pic u e p eceding he ex ) acili a ing op-down p ocessing; (2)
anspa ency o opaqueness o lexical i ems in he ex (which p o ide clues
o he con en schema ic a ea o he ex ) acili a ing bo om-up p ocessing;
(3) eade ’s amilia i y o un amilia i y wi h he con en schema ic a ea o
he ex . He esul s indica e ha he h ee componen s a ec he way na i e
speake s ead, unde s and and ecall passages.
To show he di icul y o elimina ing es bias and o de elop a
me hodology o dis inguishing be ween he e ec s o p io knowledge and
o skill de elopmen on eading comp ehension, Johns on (1984)
adminis e ed an 18-ques ion eading comp ehension es o 207 eigh h-g ade
s uden s. Quan i a i e and quali a i e e ec s o p io knowledge on eading
comp ehension we e demons a ed h ough an examina ion o s uden
pe o mance on he es 's di e en ypes o ques ions: (1) ex ually explici --
d awing on in o ma ion di ec ly s a ed in a single sen ence o ex , (2)
ex ually implici -- equi ing a syn hesis o in o ma ion, and (3) sc ip ally
implici --demanding backg ound knowledge. The s udy sugges s ha es
sco es a e biased by p io knowledge and e lec he s uden s' I.Q. mo e han
speci ic eading comp ehension skills.
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ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
S udies like Rolle ’s (1985) help o speci y he e ec s o wo ld
knowledge (including knowledge o he ela ion be ween concep s) on
comp ehension. She in es iga ed he e ec s o p io knowledge by
p esen ing subjec s wi h new knowledge (using a ic i ious insec schema)
and hen obse ing he e ec s o he newly acqui ed in o ma ion on
comp ehension o p ose passages ela ed o he schema. Knowledge e ec s
we e ound on an impo ance a ing ask, bu no on a summa y ask.
Some esea che s s udy he e ec s o eade s’ wo ld knowledge
when i con lic s wi h in o ma ion p esen ed in he ex . Al e mann, Smi h,
and Readence (1985) sugges ha , when p io knowledge is ac i a ed ha
con adic s in o ma ion in he ex , eade s may allow p io knowledge o
o e ide he ex . On he o he hand, Peeck, Van Den Bosch and K eupling
(1982) sugges ha a ex ha speci ically e u es impossible misconcep ions
may esul in be e comp ehension. In ei he e en , wo ld knowledge has
s ong e ec s on eade s’ cons uc ion o meaning om a ex .
The powe ul e ec o p io knowledge is also shown in Rech and
Leslie’s (1988) wo k. They in es iga ed how p io knowledge in luences he
amoun o sho - e m non e bal and e bal memo y and long- e m e en ion
in s uden s o high and low abili y in eading comp ehension. Six y- ou
junio high s uden s we e di ided in o ou equal-sized g oups on he basis
o p eassessed eading abili y (high and low) and p eassessed amoun o
exis ing p io knowledge abou baseball (high and low). Each subjec silen ly
ead an accoun o a hal inning o a baseball game. A e eading, each
subjec ecalled he accoun non e bally by mo ing igu es and e bally by
e elling he s o y. A e an in e pola ed ask, hey summa ized he game and
so ed passage sen ences o idea impo ance. The e was a signi ican main
e ec o p io knowledge on all measu es. No in e ac ions be ween p io
knowledge and abili y we e ound.
Some s udies show ha he equency wi h which ce ain s a egies
a e used di e s acco ding o whe he subjec s a e eading a cul u ally
amilia o a cul u ally un amilia passage. P i cha d’s (1990) s udy was
designed o iden i y he s a egies p o icien eade s employ in de eloping
hei unde s anding o se e al passages. He wo ked wi h he a iable o he
conside a ion o he p e ious knowledge he eade has o he meaning o he

36 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
ex . He ied o iden i y he s a egies eade s employ in unde s anding
cul u ally amilia and cul u ally un amilia passages, and o examine hose
s a egies in ela ion o he cul u al backg ounds o he eade s and he
cul u al pe spec i es o he eading ma e ials. The subjec s’ in-p ocess
epo s o s a egies we e conside ed as e idence o he co e men al
p ocesses ha occu du ing eading.
The pa icipan s we e 30 Ame ican and 30 Palauan ele en h-g ade
s uden s who we e andomly selec ed om 174 p o icien eade s. The
esul s o his in es iga ion p o ide e idence o how cul u al schema a a ec
he p ocessing and comp ehension o ex by p o icien eade s. The
equency wi h which ce ain s a egies we e used di e ed acco ding o
whe he subjec s we e eading he cul u ally amilia o he cul u ally
un amilia passage. When eading cul u ally un amilia ma e ials, eade s
ely on s a egies o es ablishing in asen en ial ies. When eading
cul u ally amilia ma e ials, eade s a e mo e likely o a emp o es ablish
in e sen en ial ies and use hei backg ound knowledge.
The ecall esul s sugges ha hese di e ences in s a egy usage
may ha e been ela ed o di e ences in comp ehension o he ex . As
p edic ed by schema heo y, eade s who possessed accu a e schema a
ela ed o he ma e ial hey we e eading comp ehended ha ma e ial mo e
e ec i ely han eade s who lacked such schema a. Signi ican ly mo e idea
uni s we e ecalled om he cul u ally amilia han om he cul u ally
un amilia passage. The schema a embodying eade s’ backg ound
knowledge abou he con en o cul u ally amilia ma e ials acili a e he
in eg a ion o local unde s andings and enable eade s o de elop a uni ied
meaning o he ex . When eading cul u ally un amilia ma e ials, eade s
lack he ele an schema a, esul ing in ewe connec ions and g ea e
ambigui y.
O he au ho s ha e also p esen ed e idence o he use o con en
schema a in L1 eading comp ehension: A le bach (1990), Ande son and
Piche (1978), Ande son e al. (1977, 1978), Kin sch and G eene (1978),
Koda (2005), Piche and Ande son (1977), o Schalle (1976). Thei esul s
show ha he in e p e a ions ha eade s gi e e lec he use o con en
schema a co esponding o hei backg ounds.
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ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
Mo i a ed by he i s language s udies, second language eading
esea che s ha e also a emp ed o examine he e ec o knowledge
s uc u es on L2 eade s' comp ehension. Wi h wo passages abou an Indian
wedding and an Ame ican wedding, S e ensen, Joag-de , and Ande son
(1979) epo ed ha pa icipan s ead he na i e cul u e con en -o ien ed
passage as e and ecalled a la ge amoun o in o ma ion om he na i e
passage. They concluded ha di e ences in exis ing knowledge abou he
con en o ex ma e ials may be an impo an sou ce o indi idual
di e ences in eading comp ehension.
This e ec o he cul u al o igin o a ex on he subjec 's
unde s anding and ecall o in o ma ion is also shown in Johnson (1982),
who in es iga ed he e ec o he cul u al o igin o p ose on he eading
comp ehension o I anian in e media e and ad anced s uden s o English as
a second language a uni e si y le el. She showed ha he subjec s could
be e ecall a passage abou a subjec (Halloween) which hey had cul u ally
expe ienced. She also demons a ed ha cohesi e links a e co ec ly
unde s ood when he eade makes use o app op ia e schema a in
comp ehending a passage. Fu he , she poin ed ou ha he ac i a ion o
app op ia e con en schema a helps L2 eade s o cope wi h un amilia lexis.
Ano he example o he p eponde an ole ha cul u al con en
schema ic knowledge plays as a ac o in eading comp ehension is he s udy
by Ca ell (1981). She examined he comp ehension o ad anced ESL
Japanese and Chinese subjec s using olk ales om di e en cul u al
o ien a ions. He indings showed ha he cul u al o igin o he ex a ec ed
he subjec 's ecall o in o ma ion om he ex s, as well as he subjec s'
judgmen s o he le el o di icul y o he ex s.
The cul u al o igin o a ex a ec s he s a egies subjec s use. Malik
(1990) analyzed he o al eading beha io o 15 EFL p o icien I anian
eade s. Resul s show ha cul u al schema a a ec ed he eading
comp ehension and s a egies o EFL-p o icien eade s eading exposi o y
ex s.
Resul s also show ha helping eade s build backg ound knowledge
h ough p e- eading ac i i ies helps imp o e hei eading comp ehension.
38 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
Floyd and Ca ell (1987) examined in e media e-le el ESL s uden s o
le els o eading comp ehension. Hal o each g oup (expe imen al and
con ol) ecei ed mo e comple e e sions o es passages han he o he hal ,
and he expe imen al g oup was augh app op ia e cul u al backg ound
in o ma ion be ween es s. Backg ound knowledge did imp o e eading
comp ehension. Likewise, Hudson (1988) demons a es ha helping eade s
build backg ound knowledge h ough p e- eading ac i i ies helped imp o e
hei eading sco es measu ed by objec i e ques ions.
D oop and Ve hoe en (1998) examined he ole o cul u al
backg ound knowledge on he eading comp ehension o hi d g ade s
acqui ing li e acy in Du ch as a i s and second language while he child en
ead noncon i ed ex s om he eading cu icula. Child en we e gi en
h ee ypes o ex s: ex s e e ing o Du ch cul u e, ex s e e ing o he
cul u es o immig an s om Nea Eas e n coun ies (i.e., Tu key and
Mo occo), and neu al ex s. Wi hin each ype o ex , a dis inc ion was made
be ween wo le els o linguis ic complexi y. By means o eading-aloud
p o ocols, e elling and ques ioning he child en's eading pe o mance on
he dis inguished ypes o ex s was analyzed. A acili a ing e ec o cul u al
amilia i y was ound o bo h eading comp ehension and eading
e iciency. Fo he mino i y child en, his e ec was es ic ed o
linguis ically simple ex s, because o hei limi ed knowledge o he a ge
language, Du ch.
F om he p e ious s udies i is clea ha backg ound knowledge has
an e ec on bo h L1 and L2 eading comp ehension. The s udies in o L1
eading comp ehension analysed show ha wo ld knowledge has s ong
e ec s on eade s’ cons uc ion o meaning om a ex , ha he
in e p e a ions ha eade s gi e e lec he use o hei backg ound
knowledge, and he amilia i y wi h he cul u al con en schema ic a ea o
he ex acili a es eading comp ehension. We ha e also seen ha he
equency wi h which ce ain s a egies a e used di e s acco ding o whe he
subjec s a e eading a cul u ally amilia o a cul u ally un amilia passage.
The main esul s in L2 eading comp ehension poin ou ha he
cul u al o igin o a ex a ec s he subjec 's unde s anding and ecall o
in o ma ion om he ex , as well as he s a egies subjec s use; ha
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ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
di e ences in exis ing knowledge abou he con en o ex ma e ials may be
an impo an sou ce o indi idual di e ences in eading comp ehension; ha
exposu e o he a ge cul u e helps eade s in ee ecall and sen ence
ecogni ion asks; and ha helping eade s build backg ound knowledge
h ough p e- eading ac i i ies helps imp o e hei eading sco es measu ed
by objec i e ques ions.
2.2. Resea ch Ca ied Ou on he Role o In e es and Analogies in L1
and L2 Reading Comp ehension
The mo e ecen s udies ackle new issues like he ole o in e es in L2
eading. B an meie (2006) explo es he ole o in e es in L2 eading
comp ehension. He s udy a emp s o begin o concep ualize in e es as a
a iable in ol ed in he L2 eading p ocess. F om a conside a ion o L2
eading as a mul i a ia e p ocess in ol ing a a ie y o ex and eade
cha ac e is ics, he ole o in e es in his phenomenon is analysed. This
s udy a emp s o examine he ela ionships among sou ces o in e es ,
pe cei ed in e es , and h ee di e en comp ehension assessmen asks (i.e.,
w i en ecall, sen ence comple ion i ems, and mul iple choice i ems).
Sou ces o in e es e e o a iables ha induce eelings o in e es in a ex .
Pe cei ed in e es e e s o he eeling o in e es i sel . The s udy wi h
ad anced eade s e eals i e sou ces o in e es in L2 eading: cohesion,
p io knowledge, engagemen , ease o ecollec ion, and emo i eness, wi h
h ee ac o s (cohesion, engagemen , and ease o ecollec ion) connec ed o
eade 's pe cei ed in e es . Pe cei ed in e es was ela ed o sen ence
comple ion i ems and mul iple choice i ems, bu no ecall. Ease o
ecollec ion appea s o be he only ac o ha is ela ed o he h ee di e en
comp ehension assessmen asks. Findings o he s udy iden i y sou ces o
in e es simila o L1 s udies; howe e , esul s con adic he ela ionships
be ween in e es and comp ehension. Findings se e as an a emp o de elop
an ins umen o assess di e en sou ces o in e es in L2 eading.
Ano he opic ha has ecei ed conside able a en ion in eading
esea ch is he ole o analogies. Many esea che s in L1 eading claim ha
analogies may aid eade s in he same way as models do, and may
hemsel es be small-scale models o he p ocess o acqui ing new
46 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
and ha schema inducemen can o e ide he lack o sys emic knowledge on
he pa o he eade .
Mohammed and Swales’s (1984) s udy desc ibes a p ocedu e o
in es iga ing he eading o ins uc ions (using a ideo-came a se up). The
expe imen al ask was he se ing o a digi al ala m clock using he
manu ac u e ’s ins uc ions. The pe o mance o a small sample o subjec s
was s udied agains wo pa ame e s: deg ee o compe ence in English and
he ex en o expe ience in scien i ic ields. Resul s show ha once a
h eshold in English eading abili y has been passed, ield- amilia i y is a
much s onge indica o o apid and success ul ex p ocessing han na i e-
like compe ence in he language.
Ca ell (1984) sugges s i e possible causes o his unidi ec ional
bias, especially in L2 ex p ocessing: schema a ailabili y (ie., he eade
does no possess app op ia e schema a o in e p e he ex ), schema
ac i a ion (ie., ailu e in ac i a ing schema a because he e a e no enough
clues in he ex , o example), cogni i e s yle (ie., some eade s may be
s imulus-bound in p ocessing any bi o incoming in o ma ion and he e o e
may ha e di icul y wi h concep -d i en p ocessing), skill de iciencies (bo h
linguis ic and eading skill de iciencies) and concep ion abou eading (ie.,
some eade s may ha e a concep ion o eading as a decoding ac i i y
imposed by he class oom si ua ion, ie., meaning is in he ex ). Howe e ,
wha is appa en in he pape is ha she is dealing wi h he p oblem a he
le el o indi idual di e ences which a e ue o bo h L1 and L2 eade s.
Fu he mo e, he e idence she p o ides o suppo he poin s is de i ed om
L1 and L2 eading comp ehension esea ch. The e o e, al hough he esea ch
does no say much abou he unidi ec ionali y o ex p ocessing in L2
eading comp ehension, i indica es possibili ies o explaining he exis ence
o his unidi ec ional bias.
Among he mo e ecen s udies, Nassaji (2003) in es iga ed he ole
o highe –le el syn ac ic and seman ic p ocesses and lowe –le el wo d
ecogni ion and g aphophonic p ocesses in adul English as a second
language eading comp ehension. In pa icula , he s udy examined he
ex en o which hese p ocesses can disc imina e skilled om less–skilled
eade s in a sample o ai ly ad anced ESL eade s. Measu es o eading

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ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
comp ehension, syn ac ic, seman ic, wo d ecogni ion, phonological, and
o hog aphic p ocessing skills we e used. One–way disc iminan unc ion
analysis e ealed ha lowe –le el componen p ocesses, such as wo d
ecogni ion and g aphophonic p ocesses, in addi ion o highe –le el
syn ac ic and seman ic p ocesses, con ibu ed signi ican ly o he dis inc ion
be ween skilled and less–skilled ESL eade s. Acco ding o Nassaji, hese
indings sugges ha e icien lowe –le el wo d ecogni ion p ocesses a e
in eg al componen s o second language eading comp ehension and ha he
ole o hese p ocesses mus no be neglec ed e en in highly ad anced ESL
eade s.
As Nassaji explains, his s udy demons a ed an impo an
ela ionship be ween he a ious componen s o eading skills and ESL
eading comp ehension. Lexical knowledge showed he s onges
con ibu ion o he disc imina ion be ween skilled and less-skilled eade s
wi h a sample o ai ly ad anced ESL eade s. Howe e , he con ibu ion o
e iciency o wo d ecogni ion and g aphophonic p ocesses was also
signi ican . This la e inding sugges s, in Nassaji’s opinion, a clea link
be ween he e iciency o hese componen p ocesses and skill in ESL
eading comp ehension.
Donin, G a es and Goye e
(2004) ca y ou a wi hin-subjec c oss-
language s udy o ex comp ehension in adul second language lea ne s.
Tex comp ehension and sen ence eading ime measu es we e ob ained o
ma ched na a i e and p ocedu al ex s in English and F ench om adul
lea ne s o F ench as a second language a wo le els o F ench p o iciency.
The language o he ex and eade s' L2 p o iciency a ec ed eading imes,
while ex ype did no . The ecall da a, howe e , we e mo e complex. In
gene al, he pa icipan s ecalled mo e in o ma ion om he ex s hey ead
in English and mo e in o ma ion om he desc ip i e na a i e ex s han
om he p ocedu al ex s. Analyses o he ecall pe o mance sugges ha ,
while linguis ic p o iciency may limi he ep esen a ion ha an indi idual
can cons uc o a ex , he cons uc ed ep esen a ion e lec s he indi idual's
concep ual base as well as s a egic p ocessing.
Kesha a z, Reza A ai and Ahmadi (2007) in es iga ed he e ec s o
linguis ic simpli ica ion and con en schema a on eading comp ehension
48 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
and ecall. The pa icipan s, 240 I anian male s uden s o English as a
o eign language, we e di ided in o 4 homogeneous g oups, each consis ing
o 60 pa icipan s (30 wi h high p o iciency and 30 wi h low p o iciency). To
elici da a, he s udy used 2 ypes o ex s: con en - amilia and con en -
un amilia . Each ype appea ed in 4 e sions: o iginal, syn ac ically
simpli ied, lexically simpli ied, and syn ac ically-lexically simpli ied. Each
pa icipan g oup was es ed on 1 o he linguis ic e sions o he con en -
amilia and con en -un amilia ex s. Da a analyses showed a signi ican
e ec o he con en and EFL p o iciency, bu no o he linguis ic
simpli ica ion, on eading comp ehension and ecall. Thei indings show
ha con en schema a ha e a g ea e e ec han linguis ic simpli ica ion on
bo h EFL eading comp ehension and ecall. The e o e, con en is o g ea
impo ance. The indings o he p esen s udy a e compa ible wi h p e ious
s udies (e.g. Cla ke 1979; Czico 1978; Ca ell, 1983), indica ing he
exis ence o a language p o iciency h eshold abo e which con en and
p o iciency in e ac ion appea s.
We can see ha ea ly s udies show con adic o y esul s. Thus, on
he one hand, he e is e idence o ex -based p ocessing, and on he o he ,
esea ch shows ha L2 eade s seem o be di ec ed in a op-down di ec ion.
Recen s udies de end ha he eadabili y o a ex should be ega ded as he
in e ac ion o a mul i ude o ac o s ( he indi idual’s concep ual base, his
linguis ic p o iciency, as well as his s a egic p ocessing) and demons a e an
impo an ela ionship be ween he a ious componen s o eading skills and
ESL eading comp ehension. Howe e , some esul s a e s ill con adic o y.
While some indings show ha con en schema a ha e a g ea e e ec han
linguis ic p o iciency on bo h eading comp ehension and ecall, o he s
indica e ha e icien lowe -le el wo d ecogni ion and g aphophonic skills
a e no only impo an ac o s in beginning eading, bu a e in eg al
componen s o luen and skilled eading as well.
3. Conclusion
We ha e ied o ca y ou a ho ough analysis o he li e a u e on he e ec
o eade s’ backg ound knowledge on eading comp ehension. We o e he
A s a e- o - he-a e iew o backg ound..
49
ELIA 9, 2009 pp. 31-57
ollowing ele an indings om he main issues esea che s ha e been
conce ned wi h in his a ea.
The ex en o which backg ound knowledge a ec s eading has been
widely explo ed in esea ch on na i e speake s and on pa icipan s s udying
English as a o eign and as a second language. The esul s o he s udies
analysed highligh he ac ha backg ound knowledge has a p ominen ole
in eading comp ehension. Despi e con adic o y esul s on he espec i e
e ec o backg ound knowledge and linguis ic p o iciency on bo h eading
comp ehension and ecall, esea ch de ends ha he eadabili y o a ex
should be conside ed as he in e ac ion o a mul i ude o ac o s ( he
indi idual’s concep ual base, his linguis ic p o iciency, as well as his
s a egic p ocessing) and demons a e an impo an ela ionship be ween he
a ious componen s o eading skills and eading comp ehension.
Despi e p e ious dispa a e esul s o he esea ch on he e ec o
discipline- ela ed knowledge on English eading, ecen s udies show ha
success ul EAP eading comp ehension depends o a g ea ex en on
discipline- ela ed knowledge and English-language p o iciency. The e is
also a s ong compensa o y e ec be ween hese a iables o success ul
EAP eading and s uden s wi h low-le el English p o iciency can
success ully ead academic passages i hey ha e eached a linguis ic
h eshold and ha e discipline- ela ed knowledge.
Despi e he ele an conclusions ex ac ed om he s udies analysed,
mo e esea ch is needed ha akes in o accoun he disc epancies in bo h
esea ch me hods and p ocedu es in he s udies ca ied ou so a . Mo eo e ,
he e is also a need o mo e in-dep h s udies ha explo e some o he esul s
ob ained. Finally, esea ch is also needed ha ies o each some ele an
conclusions on he basis o he indings p esen ed o imp o e eading
comp ehension om a pedagogical pe spec i e.
50 Ana C is ina Lahue a Ma ínez
ELIA 9 2009, pp. 31-57
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