Can Word Segmentation and Length of Text Affect L2 Reading? Evidence From Advanced L2 Learners of Chinese and the Three Reading Models

The purpose of this article is to examine whether the word segmentation and the length of text will promote Chinese as a second language reading, and what the appropriate reading models are best for L2 learners when they processing Chinese language reading tasks. According to the experiment test, the results indicated that the main effects of word segmentation and length of text were not significantly different, and the interaction effect of the two factors was not significant in statistics too for advanced proficiency L2 learners of Chinese. This article concludes by using the approach of word boundary and choosing the useful reading models for teaching Chinese reading in classrooms are the valuable approaches for teachers when they combine other effective ways in L2 education.

Second-Language Reading Process for Professional English: A Case Study

Although much research on English for specific purposes (ESP) has been conducted, little focus has been placed on investigating the mechanisms involved in ESP readers’ comprehension process. This case study explored the reading process that characterizes a competent ESP reader’s comprehension. A juris doctor student attending a major university in the United States was selected for the case study. Qualitative data were gathered through a semi-structured interview, recall protocol, and document analysis, and were thematically coded. The findings revealed the following: (a) The professional domain determines the major purposes of ESP reading. (b) Institutional demands and inadequate L2 proficiency within the target discourse prevent background knowledge in the first language (L1) from being transferred to L2 texts are the major sources of comprehension difficulty. (c) Three strategies can be used to overcome such difficulties. First, schemata (background knowledge) in L1 can facilitate comprehension and enhance the reading process. Second, genre knowledge learned in L1 can be used to dissect the information structure of L2 texts. Finally, the use of L1-based materials can help to overcome the comprehension difficulties arising from the L2 material. The implications for L2 reading instruction and future ESP reading research are discussed.

In a bilingual state of mind: Investigating the continuous relationship between bilingual language experience and mentalizing

Mentalizing, a dynamic form of social cognition, is strengthened by language experience. Past research has found that bilingual children and adults outperform monolinguals on mentalizing tasks. However, bilingual experiences are multidimensional and diverse, and it is unclear how continuous individual differences in bilingual language experience relate to mentalizing. Here, we examine whether individual differences in bilingual language diversity, measured through language entropy, continuously pattern with mentalizing judgments among bilingual adults, and whether this relationship is constrained by first vs. second language reading. We tested sixty-one bilingual adults on a reading and inference task that compared mental state and logical inferences. We found that greater language diversity patterned with higher mentalizing judgments of mental state inferences across all readers, and that L2 readers attributed more mentalizing to logical inferences compared to L1 readers. Together, we found evidence of a positive relationship between continuous individual differences in bilingual language diversity and mentalizing.