Why reading is a challenge for U.S. L2 learners: The impact of cognitive, ecological, and psychological factors in L2 comprehension

Abstract

Studies have shown that U.S. learners’ proficiency in reading and listening comprehension lags behind their ability to decode words. Recent studies have found that even after 3 years of high school L2 courses, U.S. students fail to develop minimal proficiency in reading comprehension. This paper suggests that while cognitive factors (word decoding and listening comprehension) explain the largest amount of variance in learners’ ability to comprehend text, this model, known as the Simple View of Reading, does not consider other factors that may contribute to reading achievement, especially in a largely monolingual English context. In contrast, the Component Model of Reading posits that reading ability is influenced not only by cognitive skills but also by factors in the ecological and psychological domains. In particular, the U.S. social context hampers primarily monolingual English speakers from becoming proficient in L2 oral language and L2 reading comprehension. Pedagogical recommendations are offered.

Students’ Abilities and Difficulties in Comprehending English Reading Texts at Secondary Schools; An Effect of Phonemic Awareness

“…To be a good comprehender is a hope for language learners. Nevertheless, reading comprehension involves complex metacognitive and cognitive processes (Sparks, 2019;Haerazi & Irawan, 2020). Through reading, learners can get more knowledge and information from books, magazines, newspapers, and many sources.…”

Predicting Teaching Enjoyment from Teachers’ Perceived School Climate, Self-Efficacy, and Psychological Wellbeing at Work: EFL Teachers

“…This study is grounded theoretically in Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory (1979,2005), which examines the interactions between human beings and their context/environment. This is also in line with the "ecological turn" of the L2 research (Larsen-Freeman, 2016) that has prompted several researchers to adopt ecological perspectives in their L2 studies (e.g., Kramsch & Steffensen, 2008;Miller & Gkonou, 2018;Sparks, 2019). We adopted Bronfenbrenner's ecological system to explore how different teacher-related factors in nested ecological systems interact to affect teacher outcome (i.e., FLTE).…”

Reading literature in the Digital Age: Connecting students to texts orally and aurally

“…Our proposed pairing of listening and reading thus also has the potential to increase listening proficiency overall. Building on the research of scholars who have focused on the cognitive processes necessary for reading comprehension, Sparks (2019) explores the reasons for the slower development of reading proficiency and cites psychological factors such as “motivation, interest, teacher expectations, gender differences, and locus of control” (p. 735) as well as what he terms “ecological” factors, specifically “the country in which one lives and the extent to which the L2 may be accessed in the community, in school, and at home” (p. 736). For Sparks, the largely monolingual environment in which most American students learn additional languages contributes to the slower development of reading proficiency (p. 733).…”