Upload
peter-melton
View
212
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Why does reading become more difficult for advanced language
learners?
Elizabeth B. Bernhardt
August, 2014
Short Answer…
Language itself is more complicated; Few feedback or support mechanisms
such as visuals; Background knowledge expectations are
higher; Cultural knowledge expectations are
higher, more nuanced, less visible.
Advancedness…
Is beyond who, what, where, why, and how;
Requires thousands of words; Demands a knowledge of idioms,
collocations, and cultural asides; Often assumes knowledge of related
texts.
Advancedness…
Is not about a “gist” or “sense” Is about precision and exactitude Is about sustaining an understanding
across substantive material
Advancedness…
Is not about skimming People, Focus, Caretas, Cronos
Is about The New Yorker, Die Zeit, Le Monde, Revista de Occidente, The London Review of Books, etc
My organization
Brief primer on foreign language reading Some images and formal definitions An example of the challenge of
advanced reading Some comments on the advanced
curriculum Brief overview of instructing at the
advanced level (workshop)
A primer on L2 reading
A conceptual representation A text model
Model Building from Print
Thin print/thick print Color/B&W Block/serif
Model Building from Vocabulary
Ameisen Context (necklace/throat) Snakes/vermin
Model Building from Prior Knowledge
German minority in Romania Banat area - swampland
Model Building from Vocabulary & Phonology
Ameisen – ants Kakerlak
Consolidating Research
L2 knowledge L1 literacy Other
Interactive compensatory model
Not linear One feature does not necessarily precede
another
Summary
“Understanding” in multi-dimensional space
Multidimensional space is fluid and non-linear
Roots in both L2 and in L1 Elements support/influence each other
Definition - PISA
Reading goes beyond the notion of decoding and literal comprehension: it implies that reading involves understanding, using and reflecting on written information for a variety of purposes. It thus takes into account the active and interactive role of the reader in gaining meaning from written texts.
Definition – Bernhardt (2011)
The complexity of advanced second-language reading lies in the processing of intricate, complicated and often times obscure linguistic and cultural features accurately while trying to comprehend content and while remaining distant from it in order to assess the content’s value and accuracy.
Said another way…
Learning to read in the upper registers of a second-language entails being able to process the minutiae of word and grammatical nuance while constructing a message and simultaneously remaining aloof from that construction in order to assess its content and intention.
Example in English
Before a jubilant crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America’s first black president, summoning a dispirited nation to unite in hope against the “gathering clouds and raging storms” of war and economic woe. (Associated Press, 2009).
Example in GermanBarack Obama ist am Dienstag als 44. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten vereidigt worden. Als erster schwarzer Präsident in der amerikanischen Geschichte legte er seinen Amtseid um 12 Uhr mittags auf den Stufen des Kapitols ab. In seiner Rede vor Hunderttausenden Menschen auf der Washington Mall setzte Obama den „aufziehenden Wolken und tosenden Stürmen“ der Krise, in der Amerika sich gegenwärtig befinde, eine Botschaft der Zuversicht entgegen: „Die Herausforderungen, mit denen wir konfrontiert sind, sind real. Sie sind ernst, und sie sind zahlreich. Sie werden nicht leicht oder kurzfristig gemeistert. Aber wisse, Amerika, sie werden gemeistert.“
English translation
Barack Obama was sworn in on Tuesday as the 44th President of the United States. As the first black President in American history he took the oath of office at noon on the steps of the capitol. In his speech before hundreds of thousands on the Washington Mall Obama contrasted the “gathering clouds and raging storms” of crisis in which America presently finds itself with a message of confidence: “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.”
Elements in the Construction
Background knowledge Historic allusion Particular/peculiar use of grammatical
formSetzen…entgegenEid ablegenWisse
All into one ‘model’
Curricular Challenges
Text SelectionReader knowledge and interestJob demands (domain expertise)L1 literacy levelRelevant/supportive L1 texts
Curricular Challenges
Instructional TimeReading is hard and time-consumingShould not be conceived of
generically for Advanced- and Superior-level performance
Toward our Workshop:Helping learners understand
Longer texts Draw linguistic relationships between
and among paragraphs Probe for & support background
knowledge Word study Support from the L1 Discuss/assess in L1