Characteristics Of Second Language Reading

Second Language Reading Strategies Used by Effective Readers at SMA__________

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

Reading is essential for everybody. “As fluent readers, we read many different types of texts, some that we consciously intend to read, and some that we just seem to pick up or encounter. We read throughout the day in modern societies because print is all around us, and we use it in many more ways than we are aware of” (Grabe, 2009, p. 5). Most of the texts that people read are written in their first language. However, in the twenty-first century, society is reading more and more information written in other languages, mostly in English. Because people are surrounded by texts written in other languages, it is necessary

Each one of these two types of reading has its own characteristics. “Unlike first language reading, second language reading involves two languages. The dual-language involvement implies continual interactions between the two languages as well as incessant adjustments in accommodating the disparate demands each language imposes. For this reason, L2 reading is crosslinguistic and, thus, inherently more complex than L1 reading” (Koda, 2007:1 as cited in Grabe, 2009). As a result, the ways to read effectively in a first language and in a second language are different. Even if somebody knows how to read in her first language, she may not be able to read in English. That means that people in countries where English is not the first language, need to learn how to read in this language effectively. The reason why the author focuses on English is because the world is a global village, and English is the main language of communication. Reading in a second language, especially in English, is necessary because most of the information available in this world is written in this

First of all, second language reading strategies are a great tool for effective reading. ‘The notion that effective reading-strategy use is a hallmark of the good reader is now widely accepted among both L1 and L2 reading researchers’ (Anderson, 1991; Baker, 2002; Block & Pressley, 2002b, 2007; Cohen, 1998; Guthrie & Taboada, 2004; Hudson, 2007; Phakiti, 2003; Pressley, 2006; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995. As cited in Grabe, 2009) . The second reason is that teachers hardly teach these strategies in school. “Despite the research evidence suggesting that automatic comprehension processes play a critical role in reading success and the acknowledgment that strategies must become efficient, little attention has been devoted to developing instructional methods that might foster automaticity of comprehension strategies” (Sinatra, Brown & Reynolds, 2002:68. As cited in Grabe, 2009). That is why the author hopes this research will help increase the importance of these