Reading Comprehension Essay

Although a lot of studies emphasized the effect of PM on reading comprehension, some researches denied the existence of connections between PM and reading comprehension. For example, Chun & Payne (2004) examined the role of learner differences in L2 German reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition of 13 L1 English students. The tests consisted of a computer-delivered version of Daneman and Carpenter’s (1980) L2 RST and a NWRP test were utilized to assess PM. Reading comprehension included short story which contained four sets of comprehension exercises followed by a recall protocol. The research results showed a strong relationship between PM capacities as measured by word recognition which was on the basis of NWRP. And look up behavior

In a research Walter (2004) studied the question of “Is there any link between the transfer of reading comprehension skill from L1 to L2 and the development of verbal PM in second language?” She divided the learners into two groups of L1 French ESL learners. The first group consisted of 19 lower-intermediate ESL learners and the second group was 22 upper-intermediate ESL learners. She administered three measures in her study. Each of these assessments were in both French and English. In one measure, the participants were asked to complete a gapped summary of the story they had just read. In the second measure, the participants were required to read a story and stop when they encountered an expression printed in red. And then read it aloud and tell its meaning and identify its first mention. In the third test which was a verbal PM measure, the participants were told to read an increasingly longer sets of sentences and say if they were logical or illogical and remember the sentence final words. The results of her study showed a significant correlation between PM scores and L2 summary completion scores. This research indicated that there was a link between the development of verbal PM in L2 and success in L2 reading