Why does reading become more difficult for advanced language

learners?

Elizabeth B. Bernhardt

ebernhar@stanford.edu

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