Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T23:43:18.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Second language reading in fluent bilinguals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Micheline Favreau
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Norman S. Segalowitz*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
*
Norman S. Segalowitz, Psychology Department, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, Quebec H3G IM8

Abstract

Many bilinguals, who are fluent second language users in normal commmunicative situations, nevertheless read more slowly in that language. The present study examines whether this performance difference is specific to reading or whether its occurrence is accompanied by similar differences in the auditory modality. Fluent English and French bilinguals were required to adjust the delivery rate of spoken first and second language texts so as to maximize speed of delivery while maintaining full comprehension. The results showed that the pattern of listening rates for the second language relative to the first mirrored the pattern of reading rates. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for second language reading research.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baron, J., & Treiman, R.Some problems in the study of differences in cognitive processes. Memory and Cognition, 1980, 8, 313316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Britton, B. K., Piha, A., Davis, J., & Wehausen, E.Reading and cognitive capacity usage: Adjunct question effects. Memory and Cognition, 1978, 6, 266273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daitchman, M. Reading and listening comprehension of fluent bilinguals in the native and second languages. Unpublished manuscript, Concordia University, 1976.Google Scholar
Ervin, S. M., & Osgood, C. E.Second language learning and bilingualism. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1954, 49, 139146.Google Scholar
Favreau, M., Komoda, M. K., & Segalowitz, N.Second language reading: Implications of the word superiority effect in skilled bilinguals. Canadian Journal of Psychology. 1980, 4, 370381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Favreau, M., & Segalowitz, N. Automatic and controlled processes in bilingualism: Implications for the reading process. Paper presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, 1981.Google Scholar
Foulke, E. The perception of time compressed speech. In Horton, D. L. & Jenkins, J. J. (Eds.), The perception of language. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1971.Google Scholar
Hatch, E., Polin, P., & Part, S.Acoustic scanning and syntactic processing: Three reading experiments with first and second language learners. Journal of Reading Behavior, 1974, 6, 275285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M. D., & McClelland, J. L.Sensory and cognitive determinants of reading speed. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975, 14, 565574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kintch, W. On comprehending stories. In Just, M. A. & Carpenter, P. A. (Eds.), Cognitive processes in comprehension. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1977.Google Scholar
Macnamara, J., Feltin, M., Hew, M., & Klein, M.An analytic comparison of reading in two languages. Irish Journal of Education, 1968, 2, 4153.Google Scholar
Mason, M.From print to sound in mature readers as a function of reader ability and two forms of orthographic regularities. Memory and Cognition. 1978, 6, 568581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massaro, D. W. Primary and secondary recognition in reading. In Massaro, D. W. (Ed.), Understanding language: An information processing analysis of speech, reading, and psycholinguistics. New York: Academic Press, 1975.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, B.Second Language acquisition in childhood. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1978.Google Scholar
Oller, J. W. Jr., & Tullius, J.Reading skills of non-native speakers of English. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 1973, 11, 6980.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Snyder, C. R. R. Attention and cognitive control. In Solso, R. C. (Ed.), Information processing and cognition: The Loyola Symposium. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1975.Google Scholar
Rayner, K.Eye movements in reading and information processing. Psychological Bulletin, 1978, 85, 618660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Segalowitz, N.Communicative incompetence in the non-fluent bilingual. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 1916, 8, 122131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Segalowitz, N. Psychological perspectives on bilingual education. In Spolsky, B. & Cooper, R. (Eds.), Frontiers of bilingual education. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House, 1977.Google Scholar
Shebilske, W. Reading eye movements from an information-processing point of view. In Massaro, D. (Ed.), Understanding language: An information processing analysis of speech perception, reading and psycholinguistics. New York: Academic Press, 1975.Google Scholar
Spoehr, K. T. Word recognition in speech and reading: Toward a single theory of language processing. In Eimas, P. D. & Miller, J. (Eds.), Perspectives on the study of speech. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1981.Google Scholar