Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T19:48:01.173Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the Use of the Recall Task to Measure L2 Reading Comprehension1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

James F. Lee
James F. Lee
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The free written recall task is used in much current L2 reading research (Bernhardt, 1983; Carrell, 1983, 1984a, 1984b; Connor, 1984; Lee & Ballman, in press). An examination of the work using this task as a measure of comprehension reveals variation in design and findings: measurement of quantity recalled, method of textual analysis, the language used to recall, the level of the learners, and pre-reading instructions given. The purpose of this paper is: (1) to elaborate the differences between studies using a free written recall task to measure L2 reading comprehension; and (2) to report the results of experimentation that attempts to test the significance of the language of recall (native versus target) and the effect of knowing, prior to reading, that the subjects would be required to recall the passage. Results showed that passage recall is significantly better when done in the subjects' native language than in the target language. Also, a significant interaction was found for prereading instructions and level of the learner. Implications for research design are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 1986 , pp. 201 - 211
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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

Bernhardt, E. 1983. Three approaches to reading comprehension in German. Modern Language Journal 67; 111–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bransford, J. & Johnson, M.. 1972. Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 11; 717–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bransford, J. 1973. Consideration of some problems of comprehension. Chase, W. (ed.). Visual information processing, pp. 383–438. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calfee, R., Calfee, K., & Peña, S.. 1979. Interactive reading assessment, System-Spanish edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Carrell, P. 1983. Three components of background knowledge in reading comprehension. Language Learning 33; 183–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrell, P. 1984a. Evidence of a formal schema in second language comprehension. Language Learning 34; 87–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrell, P. 1984b. The effects of rhetorical organization on ESL readers. TESOL Quarterly 18; 441–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connor, U. 1984. Recall of texts: Differences between first and second language learners. TESOL Quarterly 18:239–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, T. 1982. The effects of induced schemata on the “short circuit” in L2 reading: Non-coding factors in L2 reading performance. Language Learning 32; 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R. 1970. Recall of prose as a function of the structural importance of the linguistic units. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 9; 12–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, J. & Ballman, T.. In press. The ability of adult A learners to rate and recall expository prose. In VanPatten, B., Dvorak, T., & Lee, J. (eds.), Foreign language learning: A research perspective. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Morris, C., Bransford, J., & Franks, J.. 1977. Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 16; 519–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omaggio, A. 1979. Pictures and second language comprehension: Do they help? Foreign Language Annals 17; 107–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, B. 1978. Depth of processing re-examined: The effects of precision of encoding and test appropriateness. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 17; 165–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar