Helping ESL Students Become Better Readers

Abstract: Schema theory describes the process by which readers combine their own background knowledge with the information in a text to comprehend that text. All readers carry different schemata (background information) and these are also often culture-specific. This paper summarises some of the research into schema theory and its applications to ESL reading. The author also highlights some of the limitations of the use of the schema-theoretic approach and points out the importance both of developing the learner's vocabulary and of encouraging extensive reading.

Key words: schemata; reading process; applications; problems

1.Schemata and the Reading Process

In the process of reading, "comprehension of a message entails drawing information from both the message and the internal schemata until sets are reconciled as a single schema or message" (Anderson et al. in Hudson 1982:187). It is also claimed that "the first part of a text activates a schema... which is either confirmed or disconfirmed by what follows" (Wallace 1992:33) but the process begins much earlier than this: "The environment sets up powerful expectations: we are already prepared for certain genres but not for others before we open a newspaper, a scholarly journal or the box containing some machine we have just bought." (Swales 1990:88)

The reading process, therefore, involves identification of genre, formal structure and topic, all of which activate schemata and allow readers to comprehend the text (Swales 1990:89). In this, it is assumed that readers not only possess all the relevant schemata, but also that these schemata actually are activated. Where this is not the case, then some disruption of comprehension may occur. In fact, it is likely that "there will never be a total coincidence of schemas between writer and reader" (Wallace 1992:82) such that coherence is the property of individual readers.

2.Applications of Schema Theory to ESL Reading

Some students' apparent reading problems may be problems of insufficient background knowledge" (Carrell 1988b:245). Where this is thought to be topic-related, it has been suggested that 'narrow reading' within the student's area of knowledge or interest may improve the situation (see Carrell and Eisterhold 1983:86). Similarly, where schema deficiencies are culture-specific, it could be useful to provide local texts or texts which are developed from the readers' own experiences (op.cit.:85).

On the other hand, Carrell and Eisterhold (1983:89) also suggest that "every culture-specific interference problem dealt with in the classroom presents an opportunity to build new culture-specific schemata that will be available to the EFL/ESL student outside the classroom." Thus, rather than attempting to neutralise texts, it would seem more suitable to prepare students by "helping them build background knowledge on the topic prior to reading, through appropriate prereading activities" (Carrell 1988b:245).

3.Problems with Schema Theory Applications

The reading process has famously been described as a "psycholinguistic guessing game" (Goodman in Carrell and Eisterhold 1983:74) in which "efficient readers minimize dependence on visual detail" by utilising background knowledge to make predictions and checking these against the text (Goodman 1975:12). Such top-down models have unfortunately given the misleading message to teachers that ESL reading tuition is "mostly just a matter of providing [learners] with the right background knowledge... and encouraging them to make full use of that knowledge in decoding... texts" (Eskey 1988:97). It is now recognised that "language is a major problem in second language reading" (op.cit.:97).

4.Conclusion

It has been seen that schema-theoretic applications do not always result in improvements in comprehension, particularly where they result in insufficient attention to textual detail, or where there is an increase in schema-interference by, for example, the activation of dominant or negative schemata. Also, there is some evidence that the contextual and background information provided may not always even be utilised by the learners. However, there can be little doubt that schema theory has also positively influenced the teaching of reading and that prereading activities - building up absent schemata and activating resident schemata - can improve L2 reader comprehension in many situations. Therefore, it would seem sensible for teachers to employ such activities but not to blindly assume that the expected effect is actually occurring. In other words, teachers should take the time to verify the usefulness of the activities they use and pay attention to possible schema-interference or non-activation.

References：

[1]Aebersold, J.A. and Field, M.L. (1997) From Reader to Reading Teacher. Cambridge: CUP.

[2]Carrell, P.L. (1983a) “Some Issues in Studying the Role of Schemata, or Background Knowledge, in Second Language Comprehension.”Reading in a Foreign Language, 1:81-92.

[3]Coulthard, M. (ed) (1994) Advances in Written Text Analysis. London: Routledge.