Cindy Brantmeier: Second Language Reading Strategy Research at the Secondary and University Levels: Variation, Disparities and Genralizability

Key Points: By looking at many studies on the use of reading strategies of L2 readers, Brantmeier demonstrates the variety found in studies of this field, such as data gathering methods, testing samples, and testing situations, and how this variety makes making generalizations about the way L2 readers use strategies and the effectiveness of these strategies.  Generalizations would potentially benefit L2 reading instructors as they could teach their students effective strategies for greater comprehension.

            Brantmeier determines, despite the fact that generalizations are not easily made when looking at studies that are so different from each other, that a common conclusion among the studies is that top-down approaches to reading are characteristic of good readers and bottom-up approaches are common among lower achieving readers. And, she recommends that future researchers consider repeating tests with different testing samples and settings then making generalizations based on the results from those test.

My interaction with the paper:

1.     I can sympathize with the researchers who avoid testing the effects of instruction with the use of an experimental group who receives instruction and a control group that does not receive instruction. It means deliberately with holding potentially beneficial instruction from a group of students. p. 7

2.     Are researchers surprised that low-level students use bottom up strategies? How does a reader expected to make assumptions about the broader picture of a text without first understanding some of its parts? Maybe, I don’t have a clear conceptualization of reading strategies in action.

3.     I believe there is a point of lexical competence beginning readers need to reach before any comparisons can be made be between their reading strategies and those of higher level students. Any conclusions that are made through comparisons must take this into account.  I would like to see a study that compared students of high-level L1 reading skill and low-level L2 reading skill to students of high-level L2 reading skills.

4.     The numbers mentioned in the studies we have been reading about are hard to digest because it seems that they don’t represent anything. For example, Brantmeier uses the number, “mean score of males=4.7, mean scale of females=3.7.” on page 10. What do these number represent? 4.7 what?

5.     Could it be possible that the strategies that are revealed in these studies to be used high-level readers are not learned, but acquired through exposure and practice? Even in the case of the studies that look at the effectiveness of instruction with the use of control groups, the experimental groups get exposure and practice along with the instruction so it can not be determined that improvements come solely from the instruction.