A Comparison of L1 and L2 Reading: Cultural Differences and Schema

Abstract

The ways in which learning to read and reading in first (L1) and second (L2) languages are the same or different have long been a topic of intense. Reading in a language which is not the learner's L1 is a source of considerable difficulty. Reading in the L1 shares numerous important basic elements with reading in a second or foreign language, the processes also differ greatly. Intriguing questions involve whether there are two parallel cognitive processes at work, or whether there are processing strategies that accommodate both first and second languages. This paper will examine how reading in the L1 is different from and similar to reading in the L2. More specifically, factors of cultural differences: content (background knowledge) schema, formal (textual) schema, and linguistic (language) schema, will be examined. Based on such a discussion, a profile of a biliterate reader is provided.