First Language (L1) Influence on Second Language (L2) Reading: The Role of Transfer

Abstract

To examine the first language influence on second language reading it is important to understand the nature and process of reading (both L1 and L2 reading). Psycholinguistic perspective characterizes reading as an active process in which the reader samples linguistic cues and based on those cues produces hypothesis about the message of the writer (Clarke, 1979). As Goodman (1970) states in his definition of reading: