ARELE: Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan
Online ISSN : 2432-0412
Print ISSN : 1344-8560
ISSN-L : 1344-8560
Analogical Transfer in EFL Reading Comprehension : The Roles of Similarity Types and Causality Between Texts
Mayuko KOBAYASHI
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2013 Volume 24 Pages 157-172

Details
Abstract

The present study investigated how the similarity features between texts (i.e., similarity types, causality) and L2 reading proficiency affect EFL learners' reading comprehension through analogical transfer. To clarify the process of analogical transfer as well as the quantity and quality of information comprehension facilitated by this process, a recognition test and recall task were administered. The results showed that analogical transfer occurred in EFL reading comprehension. However, each process in the series was influenced by different factors. Accessing and mapping processes were driven by the causality between texts. Meanwhile, the process of encoding the analogical information to the EFL learners' text representations was mainly driven by the surface similarity between texts. Moreover, it was revealed that the transfer of causal structure from the source analog to the target representation effectively enhances text comprehension, but it requires a certain level of L2 reading proficiency.

Content from these authors
© 2013 The Japan Society of English Language Education
Previous article Next article
feedback
Top