Paper Titles in Periodical
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences
ILSHS Volume 59
Subscribe

Subscribe to our Newsletter and get informed about new publication regulary and special discounts for subscribers!

ILSHS > ILSHS Volume 59 > It Rings a Bell or Breeds Contempt? Activating...
< Back to Volume

It Rings a Bell or Breeds Contempt? Activating Background Knowledge and Reading Recall

Full Text PDF

Abstract:

The present study examined the possible effects of activating background knowledge on reading recall of 20 Iranian EFL learners by giving the experimental participants a text from Persian literature, a culturally-familiar source, and contrasting their key points recall with those of another group of learners who did not know the text origin. Findings revealed that the participants who did not know the source of the text did significantly better than the experimental group who were given the source and the context. While a small-scale study, this study may suggest that using culture-based reading materials may not always help the learners' reading performance. In addition, the activation of background knowledge may result in overreliance on prior knowledge resources and trigger affective barriers such as lack of interest which may be to the detriment of readers’ recall.

Info:

Periodical:
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences (Volume 59)
Pages:
9-12
Citation:
M. A. Heidari-Shahreza, "It Rings a Bell or Breeds Contempt? Activating Background Knowledge and Reading Recall", International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, Vol. 59, pp. 9-12, 2015
Online since:
September 2015
Export:
Distribution:
References:

[1] Callender A. A., Medina, A., Brantmeier, C., Textual enhancements or interference? Inserted adjuncts and L2 reading with intermediate language learners. System, 41(4), 952-964 (2013).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.09.001

[2] Alptekin C., Cultural familiarity in inferential and literal comprehension in L2 reading. System, 34 (4), 494-508, (2006).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.05.003

[3] Schotter E. R., Lee M., Reiderman M., Rayner K., The effect of contextual constraint on parafoveal processing in reading. Journal of Memory and Language, 83, 118-139, (2015).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2015.04.005

[4] Miller D., ESL reading textbooks vs. university textbooks: Are we giving our students the input they may need? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10 (1), 32-46, (2011).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2010.12.002

[5] Stott N., Familiarity breeds contempt: Reading texts from learners' own cultures does not guarantee recall. TESOL Quarterly, 38 (2), 345-352, (2004).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3588387

[6] Carrell P. L. Some causes of text-boundedness and schema interference in ESL reading. In P. L. Carrell, J. Devine, & D. E. Eskey (Eds. ), Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, pp.101-113.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139524513.012

[7] R. Ellis, The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (1994).

[8] Heidari-Shahreza M. A., The effect of content-based language instruction on EFL learners' attention, engagement, volunteering and verbal Interaction. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 20, 14-21, (2014).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ilshs.31.14

[9] Byram, M., Feng, A., Intercultural authenticity: A new angle for content analysis. Paper presented at the conference Culture, Language, and Communication, University of Hong Kong. Retrieved July 2, 2002, from http: / www. hku. hk/language/clc/intercultural_authenticity. html, (2000, September).

Show More Hide
Cited By:
This article has no citations.