Schema Theory--Its Limitations In EFL Reading

Reading plays an important role in EFL learning. The schematic-view of reading takes great advantages in the process of reading comprehension. There is significant implication in reading practice and teaching instructions. This paper aims to investigate the limitation of schema theory in EFL reading. Several factors account for the ineffective use of schemata, such as linguistic competence, dynamic frame and script, stereotyping, anxiety, cultural difference, and problems with schema theory applications in EFL instruction. Among, cultural difference has been emphasized. Cultural factors, namely differences in types of schemata can contribute to the difficulty in EFL reading. Then the author discusses the difficulties that the Chinese readers might encounter in EFL reading with respect to three types of schemata. It is concluded that we should reevaluate the bottom-up processing in EFL reading, and pay attention to developing reader's sociocultural competence.First, the author reviews the concepts of text, reading comprehension, schema theory and modes of reading processing, and analyzes the factors that affect reading effects and the causes of failure in comprehension. Then the application and limitation of the schemata theory have been discussed. The following factors may influence the effective use of schemata. (1) The application of schema is based on the threshold of linguistic competence. The use of schemata is at the limits of the readers' linguistic ability. FL readers depend more on the knowledge of vocabulary than on the background knowledge, especially for readers with lower FL competence, FL reading is a language problem rather than a reading problem. (2) Traditional research of frame and script was carried out on based of its fixed and static structure. It still has limitations in dealing with some flexible and dynamic situations. Since frame and scrip have been conceptualized and experiential, it is hard to explain the complex andvariable situations in the process of reading. (3)The prediction is affected by stereotype(a kind of psycho-culture factor). Stereotype means examining a social identityoversimplified and overgeneralized. Stereotype has negative effect on the cross-culturalreading comprehension, and it influences the accuracy of the prediction at the level ofculture. (4) Anxiety is a kind of emotional variable, a kind of emotion of intense.Second language learning has a great deal of ambiguity, and this can often raiselanguage anxiety. The students who are highly anxious about the frequent ambiguitiesof language learning often suffer reduced risk-taking ability, such as employing schematheoretic approach in EF reading. (5) The cultural-specific schemata may often arousethe difficulty and misunderstanding in EFL reading, which will be discussed in detailsin following part. (6) The overuse of schemata and the dominant use of top-downprocessing in EFL reading instruction may lead to the ignorance of language teaching.Then, from the aspect of schemata and cultural differences, the cultural-specificschema, which may lead to the difficulties in FL reading, has been discussed. Theauthor investigates how the cultural differences have been embodied in the three typesof schemata respectively. Because of the cultural differences, the readers' languageknowledge about lexicology, syntax and semantics; formal knowledge about rhetoricalstructure; content knowledge about the whole world, are all cultural specific.Specifically, a discussion of the difficulties likely to be encountered by Chinese readerswith respect to schemata-interference has been given. The differences in writingsystem and syntax structure have been emphasized. Chinese is the most typicalmorphemic writing system, compared to English (a kind of phonetic writing system), isthe only one in which a character is a unified entity of form, sound and meaning. WhileEFL reading, Chinese readers tend to use the visual coding strategies rather thanphonological coding...