A Study On Transfer Of Chinese Reading Abilities In English Reading

This paper, with the attempt to testify either linguistic threshold hypothesis or linguistic interdependence hypothesis, and to further interpret the question of whether second language (L2) reading is a language problem or a reading problem so as to gain an insight into the nature of reading and readily improve the pedagogy of second/foreign language reading, examines the contribution of first language (L1) to L2 (used in this paper interchangeably with foreign language) reading ability in terms of presumable positive transfer of L1 (Chinese) reading ability in L2 (English) reading.194 first-year college students from three majors—Chinese literature, Pre-education and Economics were originally introduced in the selection of target testees. Four measures were taken into account in selecting the subject for the study. The first two measures are overall grade of Chinese test and that of English test taken in the National College Entrance Exams (NCEE), and the other two measures are the grade of reading section of English placement test and that of first-term English final. With the commonly acknowledged understanding that the higher the grade, the better acquired the reading ability, and with the estimate that the grade of Chinese reading test positively correlates with that of English reading test, 40 students were finally chosen out of these 194 candidates to take part in respective Chinese and English reading tests and retrospective interviews. The test grades and the recorded interviews were descriptively and correlationally analysed and were seen to have shown that these batch of students, who were more or less at the same L2 proficiency levels due to their similar L2 learning experiences, displayed a variety of abilities in reading Chinese as well as English. The final results, which produced evidence in support of both hypotheses, indicated that neither hypothesis was entirely typical of the process of the L2 reading. Hence for college students who have established certain knowledge of the English language, how to make best use of the Chinese reading ability to facilitate English reading seems to be on the agenda. And if Chinese reading ability can positive transfer in the process of English reading, great importance should also be attached to in what circumstances positive transfer is likely to occur. This obviously covers the establishment of some knowledge of English, to which enough attention should be paid and for which further empirical research seen from a new perspective should be conducted.