An English Reading Model Based On Relevance Theory

As a matter of fact, current reading performance of most college students can be said farfrom satisfaction. The surveys and analyses of students’ reading troubles conducted by somescholars, together with her experience of learning and teaching English-reading, indicatethat reading troubles not only result from insufficient language knowledge, but also fromscarcely exploiting consciously their inferential ability and rarely connecting backgroundknowledge with reading materials.Current reading-process researches both in abroad and at home centers on quantitativeapplication studies of the four mainstream reading-process models (Bottle-up, Top-down,Interactive, and Schema-theoretic reading models). Due to the late initiation of readingresearches in China, Chinese scholars have conducted more application researches ofinteractive and schema-theoretic reading models. Some Chinese scholars also have appliedrelevance theory to reading comprehension on the ground of the unique characteristics ofEnglish reading to Chinese college students (insufficient language knowledge, cultural default,and not or little using inference due to treating reading as word-by-word translation), whichsupplements reading-process researches. Based on their contribution, the author goes furtherto boldly set up an English reading model in the framework of RT, meanwhile drawing onmainstream reading models, which is applicable to sentences interpretation, as well as to textcomprehension.RT is cognitive pragmatics, regarding communication as a function of human cognition,which has been evolved to just notice and process the most relevant information. In this way,any text itself conveys the presumption/expectation of optimal relevance, and the readingprocess is to satisfy the expectation. And RT expounds the interpretation process that readersinfer appropriate interpretation by selecting particular cognitive context to process the newsentence under the constraint of optimal relevance (to get the optimal contextual effect whilecosting necessary cognitive effort). If apply RT to reading comprehension, readers can exploit its powerful explanatory force; and they can also attach due importance to their inferentialability, background as well as language knowledge in that RT holds that both inference anddecoding are essential with the former based on the latter.The paper sets up an English reading model based on RT, which regards reading asostensive-inferential communication with the writer performing ostentation and the readerundertaking inference based on decoded text, and the paper elaborates this model from6aspects: its nature, features, influencing factors, reading procedure, reading-speed accelerator,and the criterion for appropriate understanding. Most importantly, the reading proceduredivided into3parts is simply operable: to get a rough idea of any text under RT, withtop-down and schema-theoretical reading model for reference; to interpret the text guided byRT; and to analysis the text again. To see its explanatory force in whole text as well assentence details, the model is firstly applied to a whole text randomly taken from collegeEnglish textbook, and then to comprehension questions in CET4/6respectively from theglobal and sentential levels. The successful application definitely proves the effectiveness andapplicability of this model to some degree.From the above analysis, we can see that if students read under the guidance of RTreading model, they can not only solve their current reading problems by consciouslyexploiting their inferential ability and background knowledge based on sufficient languageknowledge, but also can they develop high-level reading proficiencies for their work and livesin the future. Theoretically, this research deepens RT application in English readingcomprehension. It also supplements reading-process researches, especially research onEnglish reading for Chinese college students.