Novel Lexical Item Decoding in L2 Reading Acquisition: A Socio-schematic Approach

Enkin, Elizabeth B

Publication:
Novel Lexical Item Decoding in L2 Reading Acquisition: A Socio-schematic Approach

dc.contributor.advisor	Rosemary Weston-Gil
dc.contributor.author	Enkin, Elizabeth B
dc.contributor.department	University of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.contributor.department	Hispanic Literatures & Linguistics
dc.date	2023-09-22T19:34:28.000
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T20:49:19Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-26T20:49:19Z
dc.date.issued	2008-01-01
dc.date.submitted	2008-September
dc.description.abstract	Past theorists have shown through their work the versatility and advantages of utilizing pre-established schemata to form a novice’s interaction with and comprehension of a text. Schemata have shown to contribute to comprehension by means of four purposes: to disambiguate, to elaborate, to filter, and to compensate (Lee & VanPatten 1999). Furthermore, we see that these schemata, or formerly attained background knowledge, are integral parts of Coady’s ESL psycholinguistic reading model (1979) , as well as Carrel’s schema theory (1984). Previous studies done by Jimenez (2000) and that of Valdés (2001) with ESL/LEP students show that motivation for learning a second language is partly derived from the social environment in which students are participants. Valdés’ study in particular supports a Funds of Knowledge Approach (Moll et. al. 1994), which stresses the need for increased attention on the social environment of the student. The present study focuses on novel L2 lexical item decoding. Students will be given a “pre-study” questionnaire in order to ascertain knowledge of and ability level of Spanish. Novices will encounter the lexical items in two different short texts. One will activate a known “social schema”, while the other will be a text for which students will not have a background structure. There will be the same amount of novel lexical items in both texts, and each text will be of the same level. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate whether, and how, students interpret the meanings of novel lexical items when they are presented in a “socially tailored” text. This new “socio-schematic approach” to L2 lexical item decoding can contribute to the stages of Reading Skill and Acquisition outlined by ACTFL. By applying this “socio-schematic approach”, implications for foreign language learning can be linked to the stages of ACTFL.
dc.description.degree	Master of Arts (M.A.)
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.7275/530592
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/45604
dc.relation.url	https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1218&context=theses&unstamped=1
dc.source.status	published
dc.subject	Linguistics
dc.subject	Hispanic Linguistics
dc.subject	Foreign Language Education
dc.subject	Foreign Language Learning
dc.subject	Spanish
dc.subject	Applied Linguistics
dc.subject	Teacher education
dc.title	Novel Lexical Item Decoding in L2 Reading Acquisition: A Socio-schematic Approach
dc.type	open
dc.type	article
dc.type	thesis
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:EEnkin@gmail.com\|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst\|Enkin, Elizabeth B
digcom.identifier	theses/207
digcom.identifier.contextkey	530592
digcom.identifier.submissionpath	theses/207
dspace.entity.type	Publication