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"Syntactic
and Lexical/Semantic Skill in Foreign Language Reading: Importance
and Interaction" Abstract In
studies of the second/foreign language reading process, a number
of factors are pertinent, including perception of print, reader's
background knowledge and interest in the text, individual facility
with various reading strategies, and knowledge of language, including
grammar control and vocabulary range. This experiment with second-year
university-level students of French reading original short stories
examines the role of vocabulary and grammar for these readers.
Is it true, as certain theorists have maintained, that vocabulary
is the most important factor for success in foreign language reading
comprehension? How much do readers depend upon syntax to get meaning
from a text? The study shows that, as expected, both syntactic and vocabulary proficiency affect reading comprehension. Still, unduly stressing vocabulary-building or inferencing skills may very well not help those students who lack adequate syntactic knowledge. Both sets of skills appear to be necessary to these English speakers' reading comprehension of French, and they interact with each other, independent of difficulty level of the texts. Recommendations for further study and consideration of pedagogical applications are included. |