Helping ESL Students Become Better Readers.doc

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1、HelpingESLStudentsBecomeBetterReaders:SchemaTheoryApplicationsandLimitationsNigelStott(Fukuoka,Japan) Schematheorydescribestheprocessbywhichreaderscombinetheirownbackgroundknowledgewiththeinformationinatexttocomprehendthattext.Allreaderscarrydifferentschemata(backgroundinformation)

2、andthesearealsooftenculture-specific.ThisisanimportantconceptinESLteaching,andprereadingtasksareoftendesignedtobuildoractivatethelearner'sschemata.ThispapersummarisessomeoftheresearchintoschematheoryanditsapplicationstoESLreading.Theauthoralsohighlightssomeofthelimitationsoftheuseo

3、ftheschema-theoreticapproachandpointsouttheimportancebothofdevelopingthelearner'svocabularyandofencouragingextensivereading. IntroductionSchematheoryisbasedonthebeliefthat"everyactofcomprehensioninvolvesone'sknowledgeoftheworldaswell"(Andersonetal.inCarrellandEisterhold1983:73).Thu

4、s,readersdevelopacoherentinterpretationoftextthroughtheinteractiveprocessof"combiningtextualinformationwiththeinformationareaderbringstoatext"(WiddowsoninGrabe1988:56).Readers'mentalstoresaretermed'schemata'(afterBartlettinCook1997:86)andaredivided(followingCarrell1983a)intotwomain

5、types:'contentschemata'(backgroundknowledgeoftheworld)and'formalschemata'(backgroundknowledgeofrhetoricalstructure).Theoriesonthecontributionofschematatothereadingprocessarediscussedinthenextsection.Schema-theoreticresearchhighlightsreaderproblemsrelatedtoabsentoralternate(oftencul

6、ture-specific)schemata,aswellasnon-activationofschemata,andevenoveruseofbackgroundknowledge.Carrell,DevineandEskey(1988:4)claimthatschematheoryhasprovidednumerousbenefitstoESLteachingand,indeed,mostcurrentESLtextbooksattemptschemaactivationthroughprereadingactivities.However,therem

7、aybelimitstotheeffectivenessofsuchactivitiesandtheremayevenhavebeensomeover-emphasisoftheschemaperspectiveandneglectofotherareas(seeEskey1988:93;McCarthy1991:168).Considerationisgiveninthelatterpartofthepapertothelimitationsofschema-theoreticapplicationsandtotheimportanceof'extensi

8、vereading'. Schemataandthe