This study investigates how working memory (WM) capacity and L2 linguistic knowledge affect L2 literal and inferential reading comprehension, considering the presence or absence of background knowledge. Eighty upper-intermediate to advanced adult English learners participated, completing tasks to assess WM capacity, background knowledge, L2…

This study aimed to validate the Simple View of Reading (SVR) in L2 English readers with alphabetic and morphosyllabic L1 writing system backgrounds. Forty-five L2 English learners enrolled in American university bridge programs completed a set of tasks that measured real word decoding efficiency, pseudoword decoding efficiency, linguistic…

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is widely recognized as an effective approach for developing second language (L2) learners' English skills. However, its success often depends on the teacher's ability to design engaging tasks and dynamic learning platforms that foster active participation. While previous studies highlight the importance of…

Adopting a cognitive perspective, this study examined roles of working memory capacity (WMC), first language (L1) syllogistic inferencing, and second language (L2) linguistic knowledge on literal and inferential understanding of L2 reading comprehension in adolescent L2 learners. Participants were 193 Korean ninth-grade learners of English. The…

This study aimed to explore the role of inference making in the relation between vocabulary knowledge (breadth and depth) and reading comprehension for 487 ninth-grade Chinese EFL students who were categorized as either struggling or adequate. Path analysis was used to examine both direct and mediated effects. The results indicated a statistically…

Typical print formatting provides no information regarding the linguistic features of a text, although texts vary considerably with respect to grammatical complexity and readability. Complex texts may be particularly challenging for individuals with weak language knowledge, such as English language learners. This paper investigates the usefulness…

Readers should construct a coherent discourse during reading comprehension. The ability to build coherence has been examined using coherence and cohesion judgment tasks. Although eye-tracking studies have been conducted on building coherence or processing cohesion among native language users, few such studies have been conducted with second…

Peer Tutoring is a widely used method of teaching English. Peer tutoring, a pedagogical strategy that has the potential to assist Indonesian advanced students in developing inferential understanding by combining it with KWL charts, has, however, received little attention in the context of Indonesian EFL (English as a Foreign Language). The aims…

This study explored the role of word knowledge dimensions in second language (L2) word-meaning inference. College-level L2 learners (N = 121) participated in this study and completed a series of word knowledge tests including vocabulary size, word associates, morpheme-form knowledge, morpheme-meaning knowledge, morpheme discrimination, and…

This experimental study investigates the impact of ChatGPT-simplified authentic texts on university students' reading comprehension, inferencing, and reading anxiety levels. A within-subjects design was employed, and 105 undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students engaged in both original and ChatGPT-simplified text readings,…

The present study is concerned with the relationship between brain hemisphericity and the reading comprehension of adult Saudi EFL learners. The tendency to rely on one side of the brain over the other can affect the degree of success in learning a foreign language as well as the appropriateness of learning and teaching strategies. A total of 122…

This study investigated the connection between translanguaging and reading comprehension of Filipino ESL intermediate learners. The respondents were intermediate pupils enrolled in the selected central schools in Bicol, Philippines. The respondents' ages range from 8 to 12 years old, and 124 students (27.55%) were males while 326 students (72.44%)…

The study examined the relationships between reading comprehension and measures of lower level comprehension skills (vocabulary, grammar, and word processing) and a higher level comprehension skill (inference making), to determine if these measures of higher and lower level comprehension skills predicted different levels of variance in reading…

This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature on the effects of cross-linguistic transfer on Spanish/English bilinguals' reading comprehension skills. The search yielded at least 90 studies in which participants were Spanish/English bilinguals aged birth to Grade 12. Researchers assessed participants' decoding and/or linguistic…

Radical awareness (i.e. the ability to identify, analyze, and manipulate radicals within compound characters) plays an important role in character reading and learning for first language and second language (L2) learners of Chinese. Previous studies have shown that radical awareness contributes to character recognition, inference, and…