An Investigation of L1 Thinking on Different Readi

An Investigation of L1 Thinking on Different Read-ing Texts in English Class

Tian TIAN1, Jingjing HAN2

1Beijing Wuzi University

, Beijing

Abstract: The paper attempts to discuss L1 thinking on reading different levels of

English texts. Think-aloud protocols were used to figure out the involvement and

function of L1 thinking when reading. L1 thinking plays an important role in the

English reading, regardless of the difficulties of the materials. Yet differences can

also be indicated. Teachers should provide reading materials properly and guide the

students to reduce the use of their native language in the reading.

Keywords: L1 thinking; Think-aloud protocols; English reading

DOI: 10.47297/wspciWSP2516-252714.20200405

All Rights Reserved.1. Introduction

R

eading is a complicated cognitive process that demands great mental efforts and

it is an interaction between language and thought, which “the writer encodes

thoughts as language and the reader decodes language to thought.” (Goodman, 1973)

In SLA the role of L1 has always been a heated topic and it is generally believed that

L1 plays a vital role (either negative or positive) in the process of L2 learning, espe-cially in L2 reading process. Reading, especially L2 reading, is perhaps most thor-oughly studied while least understood process in the field of the second language

acquisition today (Clarke, 1980).

As a source of data for understanding the use of language, verbal report was a

valuable and a thoroughly reliable source of information about cognitive process if

About the author: Tian TIAN (1983-10), female, Man, Fushun, Liaoning province,

master degree, lecturer, Research Interests: English teaching and intercultural studies;

Jingjing HAN (1983-09), female, Han, Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang province, master de-gree, editor, Research Interests; International Communication.

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the data was elicited with care and interpreted with full understanding of the circum-stances under which they were obtained (Cohen, 1998).

The study intends to find out involvement and function of L1 thinking on Eng-lish reading by using the think-aloud protocols.

2. Related Studies

In the past decades, the think-aloud procedure has become increasingly popular

to collect data from a cognitive perspective, in problem solving and second language

learning (Ericsson and Simon, 1993; Faerch and Kasper, 1987). The results from a

thinking aloud session are a lot of qualitative data. Due to this fact, the number of

users does not have to be so large and a lot of important and valuable information

could be obtained with just a few users (Someren, 1994).

L1 thinking and L2 reading correlate each other closely. Kern (1994) examined

the language of thought used by L2 learners in comprehending L2 text and summa-rized the functions of L1 thinking in L2 reading. Horiba (1996) investigated L2 learn-ers’ reading comprehension process by using think-aloud protocols. Upton (1997,

1998) notes that L2 readers may think in L1 and use L1 as a strategy to help com-All Rights d an L2 text. Seng & Hashim (2006) investigated the L1 use in L2 group read-ing process with think-aloud method. He found that all the participants use L1 think-ing in L2 reading process, and 30% strategies were conducted with native language.

Wu & Wang (2006) who adopted both think-aloud method to study the relation

between L1 and L2 thinking in L2 reading progress of Chinese college students. Ju,

Wang and Zhou（2007）recorded 8 Chinese college students’ thinking process when

reading two English articles with different difficulty by using think-aloud method

and retrospective interview. The function of L1 showed obvious differences: when

reading article with high difficulty, the students were always summarize with their

native language, guessing the meaning of words and sentences and making feedback

themselves whether they comprehended it or not. While reading article with low dif-ficulty, the students used native language to make the evaluation and association.

3. Methodology

Two college students, Student A and Student B are chosen for the study. Both

of them are from Dalian Maritime University, and they have pass CET 4, having an

intermediate level of English.

Both of the students received think-aloud process training. After the training,

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An Investigation of L1 Thinking on Different Read-ing Texts in English Class

they were asked to verbalize whatever they were thinking as their thoughts naturally

came to mind while reading and doing the assigned tasks. Student A was asked to

finish the CET 4 reading task while Student B to finish CET 6.

After they finished the reading comprehension respectively, the author tran-scribed the think-aloud records of their reading processes.

The qualitative analysis of the think-aloud protocols aimed to find out the L1

thinking involvement in the process of reading materials of different difficulties.

4. Findings

L1 thinking changed a little when the students read the text of different difficul-ties. L1 involvement of the students increased obviously on literal comprehension,

especially on translation activities. When students read the comparatively difficult

English text, readers tended to use more native language as their working language

to deal with the literal meaning comprehension.

The analysis of protocols shows that the L1 thinking played an important role

in the English reading comprehension, regardless of difficulties of the different ma-terials. Yet the difference still exist. For the task that is higher in difficulty level, L1

All Rights ng is employed more often to identify sentence meaning, summarize the con-tent, and assess the readers’ understanding of the passage, while for the task that is

lower in difficulty level, it is more likely used for association and evaluation.

The following are two examples from think-aloud protocols. Example 1 is about

Student A who read CET4 material, and Example 2 is Student B who read CET6

material. These extractions to some extent reflect that differences exist when readers

reading text on different difficulties.

Example 1:

(Original text) Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with

others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their

lives.

(Think-aloud protocols) 年轻的运动员可以学到怎样和他人合作，交朋友，学到很多社会上的技巧，并且这些技巧可以使他们终身受益。Coaches and par-ents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect

their children …嗯，教练还有家长应该始终保持高度的注意，因为他们对于一些年轻人的反应将会极大地影响到他们的孩子。

Example 2:

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(Think-aloud protocols) It is hardly necessary for me，几乎不必要， to cite

all the evidence of 这些证据，of the depressing state of literacy读写的这种de-pressing, depress 就是绝望的，令人绝望的这种状态，这种证据，depress. These

figures from the Department of Education are sufficient这些证据就足够了: 27 mil-lion Americans cannot read at all,…27百万人美国人不能够读，不具备阅读能力and a further 35 million read at a level that is less than sufficient to survive in our

society不足以在社会生活…(5’) 27百万人是一点不能读，35百万是阅读能力不能在社会上立足。

By analyzing the protocols, the researcher found that as for CET4 reading ac-tivities, Student A usually translated and comprehended the sentence or sentence

group after they finish reading; as for CET6 reading activities, Student B usually

paid more attention to the uncertain vocabulary, phrases and clauses. They used the

Chinese and English to summarize and to associate bilingually.

They almost summarized the low difficulty - CET4 material with their native

language while reading CET6 they usually summarized to grasp the sentences or

paragraph meaning in Chinese and English.

All Rights Reserved.5. Conclusion

L1 and L2 have been regarded correlating to each other closely. Readers use L1

thinking while doing English reading comprehension. For the more difficult task, L1

is employed more often to identify sentence meaning, and assess the readers’ under-standing of the passage, while for the relatively easy task, L1 is more likely used for

association and evaluation. Moreover, English readers are likely to summarize the

less difficult material with their native language but to grasp the sentences or para-graph meaning in Chinese and English while it is really difficult. Teachers should

pay attention to the selection of reading materials in English class, and if there have

already been some texts, teachers should lead the students to read the text with the

help of native language to some extent.

English learners need to attain a certain level on English vocabulary and struc-ture to lay a solid foundation for their improvement of their language competence.

When they have achieved the threshold level of Elish, they are more likely to rely

less on their L1. Meanwhile, teachers may encourage students to practice English so

as to reduce the use of native language.

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