Table Of ContentCONDUCTING SECOND-LANGUAGE
READING RESEARCH
This is the first hands-on methods guide for second-language (L2) reading
research. The authors expertly and critically situate L2 reading and literacy as a
multivariate, interactive process and define terms, concepts, and research tools
in connection with theory and a rich body of past empirical work, with lessons
to learn and pitfalls to avoid. They concretely detail how to design empirical
studies, collect data, and analyze findings in this important area.
Authored by world experts on first-language (L1) and L2 reading, this book
provides a comprehensive, critical, theory-driven review of methods in L2
reading research, offering a step-by-step guide from research design to study
execution and data analysis.
With useful pedagogical features and a unique database of L2 reading studies
from around the world over three decades, this will be an invaluable resource
to students and researchers of second-language acquisition, applied linguistics,
education, and related areas.
Elizabeth B. Bernhardt is Professor and Director of the Language Center at
Stanford University. Her book R eading Development in a Second Language (1991) earned
awards from the Modern Language Association and from the National Reading
Conference as an outstanding contribution to literacy research. She is also the author
of Understanding Advanced Second-Language Reading (2011) from Routledge.
Michael L. Kamil is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. He is an editor
of each of the four volumes of t he Handbook of Reading Research (1984, 1991, 2000,
2011), was an editor of Reading Research Quarterly (1991–1995) , and was a member
of the National Reading Panel and the National Literacy Panel. He was given the
Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research.
Second Language Acquisition Research Series
Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey, Series Editors
Kimberly L. Geeslin, Associate Editor
The Second Language Acquisition Research Series presents and explores issues
bearing directly on theory construction and/or research methods in the study
of second language acquisition. Its titles (both authored and edited volumes)
provide thorough and timely overviews of high-interest topics, and include
key discussions of existing research findings and their implications. A special
emphasis of the series is reflected in the volumes dealing with specific data
collection methods or instruments. Each of these volumes addresses the kinds
of research questions for which the method/instrument is best suited, offers
extended description of its use, and outlines the problems associated with its use.
The volumes in this series will be invaluable to students and scholars alike, and
perfect for use in courses on research methodology and in individual research.
Theories in Second Language Acquisition
An Introduction, Third Edition
Edited by Bill VanPatten, Gregory D. Keating and Stefanie Wulff
Data Visualization and Analysis in Second Language Research
Guilherme D. Garcia
Conducting Second-Language Reading Research
A Methodological Guide
Elizabeth B. Bernhardt and Michael L. Kamil
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Second-
Language-Acquisition-Research-Series/book-series/LEASLARS
CONDUCTING
SECOND-LANGUAGE
READING RESEARCH
A Methodological Guide
Elizabeth B. Bernhardt and Michael L. Kamil
Cover image: Getty
First published 2022
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Elizabeth B. Bernhardt and Michael L. Kamil
The right of Elizabeth B. Bernhardt and Michael L. Kamil to be
identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A ll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
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T rademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
L ibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
N ames: Bernhardt, Elizabeth B. (Elizabeth Buchter), 1954—author. |
Kamil, Michael L., author.
Title: Conducting second-language reading research : a methodological
guide / Elizabeth B. Bernhardt and Michael L. Kamil.
Description: New York, NY : 1st published 2022 by Routledge, 2022.
| Series: Second language acquisition research series | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021056839 | ISBN 9780367725211 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780367725198 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003155133 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Second language acquisition—Research—Methodology. |
Reading—Research—Methodology.
Classification: LCC P118.2 .B469 2022 | DDC 401/.930721—dc23/eng/
20220106
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056839
ISBN: 978-0-367-72521-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-72519-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-15513-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003155133
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xix
1 The Ethos of Second-Language Reading Research 1
Historical Roots 2
Influential Currents in Education in the United States
of America 7
T he Development of L2 Reading Theory 10
E arly Stages 10
The L1–L2 Relationship 14
The Relationship to Second-Language Acquisition Theory 17
Conclusion 19
2 Preparing to Ask and Asking Questions in Second-
Language Reading Research 24
Preparing to Ask Questions 26
Constructing the Literature Review 29
Some Specific Studies and Their Literature Reviews 34
Asking Research Questions 37
A Retrospective on L2 Reading Research Questions 40
Conclusion 46
3 Analyzing Populations and Text for Research Purposes 51
Gauging First-Language Literacy 52
vi Contents
Assessing Second-Language Knowledge 56
Vocabulary Knowledge 60
Determining Intrareader Variables 62
Considering Materials for Reading Research 65
Conclusion 69
4 Data Collection 75
Devising Indicators of Comprehension 77
Comprehension Questions 77
Text Type and Difficulty Level 81
Developing Scoring Schemes 83
Configuring Longer Texts for Data Collection 88
A Research Protocol for Data Collection 90
Devising Indicators of Comprehension Processes 92
Conclusion 96
5 Perennial Concerns in Second-Language Reading
Research 100
Some Specific Dilemmas 103
The Availability of a Limited Number of Subjects 103
Strategies for Choosing Instrumentation 105
Validating and Confirming the Findings
From a Study 106
Confronting Limited Time and Resources
for Data Collection 106
Getting Publications Into Print 108
Looking Forward to Future Research 109
Conclusion 113
6 Conclusion: The Research Report and Beyond 116
Reading the Research Report 117
Writing the Research Report 118
Ethics and Equity 123
The Purpose of Research 123
Conclusion: Courage 126
Appendix : The Development of the Database 128
Index 133
PREFACE
We begin this work in the midst of a global pandemic. The response to the
pandemic from the development of vaccines to the trials of more efficacious
medications reminds us of the privileges of the English-speaking world and of
its many responsibilities to others. These responsibilities consist of immediate
humanitarian assistance, but perhaps more important, they consist of generat-
ing information so that others can utilize this information for their own local
benefit. But this volume is written during what is perhaps a more significant
crisis—that on the part of millions across the globe, a loss of belief in research-
based knowledge is at an all-time high. This loss of belief is engulfed by myths
and conspiracies that have no basis in fact but rather serve to buttress conve-
nient, easy, outmoded perspectives and apparent solutions.
A s did Edmund Huey, we consider reading research to be critical both as a
public service and as a tool in knowledge creation. We consider second-language
reading research as a special case, one that focuses on the needs and concerns
of the global community that comprises billions of speakers and readers of
more than 4,000 written languages. G rabe (2009) claims that “adult literacy
instruction . . . may be the biggest population of learners worldwide” (p. 380).
Using English as a second language data as baseline, Beare (2019) estimates
that around 2 billion persons as of this writing potentially fit into the category
of English as a second language users (see the “Continued Growth” section).
Beyond English as a second language users, of course, there are millions who
need to use Chinese, Spanish, German, Japanese, and so forth for additional
academic or content information. The crosslinguistic combinations are mani-
fold. In fact, we have made the assertion that second-language reading consti-
tutes a global literacy. This assertion claims that many individuals across the
world use their home or native language almost exclusively for social purposes
or to gain local-level knowledge. They do not regularly use that language for
viii Preface
gaining academic/technical information (i.e., expository information); in other
words, they use a second language for that. Grabe contends that reading in a
second language—in this instance, English—“provides one of the few avenues
for . . . students to develop their English L2 abilities to the point at which
advanced academic goals can be achieved” (p. 6). By the last decade of the 20th
century, the internet revolution had taken complete hold, and “mass public
access to cable programming” ( Bernhardt, 2011 , p. vii) was available globally:
The virtual universal access to technology and, hence, to an expansive array
of cost-free authentic materials, both written and aural, enabled a new kind
of mass literacy in which all persons could look at a primary source, and with
appropriate knowledge, understand it without an interpretive intermediary.
(B ernhardt, 2011 , p. viii)
Grabe (2009 ) is quick to note that “L2 readers, in many contexts around the
world, are reading texts that often are very difficult and at the upper edge of their
linguistic resources” (p. 135). H artshorn et al. (2017 ) underline the importance of
Grabe’s words by surveying college professors and noting their belief that listen-
ing and reading are more important skills than writing and speaking for student
success in higher education. A culminating thought is provided by Venezky et al.
(1990 ), who contend that “reading is clearly primary to any definition of literacy
and in some sense, the others are secondary. Writing, as a means of recording and
communication, presupposes reading; otherwise it is mere copying” (p. 9).
Of course, the use of the word l iteracy presents a definitional dilemma. Across
the globe, literacy often means the ability to write one’s name and to provide
in writing some demographic information. In school settings, it often means
the ability to pronounce and read aloud a basic vocabulary of 2,000 words. On
many levels, this kind of performance is sufficient to operate in daily life. At a
higher level, however, it falls short of the literacy knowledge one needs to cope
in the modern world. It appears that 20,000 to 30,000 words form the baseline
for an “educated” person with a much higher level, upwards of 100,000 words
for a highly educated speaker. The variation across this spectrum is enormous.
With regard to second-language reading, are we conceptualizing users who
can read some things aloud and have a vocabulary of less than 2,000 words, or
are we referring to users who are highly educated and who cope with upper-
register discourse in a second language on a regular basis? Research into this
area will always need to articulate its parameters and lay bare its assumptions
about the nature of the readers it is examining. The notion of information fur-
ther complexifies the area. Expository information refers to information that
contains important content for transactions beyond the personal domain:
[This] is not centered on the how-tos of getting to the train station or of
how to read a theater time schedule, but on advances in pharmacology;
Preface ix
on up-to-the minute information on meteorology; about current news
and events; on the analysis of literary text; or on a thousand other areas
that characterize the contemporary world.
( B ernhardt, 2011, p. viii)
A dmittedly, speculating on how many individuals actually use a second-language
literacy regularly is like trying to guess the number of beans in a jar at the
county fair. Another baseline figure for these estimates is provided by counts
of the number of international students in an array of countries. These students
would be required to use a second language for learning content information.
When these students go into the workplace a number of them will continue
using a second-language literacy, but others may return to a home country and
rarely look at academic materials again. Simultaneously, there may be users of a
second language who return to it and begin to use a second language they have
not engaged with in a considerable time. The COVID-19 global pandemic
brought many researchers to this dilemma. A sudden need to review interna-
tional research reports with alacrity presented itself. This situation often evokes
an obvious response: just use Google translate. Any fluent user of a language
wants to be able to confirm such a translation or at least to feel comfortable
with it. Translation tools might be reliability measures, not primary data.
T hese raw counts need to be met with skepticism, further, when consider-
ing whether users actually comprehend what they read. In other words, they
may claim to use second languages and to understand, but we have an unclear
understanding of the level of that comprehension. With regard to the 2 billion
person estimate set forward by Beare (2019) , a question becomes whether these
persons use a second language, for example, as tourists or for general recre-
ational purposes, or whether they are using it for content information. Are
these data based in self-report whereby users may well overestimate or under-
estimate their actual knowledge? Or do they come from census data, again a
self-report? Are they based in what individuals believe about their learning
from secondary school? Or are they based in the number of school learn-
ers, thereby possibly overestimating adult use of a second language? Again,
a multitude of variables comes into play in trying to gain a picture of global
second-language literacy.
Against this relatively gauzy backdrop, we maintain our assertion that second-
language reading is t he global literacy. More individuals access material infor-
mation through a second language than they do in their first, an understanding
that we underline repeatedly through the volume, forming one of its core
principles. C onducting Second-Language Reading Research: A Methodological Guide
confines itself to discussing populations that have developed a first-language
literacy and that add a second language or beyond. This is a critical point in that
emergent first-language readers who add a second-language emerging literacy
complexify the processes by melding the two processes, creating a different
