Second language reading and writing in relation to first language, vocabulary knowledge, and learning backgrounds

ABSTRACT

Being able to read and write in English as a second language (L2) in the globalized world has been increasingly considered important to gain greater personal, academic, and business achievement. This study investigates English (L2) reading and writing abilities in relation to first language (L1) reading and writing abilities, L2 vocabulary knowledge, and L2 educational backgrounds. The L1-L2 reading and writing relationships were examined in terms of the linguistic threshold and linguistic interdependence hypotheses. Data from 108 undergraduate students who learned English in South Korea were analyzed using a path analysis. Results indicated that L2 vocabulary knowledge was the most important predictor of both L2 reading and writing. L1 reading scores predicted L2 reading scores, which supports the linguistic interdependence hypothesis. A positive relationship between L1 and L2 writing was found for L2 learners with greater L2 vocabulary knowledge, supporting the linguistic threshold hypothesis. L2 educational backgrounds were also found important, such that time living in an L2-speaking country was related to better understanding L2 reading passages, while test familiarity was associated with better L2 writing performance. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of L2 reading and writing abilities in relation to their relevant skills and educational backgrounds.

KEYWORDS:

• Second language reading
• second language writing
• vocabulary knowledge
• educational backgrounds
• threshold hypothesis
• interdependence hypothesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this study, an L2 is referred to as a language that is not a native language, including foreign languages. Reading was used to refer to reading comprehension.

2 The independent scoring rubric is available on the ETS website at https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_writing_rubrics.pdf.

3 Among the 10 students, two lived in the Australia, one in Canada, two in New Zealand, three in Philippines, and two in the USA. Nine students studied abroad in between 3rd and 7th grades, while one student studied aboard in her first year in college.

4 Both groups’ data did not follow normal distributions due to small sample sizes, and thus Spearman's rank order correlations were reported.

5 For the participants in this study who started to learn English as a foreign language after they had acquired their L1, it is likely that their L1 had effects on their L2. Thus, we used such terms as ‘transfer’ and ‘influence’ from the L1 to the L2.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Minkyung Kim

Dr. Minkyung Kim is an applied linguist working as an assistant professor at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Japan. Her research focuses on second language (L2) reading and writing and language assessment.

Scott A. Crossley

Dr. Scott Crossley is a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. Professor Crossley’s primary research focus is on natural language processing and the application of computational tools and machine learning algorithms in language learning, writing, and text comprehensibility. His main interest area is the development and use of natural language processing tools in assessing writing quality and text difficulty.

Byeong-Kweon Kim

Dr. Byeong-Kweon Kim is an emeritus professor in the Department of Korean Language Education in Busan National University, South Korea.