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Part of
Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research Methods
Edited by Laura Gurzynski-Weiss and YouJin Kim
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 3] 2022
► pp. 281–304

Chapter 12
Reading

Adopting interdisciplinary paradigms in ISLA reading research

| Victoria University of Wellington

What is involved in skilled reading and learning to read in a second language (L2), compared with the first language (L1)? Answers to this question can shape our thinking about what needs to be taught and investigated in instructed second language acquisition of reading by learners already literate in their L1s. Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive task that is notoriously difficult to define and measure (Nation & Waring, 2019), and building on relevant research paradigms and methods from adjacent fields offers a way to address this complexity. In this chapter, I consider interdisciplinary methodological approaches used to study reading that ISLAR researchers can adopt and adapt in investigating learning to read and reading to learn in an additional language. The chapter concludes with a detailed look at selected studies exemplifying the use of such research methods and advice for future L2 reading researchers.

Keywords: instructed second language acquisition of reading, component processes in reading, eye-tracking, self-paced reading, interdisciplinary research methods
Article outline
  • 1.What is reading and why is it important for ISLA?
  • 2.An overview of ISLA reading research: What we know and what we need to know
    • 2.1Reading as a complex process
    • 2.2Reading development
    • 2.3What is worth teaching?
  • 3.Methodological approaches to data elicitation and interpretation
    • 3.1Experimental laboratory research methods
    • 3.2In-situ research methods
    • 3.3Detailed examples from experts’ research: Considerations for ISLAR
      • 3.3.1Learning to read words: An instructed artificial language study
      • 3.3.2Learning to read sentences: A self-paced reading study
  • 4.Advice for future reading researchers
  • 5.ISLAR research methodological guide
  • 6.Troubleshooting ISLAR research
  • 7.Conclusions
  • 8.Further reading and additional resources
    • 8.1Book-length volumes
    • 8.2Suggested journals, professional organizations, and conferences
  • References
Published online: 8 December 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.3.12elg
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