Reading Comprehension in Polish and English

This book is about reading. Throughout the book, the author explains the complexity of the dual-language involvement of FL/L2 reading by showing how L1 and FL/L2 factors interplay in FL/L2 reading. The main aim of the book is to explore reading in English in the foreign/second language context as a cross-linguistic phenomenon and to present the results of a think-aloud study which investigated reading in Polish as the L1 and English as the FL of Polish learners of English. The project consisted of six stages, each focussing on a different aspect of reading. Thus, the following was explored: reading strategies, problems and solutions, the way the subjects constructed their representations of the texts, the students&rsquo individual patterns of developing comprehension and effectiveness in identifying the main ideas. The findings revealed both differences and similarities between the subjects&rsquo reading in Polish and their reading in English. The book offers implications for further research and elucidates the usefulness of think-aloud protocols in foreign language instruction.