TY - JOUR
T1 - Attitudes and cultural background and their relationship to reading comprehension in a second language
T2 - A comparison of three different social contexts
AU - Abu-Rabia, Salim
PY - 1996/6
Y1 - 1996/6
N2 - This study investigated the relationship of attitudes and cultural background to reading comprehension in the second language (L2) of eighth-grade students in three different social contexts: Israeli Arab students (n=73) learning Hebrew as their L2, Israeli Jewish students (n=83) learning English as their L2, and Canadian Arab students (n=52) learning English as their L2. Eighteen stories were selected for reading, six for each of the three groups, as follows: Israeli Arab – three Arab stories in Arabic and in Hebrew translation, and three Jewish stories in Hebrew and in Arabic translation; Israeli Jewish – three Jewish stories in Hebrew and in English translation, and three western stories in English and in Hebrew translation; Canadian Arab – three Arab stories in Arabic and in English translation, and three western stories in English and in Arabic translation. The results showed that the motivation of the students to learning their L2 was instrumental rather than integrative, regardless of social context. Furthermore, in the two Israeli groups, Arab and Jewish, students better comprehended their own culture's stories regardless of the language of the story. By contrast, the results for the Canadian Arab group showed that text language, not text content, was the strongest factor affecting reading comprehension.
AB - This study investigated the relationship of attitudes and cultural background to reading comprehension in the second language (L2) of eighth-grade students in three different social contexts: Israeli Arab students (n=73) learning Hebrew as their L2, Israeli Jewish students (n=83) learning English as their L2, and Canadian Arab students (n=52) learning English as their L2. Eighteen stories were selected for reading, six for each of the three groups, as follows: Israeli Arab – three Arab stories in Arabic and in Hebrew translation, and three Jewish stories in Hebrew and in Arabic translation; Israeli Jewish – three Jewish stories in Hebrew and in English translation, and three western stories in English and in Hebrew translation; Canadian Arab – three Arab stories in Arabic and in English translation, and three western stories in English and in Arabic translation. The results showed that the motivation of the students to learning their L2 was instrumental rather than integrative, regardless of social context. Furthermore, in the two Israeli groups, Arab and Jewish, students better comprehended their own culture's stories regardless of the language of the story. By contrast, the results for the Canadian Arab group showed that text language, not text content, was the strongest factor affecting reading comprehension.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0346145694&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1996.tb00090.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1996.tb00090.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0346145694
SN - 0802-6106
VL - 6
SP - 81
EP - 105
JO - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
JF - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
IS - 1
ER -