Lexical inferencing in reading in L2 Russian

Abstract

This study describes how intermediate-level first language (L1) English readers of Russian as a second language (L2) deploy lexical inferencing and other strategies when reading informational texts. Fifth-semester students of Russian performed think-alouds while reading two texts; one written for the general adult reader, and the other meant for school-age children. Reader think-alouds were transcribed and coded for strategy use and lexical inferencing. Results rank the frequency of reader strategy use and show trends in how readers vary their strategy use depending on the text type. Readers’ difficulties in using context as well as phonological and morphological analysis for inferring the meaning of unknown words are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Implications of these results for selecting texts and for scaffolding these selections are considered.