In reading research, studies on good and poor reader characteristics abound. However, these findings remain largely scattered in applied linguistics and cognitive and educational psychology. This paper attempts to synthesize current theory and research on the topic in the past 20 years along 3 dimensions: language knowledge and processing ability, cognitive ability, and metacognitive strategic competence. A profile of good readers follows a review of the literature. With a special reference to second language (L2) reading research and pedagogy in China, the author argues that a key difference between first language and L2 readers is that L2 readers typically have a gap between their L2 proficiency and their knowledge or conceptual maturation, and this tension determines to some degree the characteristics of good versus poor L2 readers. By examining L2 reading research in the country, the author proposes some areas worth exploring in the Chinese context.
Keywords: good and poor readers, L2 reading comprehension, research areas in L2 reading in China
Proficiency in reading involves many variables, for example, automaticity of word recognition, familiarity with text structure and topic, awareness of various reading strategies, and conscious use and control of these strategies in processing a text. While a substantial body of literature has been accumulated on these issues in both first language (L1) and second language (L2) reading, the findings remain scattered in many diverse pieces of research, mainly within the fields of applied linguistics and cognitive and educational psychology. This paper reviews current theory and research on the topic and then presents a profile that summarizes the characteristics of good readers in both L1 and L2 contexts. The studies identified have been mainly carried out in the past 20 years or so. They reflect some major issues and concerns in reading research. A discussion of research and pedagogical implications follows with special reference to the Chinese L2 context.
In the current literature exploring reader behavior either directly or indirectly, a variety of terms have been used to delineate different types of readers. These dichotomous modifiers include proficient versus less-proficient, successful versus unsuccessful, fluent versus non-fluent, skilled