A case study of two readers: transference and use of readings strategies in relatrion to the reader's literary competence and the language in which s/he reads

Abstract

In this paper we present a case study of two EFL learners where we investigate the influence of a) the language/s in which most of the reading is conducted on the transference of reading strategies from Spanish (Ll ) to English (12) and the influence of b) the reader's literary competence on the acquisition of good-reader strategies. Our assumption concerning the first issue is that reading in both languages favours the transference of reading strategies from the Ll to the L2, whereas reading in just one language hinders such process. As regards the reader's literary competence, we believe it is a valuable asset concerning the adoption of good-reader strategies. The results of the research evince that the informant who read in both languages transfered strategies from the Ll to the L2. Besides, his extensive literary competence had a positive effect concerning the use of good-reader strategies, two facts which were not observed in the informant who read sporadically in English and whose literary competence was rather limited.