Articles

The Threshold Hypothesis: Should Reading Instruction Be Delayed? 

by Kismet Oz, M.Ed. TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language), is an English Horizons teacher

Speaking from my own experience in learning an L2, it seems rather intuitive to me that gaining a certain measure of L2 proficiency enables one to read and actually comprehend what is being read. A lack of proficiency would render the text incomprehensible. A study by Lee & Schallert, (1997) finds evidence to support that a certain threshold must be surpassed in the L2 in order to become proficient in reading in the L2 based on a study of Korean students in middle school and the first year of high school. The body of knowledge regarding the Threshold Hypothesis, (Cummins,1976, 1981) or the Short Circuit Hypothesis as it is also known, has continued to grow since this above referenced article was published.

There is an interesting dichotomy in the issue of delaying reading instruction for L2 learners. Some argue, as I did above, that unless the learner has grasped the meaning of the text and all that it entails (semantical, syntactical, morphological relationships of words), then the text not only holds no meaning, but reading instruction prior to L2 proficiency can cause learners to back away from reading because it seems too difficult. On the other side of the argument, it is known that it takes up to two years for an L2 learner to develop Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). Can delaying reading instruction until the L2 learner reaches the BICS level harm them in terms of overall education and make it difficult for the learner to catch up? Both sides of the argument certainly make valid points.

The Lee & Shallert study shows that L2 reading improves when a threshold has been met or exceeded, but there may be middle ground where careful instruction and individual curriculum programs based on other factors besides just the variables of L2 proficiency and age are taken into consideration. The Lee & Shallert study addresses the implications for teaching in regards to their research and they note that indeed it may be wise to change "the focus, material, method and attitude" based on the learner's L2 proficiency using "creative instructional techniques that allow students to learn the vocabulary and grammar of the target language" to help boost them to the threshold level. They also say that using carefully chosen text to "support the development of language proficiency" may be a good source of comprehensible input."

The Reading Universal Hypothesis: Can L1 Reading Literacy Transfer to L2 Reading Ability?

There is yet another side of this issue in the realm of SLA research. The Reading Universal Hypothesis contends that developing reading literacy in the L1 serves as a bridge to developing reading literacy in their L2. Goodman, (1973) wrote of the "universal aspects of literacy" that "underlie the reading process and and facilitate the transfer of skills and knowledge from one language to another."

This is supported by Krashen's research on bilingual education, and by a large body of research which has focused on the development of reading proficiency in the L2 based on reading proficiency in the L1, not on L2 proficiency versus L2 reading proficiency as the Lee & Shallert study does. In fact, L1 reading strategies can be harnessed and used to help learners develop in L2 reading even if those strategies cannot be put to full use in early stages, some use of strategy has been shown to be of benefit. Interestingly, Cummins Threshold Hypothesis also asserts that native language literacy can only transfer to a second language when students have reached a critical threshold in their native language.

This certainly supports the contention that bilingual instruction is the best road to L2 literacy. In fact, two comprehensive studies, one by Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta and Billings (1991), and the other by Thomas and Collier (1996) have supported the viability of the Threshold Hypothesis in terms of L2 proficiency and reading, but also found in favor of native language proficiency as the best predictor of L2 proficiency. The studies also show that students who have had some schooling first in their L1 take less time to develop Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency than learners who were not schooled in their native language.

To Conclude:

It seems clear to me that the best application of language instruction resources is on bilingual education because it has been shown to be the best predictor of L2 learning success. The fact that the Threshold Hypothesis concludes that L2 reading proficiency can only be attained after a level of L2 proficiency has been achieved, coupled with the research that shows that L1 reading literacy helps L2 learners gain reading proficiency more readily, means that L1 learning, either in the learner's native environment or in the TL environment, is the key.

© Copyright, Kismet Oz 2005. All rights reserved. This material is not to be republished or reproduced in any form without the express consent of the author.