Studies with adult readers have demonstrated that readers construct multi-level text representation while reading. According to Van Dijk and Kintsch (1983), these are the surface level, textbase level, and situation model level. The current project aimed to explore the effects of reading proficiency on level of text representation in L1 and L2 reading from a developmental view. Study 1 compared text representation in L1 among Chinese school children from second grade, fourth grade and sixth grade. The main findings were that (1) second graders retained strong representation at surface level; sixth graders constructed stronger situation model than younger students; (2) Working memory span and speeded naming were good predictors of textbase level and situation model representation, respectively. Study 2 addressed the impact of Chinese children's English reading proficiency on English reading comprehension. The participants were 8th grade students from two different Chinese schools. Students in one school had larger English vocabulary than those in the other school. The results showed a trend that students with larger vocabulary construct stronger representation at each level compared to those with smaller vocabulary. Study 3 improved on Study 2 by involving two groups of Chinese college students who were more differentiated in their English proficiency. The results, though non-significant, suggested that low-proficient L2 readers tended to maintain more information at surface level; higher-proficient L2 readers seemed to be better at integrating information at propositional level and situation-model level.
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