Effects of Adjunct Questions on L2 Reading Comprehension with Texts of Different Types

Area of Science:

• Second Language Acquisition
• Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Adjunct questions, also known as embedded questions, are a questioning strategy proven to improve first-language reading comprehension.
• The effectiveness of adjunct questions in second-language (L2) reading, particularly concerning different text types and question types, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of different adjunct questions ('what' vs. 'why') on the reading comprehension of intermediate Chinese EFL learners.
• To examine how text type (narrative vs. expository) interacts with adjunct questions to influence L2 reading comprehension.

Main Methods:

• One hundred and forty-four intermediate Chinese EFL learners were randomly assigned to six groups.
• Participants read either a narrative or an expository text, with some groups receiving 'what' or 'why' adjunct questions, while a control group received no questions.
• Topic familiarity was assessed using a brief questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Inserted adjunct questions generally improved reading comprehension in both expository and narrative texts.
• Only 'why' questions embedded in narrative texts demonstrated a significant positive effect on L2 reading comprehension.
• Topic familiarity did not emerge as a significant factor in the observed results.

Conclusions:

• Text type and question type significantly modulate the effectiveness of adjunct questions for intermediate L2 readers.
• 'Why' questions appear particularly beneficial for enhancing comprehension in narrative texts for this learner group.
• Findings offer pedagogical insights for L2 reading instruction, emphasizing the strategic use of questioning techniques.