The Four-Dimensional Model: Interaction of Schemata in the Process of FL Reading Comprehension

Abstract

This paper reports on a study which investigated the interactive effect of different types of schemata on successful text comprehension in a Foreign Language. The tentative model of the study is four-dimensional: the dimension of overall reading comprehension was assumed to be the result of an interaction of linguistic, content and formal schemata. The following research questions were specifically asked: What is the combined effect of the three types of schemata? What is the relative weight of each of the three types of schemata? What is the influence of schematainducing activities on FL reading comprehension? The results of the study confirm that all the three types of schemata contribute to overall text comprehension, both separately and cumulatively, although to differing extents. It can also be assumed that schematainducing activities may indirectly affect overall text comprehension by arousing the reader's appropriate schemata.