Entry By Cara Bailey
De Saint Léger, D. (2012). Structure strategy instruction in adult L2 reading: A way toward increased autonomy? The French Review, 86(2), 333-356.
This paper explores the benefits of developing structured reading strategies in adult L2 learners. While much research has explored the short-term effects of structured reading strategies, far less has been written on the more long-term benefits of these strategies. It is well-documented, however, that readers who display advanced L1 reading skills are the most able to transfer those skills to their L2. De Saint Léger presents an exploratory case study to analyze the specific benefits of providing intermediate L2 students with reading strategies to support their engagement with texts in the L2 (French) which would then be transferrable to future reading. The passages provided to students in this case study were authentic and unabridged, as a result leading to a more complex interpretation of the content of each text. The Reading Strategy provided to students is divided into three modules: informative (understanding World War II through the screenplay of Louis Malle’s Au revoir les enfants), argumentative (texts on the subject of French spelling reform), and literary (the short story Le Coeur à rire et à pleurer by Maryse Condé). Each category of text relates to the most common genres of texts students will encounter in higher-level courses, and the reading strategy is comprised of three main steps: identification and categorization of significant verbs according to their meaning and function; naming actors and actions in the text; analysis of discourse relevant to the genre.
Based on the interviews conducted six months after the activity, students’ responses indicate not only that this structured reading instruction is beneficial but that it facilitates a perceived improvement in engaging texts not only for comprehension (gaining the “gist”) but also for varied purposes (341). The expected benefits of the structured reading strategy ultimately prove convincing, as the testimonies of the participants indicate an increase in confidence and autonomy, both proven to be essential to improving reading skills in the L2. The fact that students were permitted to discuss the subject matter of each text in English (the L1) also underscores how crucial the L1 remains to the reading process, even for intermediate students. I think the benefits of this type of stratified activity sequence provides students with exposure to language that might be “increasingly remote from everyday life” without forcing them to work alone before they are ready to do so (338). In future, it would be interesting to see how de Saint Léger’s structured reading activities might apply to advanced students in literature courses. What benefits might these students indicate after completing similar activities with longer prose works? How might their understanding of genre and meaning be enhanced?