Cognitive Processing in Multilingual Contexts: Evidence from Reading Speed and Comprehension of Urdu (L1) and English (L2)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i3.572Keywords:
Multilingualism, Reading Speed, Comprehension, Single-Route ModelAbstract
Around eighty percent of the world population is multilingual. In many multilingual countries the medium of instructions in educational institutes is L2; however, the level of proficiency in L2 can affect the overall academic performance of the students. Reading is an important part of education and therefore it is important to see if the reading speed and comprehension of individuals is affected because of their multilingualism or not. The present study aimed to achieve this purpose. Four reading and comprehension tests (two in L1 and two in L2) were conducted with the adult students participants followed by retrospective interviews. The data was analysed in the light of Single-Route model of reading (Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989). The findings of the study showed that reading speeds vary in L1 and L2 in such individuals; however, the patterns could be different favouring the L2 more. This could be attributed to the language dominance and exposure to one particular language in case of L1 and L2.
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