L2 Reading Comprehension: Theories and Practice

This paper explores L2 reading comprehension centering on theories and practice. Three models-the bottom-up process model, the top-down process model, and the interactive process model-have been described to explain the underlying phenomena of L2 reading comprehension, followed by three factors-linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and reading strategies-affecting L2 reading comprehension. Then, three redability formulas-the Dale-Chall formula, the Fry formula, and the SMOG formula-have been presented to match the readers' level with the level of the reading materials. Finally, three stages of teaching L2 reading comprehension-the pre-reading stage, the while-reading stage, and the post-reading stage-have been discussed to further explore the teachability of theoretical and empirical findings of L2 reading comprehension across academia.