Reading comprehension in L1 and L2: An integrative approach

Like other areas of research in reading and language, the study of reading comprehension has traditionally focused on readers of native or first language, and relatively little attention has been directed to the study of second language reading comprehension. Even fewer studies have examined the neurocognitive bases of second language reading comprehension. In this article we take these research gaps as a starting point for providing an integrative analysis of reading comprehension in first and second languages, and with a perspective on both cognitive and neuorimaging evidence. We further examine variables of learner abilities (e.g., working memory), second language proficiency, and order of presentation/reading in the two languages that impact individual differences in reading comprehension, with a particular focus on the knowledge structure that the reader establishes in the first and second languages. Implications and future directions for an integrative neurocognitive perspective on L1 and L2 reading comprehension are discussed in light of limited evidence based on individual difference studies.