| The dissertation describes and analyzes the challenges of language learners vis-a-vis literary texts in the second language. It documents of a research study that investigates the effectiveness of reading comprehension strategy instruction for second language readers of literary prose. In addition to the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reading comprehension strategies for intermediate and advanced learners, the results from this study provide theoretical insights into the roles of procedural and declarative knowledge structures for literary reading in the second language: At lower levels of linguistic proficiency, second language readers rely heavily on procedural knowledge structures; at higher levels of linguistic proficiency, second language readers rely increasingly on declarative knowledge structures. These results, previously published research on the second language reading process, and insights from the field of hermeneutics provide the basis for the formulation of a model of the reading process of literary texts in the second language. Besides its theoretical value, the model facilitates the design of language curricula that are based on concrete knowledge of the cognitive abilities and instructional needs of developing readers of literature in the second language. |
