| This study investigated the impacts of English proficiency and Korean reading ability on English reading ability. Carrell (1991) suggested the equation of second language reading ability, "L2 reading = L2 proficiency + L1 reading." Many previous studies have attempted to discover the effects of second language proficiency and first language reading ability on second language reading ability with a focus on the language threshold hypothesis and the linguistic interdependence hypothesis. Second language reading ability is divided into two areas: lower level reading which represents language and higher level reading which represents comprehension.;The two main research questions in this study are: Is English proficiency statistically significant as a predictor of English reading ability? and Is Korean reading ability statistically significant as a predictor of English reading ability? One hundred fifteen Korean high school students were asked to take three tests: a Korean reading test, an English reading test, and an English proficiency test. Scores from the three measures were subjected to descriptive, correlational, ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses.;The results provided support for the positive influence of English proficiency and Korean reading ability on English reading ability. However, English proficiency was a stronger contributor to English reading ability than was Korean reading ability. When considering the lower level reading ability, English proficiency had a stronger correlation with English reading ability rather than Korean reading ability had. On the other hand, at the higher level reading ability, Korean reading ability had a stronger correlation with English reading ability than English proficiency had.;This suggests that L2 reading ability is dependent on L1 ability as well as L2 proficiency, which supports both the language threshold hypothesis and the linguistic interdependent hypothesis. That is, it is basically in agreement with Carrell's (1991) L2 reading equation. Therefore, it is likely that both L2 readers with high L2 proficiency and L2 readers with high L1 reading ability will be good L2 readers. Suggestions imply areas for further research. |
