The Interplay of Text Cohesion and L2 Reading Proficiency in Different Levels of Text Comprehension Among EFL Readers

Abstract

The present study explored how the interplay of text cohesion and L2 reading proficiency affects EFL readers’ text comprehension at different levels (i.e., textbase, situation models). In the experiment, a total of 100 Japanese university students read a low- or a high-cohesion expository text and performed 3 comprehension tests: a free recall test (FRT) assessing memory of explicit ideas in the text, a causal-question test (CQT) targeting understanding of relations between text events, and a problem-solving transfer test (PSTT) measuring learning from the text. Results showed that text cohesion facilitated memory of explicit text ideas regardless of readers’ L2 reading proficiency level. In contrast, a Proficiency × Cohesion interaction was found for understanding of relations in the text: high-proficiency readers benefited from the low-cohesion text, whereas low-proficiency readers performed better when reading the high-cohesion text. Finally, a proficiency effect, but no cohesion effect was observed for learning from the text. The findings suggest that text cohesion affects textbase-level comprehension more than situation-model-level comprehension, whereas L2 reading proficiency consistently influences EFL readers’ comprehension. Based on these findings, the study suggests pedagogical implications tailored to specific levels of comprehension and characteristics of the reader and text.