Comparative Studies of Reading and Problem Solving in Two Languages

The paper will attempt to answer three questions. First, what is meant by of and is it possible to find evidence that in reading a person has a better grasp of one language than of another? Apart from such obvious differences as knowledge (or ignorance) of vocabulary, idiom, and syntax, in what ways does a person's reading in his weak language differ from his reading in his strong one? Second, what effects do such differences in grasp of language have upon a person's understanding of what he reads? To begin with they result in his reading his weaker language more slowly than his stronger one. This in turn can result in a poorer grasp of what he has read in his weak language-and this can reveal itself in inability to solve problems which are presented in the weaker language, problems which he could have solved if they had been presented in the stronger language. Third, what can be done to help students to read their weaker language more effectively? I have no findings of my own to present in this connection, but I would like to speculate about the use of methods which have been used to speed up reading in a person's strong or main language.