The Effects of Rhetorical Organization on ESL Readers

Theoretical as well as empirical research within the framework of schema-theoretical approaches to reading has shown reading comprehension to be an interaction between a text and a reader. More specifically, the interaction involves reader background knowledge of text structure and the hierarchical content structure of the text. In her investigations of both adult and adolescent native readers of English, Meyer (1975, 1977a, 1977b, 1979, 1982; Meyer, Brandt, and Bluth 1980; Meyer and Freedle 1984) has found that certain types of rhetorical organization of expository prose are processed and recalled differently from other types. This article reports the results of a study of the effects of rhetorical organization of different types of expository prose on intermediate ESL readers of different native languages. Results indicate that certain more highly structured English rhetorical patterns are more facilitative of recall for non-native readers in general, but there are interesting differences among the native language groups represented in the study: Spanish, Arabic, and Oriental.