Background knowledge on English reading comprehension and accumulation capacity of the method of.docVIP

 PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 36 Background knowledge on English reading comprehension and accumulation capacity of the method of 1. Introduction As the international communication and cooperation have increased, English becomes more and more important in modern society. It becomes a main way to acquire advanced culture and scientific technology. Learning English has never been of more importance in our society than today. However, reading is often considered the most difficult in terms of literacy, accuracy, and efficiency. Generally speaking, improving reading skills requires more time of training than improving listening or speaking. What makes EFL learners feel that reading is the most difficult course to handle ? What factors affect the reading comprehension of EFL learners? This essay considers that background knowledge is the key factor affecting reading comprehension of EFL learners. This essay firstly gives a brief introduction of two kinds of background knowledge, content background knowledge and formal background knowledge, and then discusses how background knowledge affects reading comprehension of EFL learners. At last, it will present some techniques on how to build up one’s background knowledge, especially formal background knowledge. 2. The Theory of Background Knowledge The technical term for background knowledge is schemata theory. “Schemata theory describes how knowledge is represented and how new knowledge is integrated with a network of prior knowledge. A powerful feature of schema theory is that it helps explain how new learning is integrated with an individual’s existing knowledge. It explains how we learn, modify, and use information we acquire through our experiences. “[1] P241 There are two types of schemata (a plural form of schema) or background knowledge, content schemata and formal schemata. 2.1 Content Schemata “Content schemata are claimed to be background knowledge about the con