Annotated Bibliography For the Multi-Genre Project

All right, this is my annotated bibliography for the multi-genre project. I really think that all the sources have already contributed to my thoughts about the project and as I get into it more these sources will all be even more valuable to me. I would certainly recommend that you look up these articles and books if you would like to find more information on second language literacy in general or specifically look at the problems with cultural knowledge and trying to read in the second language.

See ya later!


Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and second language writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

This book mostly deals with the structure of writing and how one from a different culture can learn to figure out what kind of genre is being dealt with and, therefore, read it effectively based on their prior knowledge and the type of genre or writing being presented. The book does touch on culture and schema a little bit and I believe it to be a good source for this project.

Johnson, P. (1981). Effects on reading comprehension of language complexity and cultural background of a text. TESL Quarterly, 15, 169-181. Retrieved September 8, 2007, from JSTOR database.

This study involves Americans and Iranian ESL students reading texts that contain both stories from American folklore and Iranian folklore. The study found that the Iranians comprehended their folklore to a greater degree than the American folklore and the same was true for the American students. The study clearly shows the cultural differences and problems with reading in the L2 and only give a few broad strategies for how learners can overcome these problems.

Kucer, S. (2001). Dimensions of literacy: A conceptual base for teaching reading and writing in school settings. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

This is a wonderful book that deals with the teaching of reading and writing across cultures. It also has a lot of good information on the structure of our writing system and deals with the sociocultural dimensions f literacy in great detail.

Pritchard, R. (1990). The effects of cultural schemata on reading processing strategies. Reading Research Quarterly, 25, 273-295. Retrieved September 8, 2007, from JSTOR database.

In this article the author examines participants’ reading comprehension using texts that are written in their native language, but are about culturally different funerals. It reinforces the fact that readers that can relate to the material culturally will comprehend more than if they cannot. This article also lists the different strategies used by readers when dealing with materials that are from a different culture.

Singhal, M. (1998). A comparison of L1 and L2 reading: Cultural differences and schema. The Internet TESL Journal, 4. Retrieved September 8, 2007, from www.iteslj.org

This paper offers a very good overview on the role of culture in L2 reading and offers very good strategies that L2 readers can employ to discover the meaning of a text. This paper also quotes several case studies that specifically study culture’s role in L2 reading.

Sinclair Bell, J. (1995). The relationship between L1 and L2 literacy: Some complicated factors. TESL Quarterly 29, 687-704. Retrieved September 18, 2007, from JESTER database.

This article addresses the preconceived cultural notions one brings into learning to read in a different language. This article does not give insight into the cultural differences in meaning or how an ESL learner can use certain strategies to find cultural meaning, but it does give insight into the emotional state of our ELLs and what they may go through in learning to read in the L2.

Steffensen, M.O., Joag-Dev, C., & Anderson, R. (1979). A cross-cultural perspective on reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 15, 10-29. Retrieved September 8, 2007, from JSTOR database.

This is a very detailed article that lends to the theory that cultural background does indeed affect reading comprehension in a variety of different ways. The article doe not talk about reading strategies, but does discuss some of the most difficult problems in cross-cultural reading and makes the claim that this could be a reason why so many minority students in the U.S. struggle with reading comprehension.