Cultural Problems in Learning to Read in the Second Language

For my multi-genre project I have elected to do "Differences Between Learning to Read in First and Second Languages." I have narrowed this down to "Cultural Problems in Learning to Read in the Second Language." If you believe I should narrow it down even more I can pick a specific people group (ex. Japanese Cultural Problems in Learning to Read English).

I am facinated by how our culture effects everything that we do and especially the way we perceive things. Reading in a different language then the native language is very difficult, especially if one does not know the background or have the cultural knowledge required to understand the text properly. A good example of this includes social studies in our U.S. schools. Social studies is one of the most difficult subjects to teach ELLs because of all the background and cultural knowledge that one must already know to even understand basic historical concepts. Our literature is also full of passages that require one to understand the culture before they can even begin to make sense of the passage. I will greatly enjoy researching the cultural problems associated with reading in a second language.

Questions:
1. When learning to read English, what are the most difficult cultural problems that most ELLs experience?
2. What are the strategies that ELLs can use to navigate through material that is culturally different?