LEITURA EM LÍNGUA ESTRANGEIRA: AS DIFICULDADES DO LEITOR SOB O PONTO DE VISTA DA TEORIA DA EFICIÊNCIA VERBAL

Abstract

            This article focuses in the ability of under-graduate,  graduate and post-graduate students to read popularized scientific  articles, or press releases. The assumption, based on VET (Verbal Eficiency Theory) by Perfetti (1985, 1988, 2001), is that the vocabulary of the target language could be one of the main constraints in reading comprehension. This study was conducted with ten participants studying the English language  in the intermediate level  in a language institute. Verbal protocols were used and the  participants were asked to retell orally what they had understood after reading each paragraph silently. As they were reading, they should underline unfamiliar words or expressions. The results suggest that many difficulties are generated by unknown vocabulary that , along with other factors such as unfamiliarity with the topic, with the formal schema and the research schema, can contribute to a shallow level of reading. The difficulty with vocabulary can be seen as a factor that impairs the activation of schemata, as it demands a great deal from  the resources of  the memory system.