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The domain of second language reading is a rich source for insights into bilingual cognitive processing. Most cross-language transfer research has been carried out on acquisition and production of second-language (L2) structures. Relatively little work has been done on cross-language transfer in bilingual reading. An overreliance on top-down, psycholinguistic-guessing-game models in the fields of L2 reading is one reason why cross-language transfer in initial word-recognition stages of reading has not been studied vigorously. Researchers have developed several models of the reading process (particularly orthographic and phonological processing) in which cross-language transfer effects may be sought. Another variable that may affect cross-language transfer is the morphemic complexity of the words. One of the most vigorously investigated areas is how bilinguals represent the meaning of words in their two languages. Some of the richest data in L2 acquisition come from studies on syntactic transfer. Cross-language transfer of background knowledge and cultural schemata is of major concern for L2 pedagogy. As reading progresses, self-monitoring of text understanding becomes essential. More research on the effects of first-language (L1) on L2 reading is needed especially in the initial word recognition stages. Isolating the components of the reading process and investigating the nature of cross-language transfer within each component is essential for the understanding of cross-language transfer in L2, particularly, and bilingual cognitive processing, generally. (Eighty-eight references are attached.) (RS)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert