International Journal of Language & Literature

The Perception of Cultural Familiarity and Background Knowledge on Reading Comprehension for Intermediate EFL Students
Yi-Chun Liu

Abstract
This study aims to explore Taiwanese students’ English learning in reading comprehension, with an emphasis on factors of cultural familiarity and background knowledge. The function of this study is to explore the influences of first and target language cultural materials on reading comprehension. The subjects of this research were 50 Taiwanese junior college students who enrolled in the required English course in southern Taiwan. The homogeneity of their English proficiency level was established according to the administration of the Joint College Entrance Exam. The researcher applied a questionnaire utilizing the five point Likert Scale to see how cultural familiarity and prior background knowledge affect reading comprehension. The results of this study revealed that EFL students thought that they had better possess prior cultural knowledge to be able to understand English contents easily. It also suggests that cultural familiarity and background knowledge had significant effects on promoting reading comprehension of intermediate EFL learners.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v3n1a9