Is Rereading more Effective than Prereading?

Abstract

This study compares rereading to prereading, asking which is more effective as a means of increasing comprehension in L2 readers. It begins by surveying research on rereading in L1 and L2. In L1 (English) research, repeated reading of passages to criterion has been shown to increase reading fluency. At the university level, rereading has been shown to be one of the most effective study aids to comprehension of texts. In L2 (English) research, rereading has also led to improved reading fluency and recall.

Japanese women college students read two short texts, adapted from magazine articles. In the prereading condition, the learners read a short summary of the text before reading the text itself. In the rereading condition, the learners read the text twice. Comprehension was measured by the number of ideas in a free written L1 recall. There was no significant difference in the number of ideas recalled between the prereading and rereading conditions for one of the texts, while for the other text those in the rereading condition recalled more. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications and argues that rereading is a potentially potent facilitator of comprehension.