Journal #6

Option 1: Does a schema activate your reading process? Talk about your case episode how schema helps your reading or no schema retards your reading.

Does a schema activate your reading process? Yes, of course. I have lots of experience how much a schema helps my reading comprehension. Let's assume there are two reading passages. Both have same degree of difficulties of grammar, vocabulary, and so on. However the topics of the passages are different; one is about Korean culture and the other one is about the big bang theory. In my case, I would understand the passage dealing with Korean culture much more than the other one because I have background knowledge of Korean culture. On the other hand, it is much easier for an American student who majors in astrophysics and barely knows about Asian culture to read the passage dealing with the big bang theory.
From my own experience, I tried to read metro, the free newspaper, when I was in Toronto. At the time I felt frustrated because it was difficult for me to understand what the articles said. Especially, it was really hard for me to get meanings from politics and economy sections because I did not have any kind of knowledge about Canadian politics and economy. On the other hand, it was quite easy for me to follow the section about entertainment. It dealt with like hollywood stars' gossip and movies. I did not have any problem to understand the contents.