Language comprehension
The aim of this unit
To make you think about the language comprehension processes
To analyze how words, sentences and texts are comprehended
To pilot techniques for teaching message comprehension
What do you have to do in this unit?
Warming up discussions
Input reading
Self-assessment questions (SAQ)
Exploratory tasks
Integrated task
Warming up discussion 0
Have a look at the ambiguous figure and say what you see in the picture. How can you account for the difference in interpreting the image? How do the “figure” and the “background” interact in producing the image? What is the “figure” and the “background” in language comprehension?
I |
Interpretation |
mage
Input reading 1
Language comprehension starts with an oral or visual “perception”. Perception is an active and constructive process. It does not stem directly from the input and is largely unconscious. What we perceive is not an exact replica of the reality and we can't often account of why we perceive things in a particular way. This process is prone to error, illusions and misconception. (Eysenck, M. and M. Keane. 1995. Cognitive Psychology. Psychology Press. P. 73-94). The three laws of perception, studied by the Gestalt psychology (Koffka, K. 1935. Principles of Gestalt Psychology. N.Y.: Harcourt Brace) were the law of proximity (elements will be grouped together if they are close to each other), the law of similarity (elements will be grouped together if they are similar to each other) and the law of closure (missing parts of a figure are filled mentally to complete the figure). Perception of an image can occur because of the "interposition" of the elements, which can give a strong though illusory impression that contours of a geometric figure (a white square between the four black crosses) physically exist as a single pattern.
The same laws of perception are true for comprehending a written or heard text, in which a set of features are taken together because they all belong to the text framework (law of proximity). The features are grouped together because they are thought to have a common message (law of similarity). The features that are missing in the text are created in the reader’s or listener’s mind (law of closure).
Exploratory task 1.1
Read the following text, write a digest and reflect on the “laws of perception” (proximity, similarity and closure) that work in the process of text comprehension
Text |
Comprehension digest |
Perception laws |
“Mark Sway?”, asked the cop. Mark nodded. “We’ve found the body”, said the cop. “What body?”, said Mark. “How did you find the body, Mark?”. “I don’t know”. “Come on, Mark. You must know”. “Do you think I am lying?”. “I don’t know, kid. Your story is full of holes” (Abridged from Grisham J. 1996. The Client. Penguin Readers. P.8) |
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The process of perception and comprehension operates concepts, categories and propositions. Concepts, categories and propositions are the major tools of the cognitive processes being both the products and means of cognition. Concepts are the main forms of thinking that have an explanatory power in them. E.g. the concept “courage” can explain the behavior of people. Concepts can be abstract or concrete. Some concepts are super-ordinate of other concepts ("bird" is superordinate to "canary") (Eysenck and and Keane. 1997. P. 238). Categories embrace a number of concepts and convey compressed information about complex phenomena with the power to describe and explain them. E.g. a grammar category of “voice” describes and explains the use of Passive and Active Voice in English. Propositions express points of view, which can be true or false and can be argued against and rejected or proved and accepted. A typical examples of a proposition frequently used by people is describing textual reality as “true or false”, “useful or harmful”, “dangerous or safe” etc.