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Determinantes psicolingüísticos da compreensão de leitura em inglês como língua estrangeira 23Reading comprehension in Spanish. The firstvariable proposed in the explanation of the readingperformance of university students in English is theirability to strategically process textual information in theirfirst language. Its integration into the model was basedon theoretical considerations about the preeminent roleof the first language in the acquisition of a foreignlanguage. In such regard, Beaugrande (1984)underscored the decisive influence of the learner’sknowledge of L1 in learning a foreign language, andproposed that the mother tongue plays the role of a metamodelof language (of a set of expectancies regardingthe way in which any particular language is organized),which according to him, would eventually adjust toaccommodate the divergence among the L1 and the L2.Linguistic Competence in English. The importanceof linguistic competence in L2 for reading comprehensionhas been vastly acknowledged, although perhapsunderestimated in current L2 teaching methodologies.Specifically, Beck and Carpenter (1986) propose theexistence of a “threshold level” of linguistic competencefor reading, which may fluctuate according to specifictask demands but, below which, a reader cannot constructmeaning from text. Williams and Moran (1989), on theother hand, make reference to a “linguistic ceiling” forreading which, if extremely low, “would limit the ability ofthe reader to interact with the text” (p. 221).Perception of Lexical Transparency between L1and L2. According to a conceptualization of reading asa strategic process, it was considered that the ability toperceive and exploit cognate relationships between L1and L2 would become a most powerful strategy inreading, helping the reader to overcome limitations inhis/her lexical repertoire. Such contention has also beenendorsed by Beaugrande (1984) in the following terms:“If we presuppose the existence of a general memorystore for both languages (the native and the foreign), alltactics that lead from elements in the mother tongue totheir equivalents in the foreign language help to enhanceboth the efficiency and the search in memory improvingfamiliarity ... the similarity supports learning enabling thetransference of elements, assumptions, and processesalready familiar” (p.10).Cognitive Style. Cognitive style is defined as thetypical way to solve problems, think and perceive of agiven subject. Research literature in the field makesreference to several categorizations of the constructincluding field dependence-independence, conceptualtempo, and attentional style, among others. This studycenters in the analysis of the first of these categoriesgiven its relevance to the study of reading as a complexproblem-solving skill as well as the vast amount of experimentalresearch relating cognitive style and readingcomprehension. According to Witkin (in Pitts &Thompson, 1984), the field independent (FI) person hasa greater ability to discover outstanding features in acomplex field as well as to react to ambiguous stimuli inan analytical way, while the field dependent (FD) personvisualizes patterns more globally. Field independence hasalso been associated with a greater articulation andcompetence in cognitive analysis and restructuring, whilefield dependence has been related to a more globalapproach and to a greater interpersonal competence.Research on the relationship between readingcomprehension and cognitive style has shown that FIreaders are more capable of making inferences thantheir dependent counterparts when confronted with tasksthat demand an inferential interpretation from prose; thatFD subjects tend to constrain their reasoning to realevents, whereas FI individuals consider multiplealternatives (Linn, 1978); and that FD readers stronglyrely on information in the text, not exploiting theirprevious knowledge as efficiently as FI independentsubjects (Spiro & Tirre, 1980).Locus of Control. Locus of control is defined as aset of generalized expectancies that reflect consistentindividual differences among subjects regarding theextent to which they perceive a contingency betweentheir behavior and subsequent events. According toStrickland (1989), subjects with an internal locus ofcontrol perceive a contingency between their ownbehavior and subsequent events, whereas individuals withan external orientation have more probability of perceivingthose events as resulting from fate, chance orcircumstances beyond their personal control. Researchliterature in the field includes studies analyzing therelationship between locus of control and intentional andincidental memorization (Beaule & Mckelvie, 1986), andlocus of control and academic achievement(Mwamwenda & Mwamwenda, 1986). Findley andCooper (1988) report a literature review of 98 researchstudies analyzing the relationship between locus ofcontrol and academic achievement. According with theirresults, internal control beliefs showed to be consistentlyand significantly correlated with higher academicachievement.Psicologia Escolar e Educacional, 2003 Volume 7 Número 1 21-31