In Insights into Second Language Reading: A Cross-Linguistic Approach, Professor Keiko Koda provides a comprehensive, psycholinguistically oriented introduction to the cross-linguistic study of reading in a second language (L2). Her goal is to establish a clear conceptual foundation for research on L2 reading competence (as distinct from necessary, but insufficient, general L2 linguistic proficiency) and its acquisition within well-defined, empirically testable frameworks. The main focus is cognitively mature adults literate in their L1, but research on other kinds of readers (young children, etc.) is also covered where appropriate. Both L1 and L2 reading research are reviewed with a view to differentiating the two processes, distinguishing between (notably, orthographic and phonological) knowledge, on the one hand, and skills in each, on the other, and identifying needed work on individual differences in L2 reading.

Part I provides an overview of the volume, before covering theoretical underpinnings for conceptualizing and analyzing L2 reading competence. Part II consists of six chapters treating the components of reading ability: word recognition, vocabulary knowledge (both how this helps reading and how reading helps build vocabulary), intraword awareness and word-knowledge development, information integration in sentence processing, discourse processing (including the role of coherence, inference, and background knowledge in comprehension), and narrative and expository text structures and comprehension. Part III pulls things together, highlighting connections among the components in a holistic portrayal of reading. Chapter 9 deals with individual differences (what characteristics define good and bad readers), and Chapter 10 focuses on the role of metacognitive processes in strategic reading.