The Effects of Cultural Orientation and Bilingualism on Inferential Comprehension

The primary purpose of this study was to (1) determine the effect of references to an unfamiliar culture on the process of drawing inferences and (2) to compare and contrast inferencing ability of Iranian students with American students with similar academic background. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine if reading in a second language impedes the process of inferencing. To achieve these objectives, three passages, each followed by five literal and eight inferential questions, were given to each of three groups. These passages were: a neutral passage, a passage biased toward Iranian culture, and a passage biased toward American culture. The American subjects and one group of Iranian subjects read all three passages in their native language; the second group of Iranians read the passages in English.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Vahid-Ekbatani, Glayol

• Education, Secondary

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8129573

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/66069