Learning English through short stories

2.4. Schema Theory
The technical definition of the word 'schema' in text linguistics and discourse analysis is the underlying structure which accounts for the organization of a text or discourse. Different kinds of texts and discourse e.g. stories, description letters, reports and poems to name a few are distinguished by the ways in which the topic, propositions and other information are linked together to form a unit. This underlying structure is known as the 'schema' or 'macro structure'.

Schema theory is based on the belief that "every act of comprehension involves one's knowledge of the world as well" (Anderson et al. in Carrell and Eisterhold, 1983, p. 73). Readers develop a coherent interpretation of text through the interactive process of "combining textual information with the information a reader brings to a text" (Widdowson in Grabe. 1986, p. 56).

Schema theory envisions an information-processing model of the mind in which knowledge is stored in related units that can be recalled and activated to operate on incoming information (Anderson, 1984). This theory assumes that readers use a process of semantic constructivity to create meaning from a written or spoken text, which itself has no meaning (Perkins, 1983). According to this theory meaning does not reside in the written material. Instead the reader recreates the author's intended message based on the interaction that takes place in his head between the text and his background knowledge (Adams, 1983; Bernhardt, 1984; Carrell, 1984a, 1984b; Carrell and Eisterhold, 1983 ; Perkins, 1983).

One of the major areas of research that is connected to the issue of prediction in reading is that of schema building as it relates to one's ability to interpret text meaningfully. Chastain (1988) states the authors of The American
Iranian Journal of Language Studies (IJLS), Vol. 2(1), 2008 49

Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines the noun 'process' as a "system of operation in the production of something." Three words with significance for second language learning occur in this definition: system, operation and production. The word 'operations' implies that a process consists of activities. These activities are systematized, and the systematized activities result in a product. Since reading by definition signifies comprehension, the phrase 'reading process' implies an active cognitive system operating on printed material to arrive at an understanding of the message. During the writing process, the writer's goal is to activate background and linguistic knowledge to create meaning. Now the reader's task is to activate background and linguistic knowledge to recreate the writer's intended meaning.


Rumelhart (1977) contends that "schemata" are 'packets' or 'units of knowledge' that represent our belief about 'objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions and sequences of actions' (p.34). Readers' mental stores are termed "schemata" (Bartlett in Cook, 1997) and are divided (Carrell. 1983a) into two main types: "content schemata" are background knowledge about the cultural orientation or content of a passage and "formal schemata" define reader expectations about how pieces of textual information will relate to each other and in what order details will appear (Carrell, 1987). In the process of reading "comprehension of message entails drawing information from both the message and the internal schemata until sets are reconciled as a single schema or message (Anderson et al. in Hudson, 1982). The reading process, involves identification of genre, formal structure and topic, all of which activate schemata and allow readers to comprehend the text (Swales, 1990). Where this is not the case some disruption of comprehension may occur. In fact, it is likely that "there will never be a total coincidence of schemas between writer and reader" (Wallace, 1992) such that coherence is the property of individual readers.
Yet, there is evidence that good and poor readers do not always use schemata appropriately or are unaware of whether the information they are reading is consistent with their existing knowledge. Also, there is evidence that students who do not spontaneously use schemata as they read will engage them if given explicit instructions prior to reading.