The impact of formal schemata on L3 reading recall

Rhetorical structure refers to a complex network of relationships and the way the underlying ideas are organized within a text. This study was conducted to see whether explicit instruction of descriptive and causative text organization positively affected L3 reading recall. 240 Turkish students of EFL who had Persian as their second language were assigned to two groups (experimental and control) controlled for language proficiency with only the former receiving instruction in rhetorical organization. Comparison of pre-test and post-test written recall data showed that explicit instruction had a positive effect on L3 reading recall. It was also noted that the amount of L3 reading recall was a function of the type of rhetorical organization of reading texts.