ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of reading comprehension, with an emphasis on how it works, how it differs for first- and second-language readers, and how it varies across learner proficiency levels, texts, and reading tasks. The chapter describes the skills and abilities that support reading comprehension. It also provides an explanation for how the main ideas of a text are generated by the reader to create an internal model of text understanding. The chapter provides a foundation for supporting the curricular concepts, teaching activities, and assessment options for reading explored in Chapters 3 and 4.
