Investigating Second Language (L2) Reading Subskill Associations: A Cognitive Diagnosis Approach

This study uses a cognitive diagnosis model (CDM) approach to investigate the associations among specific L2 reading subskills. Participants include 1,203 Year-4 English major college students randomly selected from the nationwide test takers of Band 8 of Test for English Majors (TEM8), a large-scale English proficiency test for senior English majors in China. Their English reading was measured using a reading comprehension subtest of the TEM8. Based on the CDM output on latent class size estimates, the chi-square test of independence was used to uncover the associations among reading subskills, and odds ratio estimation was used to determine the strengths of those associations. The CDM output on attribute mastery prevalence was used to establish the stochastic direction of the associations between reading subskills. The study has the following findings: a reading subskill network displaying significant subskill associations together with their strengths and directions can be established through a CDM approach, and the patterns of reading subskill associations based on cognitive levels and local/global comprehension resonate with major reading process models and reflect the hierarchical and compensatory characteristics of reading subskills.