Detecting the language thresholds of the effect of background knowledge on a Language for Specific Purposes reading performance: A case of the island ridge curve

This study explored the nonlinear pattern by which language knowledge moderates the effect of background knowledge on Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) reading performance and the number of language thresholds that locate the turns of such an effect on background knowledge. We tested two hypothesized patterns in which students’ language knowledge interferes with background knowledge: a linear pattern and a quadratic pattern (background...