Both higher-order processes (HOP)–which include cognitive strategies such as inferencing and prediction–and vocabulary depth are widely acknowledged correlates of reading comprehension; however, their dynamic interplay in L2 reading remains unclear. The present study is a concurrent test of the Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis (LTH) and Lexical Quality Hypothesis (LQH) by modeling strategy use and lexical quality within a single explanatory framework. One hundred Korean seventh-grade EFL learners completed a battery of tests on various reading comprehension components. Results from the hierarchical regression analysis revealed no moderation effect between Oral Language Comprehension (OLC) and HOP, indicating a pattern that does not support a gradual or interactive version of LTH. Nevertheless, HOP retained significant predictive power when OLC was controlled. Vocabulary depth explained additional variance beyond OLC and HOP, supporting the LQH. The findings delineate unique contributions of cognitive strategy use and lexical depth to L2 reading and support theoretical and pedagogical models that scaffold HOP while systematically advancing lexical quality.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
    2.1. Oral Language Comprehension (OLC) as a Foundation for Reading
    2.2. The Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis in L2 Reading
    2.3. Higher-Order Processes: Inferencing and Prediction
    2.4. The Lexical Quality Hypothesis: Vocabulary Breadth vs. Depth
    2.5. The Present Study
3. METHOD
    3.1. Participants
    3.2. Measures
    3.3. Procedure
4. RESULTS
    4.1. Preliminary Analyses: Descriptive Statistics and Correlation
    4.2. Testing the Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis and Lexical QualityHypothesis: Hierarchical Regression Analysis
5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

• Kenn Arcenal(Graduate Student, Department of English Language Education, College of Education, Korea University.)
• Yusun Kang(Professor, Department of English Language Education, College of Education, Korea University; 145 Anam-Ro, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 02841, Korea) Corresponding author