“When reading a sentence, your level of understanding can vary. If the sentence is unfamiliar or difficult, you need to concentrate fully and make an effort to understand it. On the other hand, if the sentence is easy, you might just skim through it. That’s why your approach should change depending on the difficulty of the sentence.”
🔍 Research support
Yes, there is research that supports this idea. The principle you’re describing is closely related to several well-known concepts in cognitive psychology and second language acquisition:
- i+1 hypothesis (Krashen)
Stephen Krashen’s Input Hypothesis suggests that learners acquire language best when exposed to comprehensible input just slightly above their current level (called i+1).
If the sentence is too easy (i), it doesn’t contribute to learning.
If it’s too difficult, comprehension breaks down.
If it’s at i+1, the learner is challenged just enough to grow, but still able to understand with effort.
- Cognitive Load Theory
This theory (Sweller, 1988) explains that we have a limited amount of working memory.
Difficult or unfamiliar sentences impose high cognitive load, requiring more focused attention.
Easier material requires less cognitive effort and can be processed more automatically.
So yes, different strategies are needed depending on how demanding the sentence is.
- Depth of Processing Hypothesis
Craik & Lockhart (1972) proposed that deeper, more effortful processing leads to better memory and learning.
When a sentence is hard, you naturally engage in deeper processing to understand it.
When it’s easy, you might use shallow processing, which is less effective for learning.
✅ Summary
What you wrote is not only accurate but is actually backed by multiple strands of cognitive science and language acquisition research. Adjusting your learning strategy based on sentence difficulty is exactly what experts recommend.
