The Effect of Auditory Input on Multimodal Reading Comprehension: An Examination of Adult Readers’ Eye Movements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA PELLICER–SÁNCHEZ ◽  
KATHY CONKLIN ◽  
MICHAEL P.H. RODGERS ◽  
FABIO PARENTE
2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-598
Author(s):  
Ana Pellicer-Sánchez ◽  
Elsa Tragant ◽  
Kathy Conklin ◽  
Michael Rodgers ◽  
Raquel Serrano ◽  
...  

AbstractTheories of multimedia learning suggest that learners can form better referential connections when verbal and visual materials are presented simultaneously. Furthermore, the addition of auditory input in reading-while-listening conditions benefits performance on a variety of linguistic tasks. However, little research has been conducted on the processing of multimedia input (written text and images) with and without accompanying audio. Eye movements were recorded during young L2 learners’ (N = 30) processing of a multimedia story text in reading-only and reading-while-listening conditions to investigate looking patterns and their relationship with comprehension using a multiple-choice comprehension test. Analysis of the eye-movement data showed that the presence of audio in reading-while-listening conditions allowed learners to look at the image more often. Processing time on text was related to lower levels of comprehension, whereas processing time on images was positively related to comprehension.


2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Serrano ◽  
Ana Pellicer-Sánchez

AbstractCombining reading with auditory input has been shown to be an effective way of supporting reading fluency and reading comprehension in a second language. Previous research has also shown that reading comprehension can be further supported by pictorial information. However, the studies conducted so far have mainly included adults or adolescents and have been based on post-reading tests that, although informative, do not contribute to our understanding of how learners’ processing of the several sources of input in multimodal texts changes with the presence of auditory input and the effect that potential differences could have on comprehension. The present study used eye-tracking to examine how young learners process the pictorial and textual information in a graded reader under reading only and reading-while-listening conditions. Results showed that readers spent more time processing the text in the reading only condition, while more time was spent processing the images in the reading-while-listening mode. Nevertheless, comprehension scores were similar for the readers in the two conditions. Additionally, our results suggested a significant (negative) relationship between the amount of time learners spent processing the text and comprehension scores in both modes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Pellicer-Sánchez ◽  
Anna Siyanova

Abstract The field of vocabulary research is witnessing a growing interest in the use of eye-tracking to investigate topics that have traditionally been examined using offline measures, providing new insights into the processing and learning of vocabulary. During an eye-tracking experiment, participants’ eye movements are recorded while they attend to written or auditory input, resulting in a rich record of online processing behaviour. Because of its many benefits, eye-tracking is becoming a major research technique in vocabulary research. However, before this emerging trend of eye-tracking based vocabulary research continues to proliferate, it is important to step back and reflect on what current studies have shown about the processing and learning of vocabulary, and the ways in which we can use the technique in future research. To this aim, the present paper provides a comprehensive overview of current eye-tracking research findings, both in terms of the processing and learning of single words and formulaic sequences. Current research gaps and potential avenues for future research are also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-82
Author(s):  
Olga Parshina ◽  
Anna K. Laurinavichyute ◽  
Irina A. Sekerina

AbstractThis eye-tracking study establishes basic benchmarks of eye movements during reading in heritage language (HL) by Russian-speaking adults and adolescents of high (n = 21) and low proficiency (n = 27). Heritage speakers (HSs) read sentences in Cyrillic, and their eye movements were compared to those of Russian monolingual skilled adult readers, 8-year-old children and L2 learners. Reading patterns of HSs revealed longer mean fixation durations, lower skipping probabilities, and higher regressive saccade rates than in monolingual adults. High-proficient HSs were more similar to monolingual children, while low-proficient HSs performed on par with L2 learners. Low-proficient HSs differed from high-proficient HSs in exhibiting lower skipping probabilities, higher fixation counts, and larger frequency effects. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the weaker links account of bilingual language processing as well as the divergent attainment theory of HL.


1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Grabe ◽  
James Antes ◽  
Ingrid Thorson ◽  
Helen Kahn

This study investigates the pattern of eye movements produced when adult readers encounter cross-sentence contradictions. Subjects read paragraphs which did or did not contain contradictions while their eye movements were being monitored. Uninformed subjects were asked to prepare to answer a question that would follow each paragraph. Informed subjects were told that the paragraphs might contain contradictions and that they were to prepare to report the contradictions and to answer a question after each paragraph. Eye fixations were categorized to indicate the frequency of different operationally defined patterns of eye movements. Analyses of the frequency of these categories provided evidence that both informed and uninformed subjects were aware of the inserted contradictions and that instructions to search for inserted errors caused readers to alter their reading behavior.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Lourdes Giner ◽  
Ana Marcet ◽  
Pablo Gomez

AbstractA number of experiments have shown that, in skilled adult readers, a small increase in interletter spacing speeds up the process of visual word recognition relative to the default settings (i.e., judge faster than judge). The goal of the present experiment was to examine whether this effect can be generalized to a more ecological scenario: text reading. Each participant read two stories (367 words each) taken from a standardized reading test. The stories were presented with the standard interletter spacing or with a small increase in interletter spacing (+1.2 points to default) in a within-subject design. An eyetracker was used to register the participants’ eye movements. Comprehension scores were also examined. Results showed that, on average, fixation durations were shorter while reading the text with extra spacing than while reading the text with the default settings (237 vs. 245 ms, respectively; η2 =. 41, p = .01). However, the number of fixations (while nonsignificant) was slightly higher in the text with extra spacing than in the text with the default spacing, and cancelled out the effect of interletter spacing in total reading times (F < 1). Comprehension scores were similar in the two spacing conditions (F < 1). Thus, at least for skilled adult readers, interletter spacing does not seem to play a consistently facilitative role during text reading.


Author(s):  
Jocelyn R. Folk ◽  
Michael A. Eskenazi

This chapter provides an overview of how the observation of eye movement behavior can be used to study how words are identified during reading in different populations. The chapter begins with a discussion of different eye movement behaviors, the perceptual span, and parafoveal processing. After providing the reader with a basic understanding of terms and methodology, the authors discuss how eye movements in reading change across the lifespan, individual differences in eye movement behavior in lower-skill and higher-skill adult readers, and eye movement patterns in special populations. This discussion highlights what is known about changes in eye movement behaviors from developing readers to older adult readers. It also includes a discussion of the role of eye movements in dyslexia and eye movement behavior in readers who are deaf.


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