This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & C... more This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & Cardon, 2015) by examining how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers' eye movement records.
Multimodal approaches have been shown to be effective for many learning tasks. In this study, we ... more Multimodal approaches have been shown to be effective for many learning tasks. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of five multimodal methods for second language (L2) Mandarin tone perception training: three single-cue methods (number, pitch contour , color) and two dual-cue methods (color and number, color and pitch contour). A total of 303 true novice learners of L2 Mandarin (native speakers of English) completed a 3-week online training program. Results from pretests as well as immediate and delayed posttests indicated that multimodal training aided L2 learners' tone perception, with a small, practical advantage for pitch contours and numbers over color coding. Dual-cue methods did not yield better learning than single-cue training. Thus, the additive benefits of multimodal input (i.e., auditory and visual) did not extend to instruction
Vocabulary learning materials and vocabulary learning research have a common objective of promoti... more Vocabulary learning materials and vocabulary learning research have a common objective of promoting effective vocabulary instruction (Schmitt, 2008), but in practice vocabulary learning materials tend to reflect materials writers' repertoire and intuition primarily (Tomlin-son, 2011). In an effort to develop a stronger interface between research and practice, this article introduces a novel method for word selection based on words' frequency, usefulness, and difficulty (Laufer & Nation, 2012). The researchers retrieved the frequency of 191 words and collocations targeted in a North American intensive English program from the Corpus of Contemporary American Eng-lish (COCA) and COCA-Academic, and collected usefulness and difficulty ratings from 76 experienced ESL instructors. Frequency correlated moderately with usefulness and difficulty, which supported the value of including usefulness and difficulty ratings as word selection criteria. A cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of target words, which differed in frequency, usefulness, and difficulty. Teaching of the target words could be prioritized according to this sequence. This study introduces a step-by-step approach for materials writers, curriculum designers, and teaching professionals to identify word groupings in a potential list of target words, using a combination of objective and subjective data, with the prospect of creating more effective and more efficacious vocabulary learning materials.
We investigated the impact of emotions on learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language to better... more We investigated the impact of emotions on learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language to better understand affective influences in foreign language acquisition. Seventy native English speakers learned new vocabulary in either a negative or a neutral emotional state. Participants also completed two sets of working memory tasks to examine the potential mediating role of working memory. Results revealed that participants exposed to negative stimuli exhibited difficulty in retrieving and correctly pairing English words with Indonesian words, as reflected in a lower performance on the prompted recall tests and the free recall measure. Emotional induction did not change working memory scores from pre to post manipulation. This suggests working memory could not explain the reduced vocabulary learning in the negative group. We argue that negative mood can adversely affect language learning by suppressing aspects of native-language processing and impeding form-meaning mapping with second language words.
This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & C... more This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & Cardon, 2015) by examining how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers’ eye movement records.
This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, followin... more This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, following claims that attention to new language elements in the input results in their initial representation in long-term memory (i.e., intake; .
In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of inst... more In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp. 73-90). New York: Routledge.
This study extends the evidence for implicit second language (L2) learning, which comes largely f... more This study extends the evidence for implicit second language (L2) learning, which comes largely from (semi-)artificial language research, to German. Upper-intermediate L2 German learners were flooded with spoken exemplars of a difficult morphological structure, namely strong, vowel-changing verbs. Toward the end of exposure, the mandatory vowel change was omitted, yielding ungrammatical verb forms (compare Leung & Williams, 2012 ). Two pre- and posttests—word monitoring and controlled oral production—gauged the development of learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Interviews revealed 33 out of 38 L2 learners remained unaware of the ungrammatical verbs in the input flood; however, they showed significant sensitivity during listening as evidenced by a reaction time slowdown on ungrammatical trials. The unaware learners also improved significantly from pretest to posttest on the word-monitoring task, but not the oral production measure, unless the verbs’ salience in the input flood had resonated with them. Thus, implicit instruction affected implicit knowledge primarily, although prior knowledge and memory could potentially account for interactions between implicit processing, implicit knowledge, and explicit knowledge.
This study extends previous reactivity research on the cognitive effects of think-alouds to
incl... more This study extends previous reactivity research on the cognitive effects of think-alouds to
include eye-tracking methodology. Unlike previous studies, we supplemented traditional
superiority tests with equivalence tests, because only the latter are conceptually appropriate
for demonstrating non-reactivity. Advanced learners of English read short English texts
embedded with pseudo words in an eye-tracking (n = 28), a think-aloud (n = 28), or a silent
control condition (n = 46). Results indicated that neither eye-tracking nor thinking aloud
affected text comprehension. In terms of vocabulary recognition, thinking aloud had a small,
positive effect, and the results for eye-tracking were mixed. We discuss challenges and
opportunities of equivalence testing and explore ways to improve study quality more
generally in second language acquisition research.
In this chapter we review eye-tracking methodology as a way to investigate aspects of implicit an... more In this chapter we review eye-tracking methodology as a way to investigate aspects of implicit and explicit L2 processing, given that the research context allows one to do so. We begin by briefly reviewing the L1 eye-tracking research of psychologists and cognitive scientists whose work provided (and continues to provide) a strong foundation for subsequent and now burgeoning L2 eye- movement studies. We discuss how eye-movement records can be used to investigate the workings of the language-processing system, which in adult L2 learners is often fraught with processing difficulties that can give rise to longer or more frequent fixations and rereading. We explain the premise that longer fixations and more regressions, as compared to baseline data, indicate more effortful processing and, in some research designs, more attention. However, the resolution (successful or not, remembered or abandoned) of that processing is not specified through the eye-movement record. Following that premise, we outline how L2 researchers use eye-tracking data to investigate bilingualism’s effects on language access and processing. We also review eye-movement research by applied linguists who have investigated L2 knowledge, processing, and implicit or explicit learning conditions. We conclude by recommending that researchers triangulate their eye-movement data with offline or other online measures to provide more nuanced insights into the nature and effects of L2 learners’ processing, whether implicit or explicit and conducive to L2 development or not. In this way, future SLA researchers can employ eye trackers to robustly investigate L2 learning from an implicit vs. explicit perspective.
Grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs) have been used to elicit data refl ecting second language (L... more Grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs) have been used to elicit data refl ecting second language (L2) speakers' knowledge of L2 grammar. However, the exact constructs measured by GJTs, whether primarily implicit or explicit knowledge, are disputed and have been argued to differ depending on test-related variables (i.e., time pressure and item grammaticality).
This study investigates the automatization of sentence processing using the coefficient of variat... more This study investigates the automatization of sentence processing using the coefficient of variation (CV), a measure of intraindividual processing stability . A smaller CV (i.e., standard deviation to reaction time [RT] ratio) and a positive CV-RT correlation are taken to index increased automatization. Hulstijn, were the first to try to validate the use of CV at the sentence level; however, they did not find any evidence for automatization in their CV analyses. Forty Korean English as a second language students (20 intermediate, 20 advanced) and 20 native speakers performed three speeded tasks in English: a semantic classification task, a sentence verification task, and a sentence construction task. The results revealed that, consistent with findings from previous word recognition studies, the CV in the sentence-level tasks decreased as participants' proficiency level increased. Although the CV-RT correlation in the sentence verification task was not always significant, no counterevidence against Segalowitz and Segalowitz' (1993) hypothesis was found. The sentence construction task discriminated better between groups than the sentence verification task. We argue that the CV may be a valid measure of automatization at the sentence level, provided the tasks used target lower-level processes such as word recognition, parsing, and semantic proposition formation.
What do eye movements tell us about awareness? A triangulation of eye-movement data, verbal reports and vocabulary learning scores
Common wisdom suggests that paying attention is an effective way to acquire new information. In t... more Common wisdom suggests that paying attention is an effective way to acquire new information. In the area of second language acquisition (SLA), Schmidt argued that attention facilitates learning because it leads to noticing, which he defined as the conscious registration of some surface element of language . This study triangulates distinct measures of attention and awareness-namely, eyemovement recordings and verbal reports-to elucidate the differential contributions of these two mechanisms to receptive vocabulary learning. Advanced EFL learners read 20 English paragraphs embedded with 12 novel pseudowords for meaning, while an eye-tracker recorded their eye movements. Participants' ability to recognize the pseudowords in context was tested on a surprise posttest. After that, each participant took part in a post-task interview that measured her conscious recollection of reading each of the 12 target words. Results showed that both a participant's total fixation time on the pseudoword and her recollection of reading the word predicted word recognition. Furthermore, words for which participants reported autonoetic awareness (i.e., retrieval of an episodic memory) were fixated significantly longer than words with reported noetic awareness (i.e., a sense of familiarity) or no awareness. When both fixation times and awareness levels were entered into a single regression model, the awareness codings sufficed to predict word recognition scores. These findings suggest that attention (looking at a word) induced awareness (encoding the what, where, or when of a processing episode), which was itself a strong predictor of vocabulary learning.
This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, followin... more This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, following claims that attention to new language elements in the input results in their initial representation in long-term memory (i.e., intake; .
This study focuses on beginning second language learners' attention to irregular verb morphology,... more This study focuses on beginning second language learners' attention to irregular verb morphology, an area of grammar that many adults fi nd diffi cult to acquire (e.g., DeKeyser, 2005 ; Larsen-Freeman, 2010 ). We measured beginning learners' eye movements during sentence processing to investigate whether or not they actually attend to irregular verb features and, if so, whether the amount of attention that they pay to these features predicts their acquisition. On the assumption that attention facilitates learning (e.g., , we expected more attention (i.e., longer fi xations or more frequent comparisons between verb forms) to lead to more learning of the irregular verbs. Forty beginning learners of German read 12 German sentence pairs with stem-changing verbs and 12 German sentence pairs with regular verbs while an Eyelink 1000
This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & C... more This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & Cardon, 2015) by examining how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers' eye movement records.
Multimodal approaches have been shown to be effective for many learning tasks. In this study, we ... more Multimodal approaches have been shown to be effective for many learning tasks. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of five multimodal methods for second language (L2) Mandarin tone perception training: three single-cue methods (number, pitch contour , color) and two dual-cue methods (color and number, color and pitch contour). A total of 303 true novice learners of L2 Mandarin (native speakers of English) completed a 3-week online training program. Results from pretests as well as immediate and delayed posttests indicated that multimodal training aided L2 learners' tone perception, with a small, practical advantage for pitch contours and numbers over color coding. Dual-cue methods did not yield better learning than single-cue training. Thus, the additive benefits of multimodal input (i.e., auditory and visual) did not extend to instruction
Vocabulary learning materials and vocabulary learning research have a common objective of promoti... more Vocabulary learning materials and vocabulary learning research have a common objective of promoting effective vocabulary instruction (Schmitt, 2008), but in practice vocabulary learning materials tend to reflect materials writers' repertoire and intuition primarily (Tomlin-son, 2011). In an effort to develop a stronger interface between research and practice, this article introduces a novel method for word selection based on words' frequency, usefulness, and difficulty (Laufer & Nation, 2012). The researchers retrieved the frequency of 191 words and collocations targeted in a North American intensive English program from the Corpus of Contemporary American Eng-lish (COCA) and COCA-Academic, and collected usefulness and difficulty ratings from 76 experienced ESL instructors. Frequency correlated moderately with usefulness and difficulty, which supported the value of including usefulness and difficulty ratings as word selection criteria. A cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of target words, which differed in frequency, usefulness, and difficulty. Teaching of the target words could be prioritized according to this sequence. This study introduces a step-by-step approach for materials writers, curriculum designers, and teaching professionals to identify word groupings in a potential list of target words, using a combination of objective and subjective data, with the prospect of creating more effective and more efficacious vocabulary learning materials.
We investigated the impact of emotions on learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language to better... more We investigated the impact of emotions on learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language to better understand affective influences in foreign language acquisition. Seventy native English speakers learned new vocabulary in either a negative or a neutral emotional state. Participants also completed two sets of working memory tasks to examine the potential mediating role of working memory. Results revealed that participants exposed to negative stimuli exhibited difficulty in retrieving and correctly pairing English words with Indonesian words, as reflected in a lower performance on the prompted recall tests and the free recall measure. Emotional induction did not change working memory scores from pre to post manipulation. This suggests working memory could not explain the reduced vocabulary learning in the negative group. We argue that negative mood can adversely affect language learning by suppressing aspects of native-language processing and impeding form-meaning mapping with second language words.
This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & C... more This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & Cardon, 2015) by examining how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers’ eye movement records.
This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, followin... more This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, following claims that attention to new language elements in the input results in their initial representation in long-term memory (i.e., intake; .
In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of inst... more In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp. 73-90). New York: Routledge.
This study extends the evidence for implicit second language (L2) learning, which comes largely f... more This study extends the evidence for implicit second language (L2) learning, which comes largely from (semi-)artificial language research, to German. Upper-intermediate L2 German learners were flooded with spoken exemplars of a difficult morphological structure, namely strong, vowel-changing verbs. Toward the end of exposure, the mandatory vowel change was omitted, yielding ungrammatical verb forms (compare Leung & Williams, 2012 ). Two pre- and posttests—word monitoring and controlled oral production—gauged the development of learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge, respectively. Interviews revealed 33 out of 38 L2 learners remained unaware of the ungrammatical verbs in the input flood; however, they showed significant sensitivity during listening as evidenced by a reaction time slowdown on ungrammatical trials. The unaware learners also improved significantly from pretest to posttest on the word-monitoring task, but not the oral production measure, unless the verbs’ salience in the input flood had resonated with them. Thus, implicit instruction affected implicit knowledge primarily, although prior knowledge and memory could potentially account for interactions between implicit processing, implicit knowledge, and explicit knowledge.
This study extends previous reactivity research on the cognitive effects of think-alouds to
incl... more This study extends previous reactivity research on the cognitive effects of think-alouds to
include eye-tracking methodology. Unlike previous studies, we supplemented traditional
superiority tests with equivalence tests, because only the latter are conceptually appropriate
for demonstrating non-reactivity. Advanced learners of English read short English texts
embedded with pseudo words in an eye-tracking (n = 28), a think-aloud (n = 28), or a silent
control condition (n = 46). Results indicated that neither eye-tracking nor thinking aloud
affected text comprehension. In terms of vocabulary recognition, thinking aloud had a small,
positive effect, and the results for eye-tracking were mixed. We discuss challenges and
opportunities of equivalence testing and explore ways to improve study quality more
generally in second language acquisition research.
In this chapter we review eye-tracking methodology as a way to investigate aspects of implicit an... more In this chapter we review eye-tracking methodology as a way to investigate aspects of implicit and explicit L2 processing, given that the research context allows one to do so. We begin by briefly reviewing the L1 eye-tracking research of psychologists and cognitive scientists whose work provided (and continues to provide) a strong foundation for subsequent and now burgeoning L2 eye- movement studies. We discuss how eye-movement records can be used to investigate the workings of the language-processing system, which in adult L2 learners is often fraught with processing difficulties that can give rise to longer or more frequent fixations and rereading. We explain the premise that longer fixations and more regressions, as compared to baseline data, indicate more effortful processing and, in some research designs, more attention. However, the resolution (successful or not, remembered or abandoned) of that processing is not specified through the eye-movement record. Following that premise, we outline how L2 researchers use eye-tracking data to investigate bilingualism’s effects on language access and processing. We also review eye-movement research by applied linguists who have investigated L2 knowledge, processing, and implicit or explicit learning conditions. We conclude by recommending that researchers triangulate their eye-movement data with offline or other online measures to provide more nuanced insights into the nature and effects of L2 learners’ processing, whether implicit or explicit and conducive to L2 development or not. In this way, future SLA researchers can employ eye trackers to robustly investigate L2 learning from an implicit vs. explicit perspective.
Grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs) have been used to elicit data refl ecting second language (L... more Grammaticality judgment tests (GJTs) have been used to elicit data refl ecting second language (L2) speakers' knowledge of L2 grammar. However, the exact constructs measured by GJTs, whether primarily implicit or explicit knowledge, are disputed and have been argued to differ depending on test-related variables (i.e., time pressure and item grammaticality).
This study investigates the automatization of sentence processing using the coefficient of variat... more This study investigates the automatization of sentence processing using the coefficient of variation (CV), a measure of intraindividual processing stability . A smaller CV (i.e., standard deviation to reaction time [RT] ratio) and a positive CV-RT correlation are taken to index increased automatization. Hulstijn, were the first to try to validate the use of CV at the sentence level; however, they did not find any evidence for automatization in their CV analyses. Forty Korean English as a second language students (20 intermediate, 20 advanced) and 20 native speakers performed three speeded tasks in English: a semantic classification task, a sentence verification task, and a sentence construction task. The results revealed that, consistent with findings from previous word recognition studies, the CV in the sentence-level tasks decreased as participants' proficiency level increased. Although the CV-RT correlation in the sentence verification task was not always significant, no counterevidence against Segalowitz and Segalowitz' (1993) hypothesis was found. The sentence construction task discriminated better between groups than the sentence verification task. We argue that the CV may be a valid measure of automatization at the sentence level, provided the tasks used target lower-level processes such as word recognition, parsing, and semantic proposition formation.
What do eye movements tell us about awareness? A triangulation of eye-movement data, verbal reports and vocabulary learning scores
Common wisdom suggests that paying attention is an effective way to acquire new information. In t... more Common wisdom suggests that paying attention is an effective way to acquire new information. In the area of second language acquisition (SLA), Schmidt argued that attention facilitates learning because it leads to noticing, which he defined as the conscious registration of some surface element of language . This study triangulates distinct measures of attention and awareness-namely, eyemovement recordings and verbal reports-to elucidate the differential contributions of these two mechanisms to receptive vocabulary learning. Advanced EFL learners read 20 English paragraphs embedded with 12 novel pseudowords for meaning, while an eye-tracker recorded their eye movements. Participants' ability to recognize the pseudowords in context was tested on a surprise posttest. After that, each participant took part in a post-task interview that measured her conscious recollection of reading each of the 12 target words. Results showed that both a participant's total fixation time on the pseudoword and her recollection of reading the word predicted word recognition. Furthermore, words for which participants reported autonoetic awareness (i.e., retrieval of an episodic memory) were fixated significantly longer than words with reported noetic awareness (i.e., a sense of familiarity) or no awareness. When both fixation times and awareness levels were entered into a single regression model, the awareness codings sufficed to predict word recognition scores. These findings suggest that attention (looking at a word) induced awareness (encoding the what, where, or when of a processing episode), which was itself a strong predictor of vocabulary learning.
This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, followin... more This eye-tracking study tests the hypothesis that more attention leads to more learning, following claims that attention to new language elements in the input results in their initial representation in long-term memory (i.e., intake; .
This study focuses on beginning second language learners' attention to irregular verb morphology,... more This study focuses on beginning second language learners' attention to irregular verb morphology, an area of grammar that many adults fi nd diffi cult to acquire (e.g., DeKeyser, 2005 ; Larsen-Freeman, 2010 ). We measured beginning learners' eye movements during sentence processing to investigate whether or not they actually attend to irregular verb features and, if so, whether the amount of attention that they pay to these features predicts their acquisition. On the assumption that attention facilitates learning (e.g., , we expected more attention (i.e., longer fi xations or more frequent comparisons between verb forms) to lead to more learning of the irregular verbs. Forty beginning learners of German read 12 German sentence pairs with stem-changing verbs and 12 German sentence pairs with regular verbs while an Eyelink 1000
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how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers’ eye movement records.
Interviews revealed 33 out of 38 L2 learners remained unaware of the ungrammatical verbs in the input flood; however, they showed significant sensitivity during listening as evidenced by a reaction time slowdown on ungrammatical trials. The unaware learners also improved significantly from pretest to posttest on the word-monitoring task, but not the oral production measure, unless the verbs’ salience in the input flood had resonated with them. Thus, implicit instruction affected
implicit knowledge primarily, although prior knowledge and memory could potentially account for interactions between implicit processing, implicit knowledge, and explicit knowledge.
include eye-tracking methodology. Unlike previous studies, we supplemented traditional
superiority tests with equivalence tests, because only the latter are conceptually appropriate
for demonstrating non-reactivity. Advanced learners of English read short English texts
embedded with pseudo words in an eye-tracking (n = 28), a think-aloud (n = 28), or a silent
control condition (n = 46). Results indicated that neither eye-tracking nor thinking aloud
affected text comprehension. In terms of vocabulary recognition, thinking aloud had a small,
positive effect, and the results for eye-tracking were mixed. We discuss challenges and
opportunities of equivalence testing and explore ways to improve study quality more
generally in second language acquisition research.
effortful processing and, in some research designs, more attention. However, the resolution (successful or not, remembered or abandoned) of that processing is not specified through the eye-movement record. Following that premise, we outline how L2 researchers use eye-tracking data to investigate bilingualism’s effects
on language access and processing. We also review eye-movement research by applied linguists who have investigated L2 knowledge, processing, and implicit or explicit learning conditions. We conclude by recommending that researchers triangulate their eye-movement data with offline or other online measures
to provide more nuanced insights into the nature and effects of L2 learners’ processing, whether implicit or explicit and conducive to L2 development or not. In this way, future SLA researchers can employ eye trackers to robustly investigate L2 learning from an implicit vs. explicit perspective.
how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers’ eye movement records.
Interviews revealed 33 out of 38 L2 learners remained unaware of the ungrammatical verbs in the input flood; however, they showed significant sensitivity during listening as evidenced by a reaction time slowdown on ungrammatical trials. The unaware learners also improved significantly from pretest to posttest on the word-monitoring task, but not the oral production measure, unless the verbs’ salience in the input flood had resonated with them. Thus, implicit instruction affected
implicit knowledge primarily, although prior knowledge and memory could potentially account for interactions between implicit processing, implicit knowledge, and explicit knowledge.
include eye-tracking methodology. Unlike previous studies, we supplemented traditional
superiority tests with equivalence tests, because only the latter are conceptually appropriate
for demonstrating non-reactivity. Advanced learners of English read short English texts
embedded with pseudo words in an eye-tracking (n = 28), a think-aloud (n = 28), or a silent
control condition (n = 46). Results indicated that neither eye-tracking nor thinking aloud
affected text comprehension. In terms of vocabulary recognition, thinking aloud had a small,
positive effect, and the results for eye-tracking were mixed. We discuss challenges and
opportunities of equivalence testing and explore ways to improve study quality more
generally in second language acquisition research.
effortful processing and, in some research designs, more attention. However, the resolution (successful or not, remembered or abandoned) of that processing is not specified through the eye-movement record. Following that premise, we outline how L2 researchers use eye-tracking data to investigate bilingualism’s effects
on language access and processing. We also review eye-movement research by applied linguists who have investigated L2 knowledge, processing, and implicit or explicit learning conditions. We conclude by recommending that researchers triangulate their eye-movement data with offline or other online measures
to provide more nuanced insights into the nature and effects of L2 learners’ processing, whether implicit or explicit and conducive to L2 development or not. In this way, future SLA researchers can employ eye trackers to robustly investigate L2 learning from an implicit vs. explicit perspective.