Bilinguals’ processing of lexical cues in L1 and L2: an eye-tracking study

Abstract

This study seeks to understand how bilinguals process texts with lexical cues in their first language (L1) and second language (L2) using an eye-tracking methodology. Quantitative data were obtained from an eye-tracker and a post-test, while qualitative data were gathered through interviews with the participants. The findings from the eye-tracking results indicate that the participants’ fixations were similar on novel words accompanied by their L1 cues and those accompanied by their L2 cues. When comparing the participants’ fixation on L1 and L2 cues, the findings show that the participants spent similar time on both types of cues. The use of L1 cues leads to a similar amount of acquisition of novel words when compared to the use of L2 cues. The study makes two contributions to research in language learning: Methodologically, the use of eye-tracking is discussed along with how it may be triangulated with other methods for studying language processing. Empirically, the study sheds light on how bilinguals process cues in their L1 and L2. Implications for future research and classroom practice are considered.

Keywords:

• Eye-tracking
• bilingual processing
• lexical cues in L1 and L2
• triangulation
• translanguaging
• languaculturing

Acknowledgements

The contribution of Kuan Jie Ling as research assistant for the BKP project is gratefully acknowledged. We would also like to thank the editor of CALL and the reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this article was supported by the University of Malaya through the grants BK058-2017 and PO005-2015B.

Notes on contributors

Irwan THAM holds a master’s degree from the University of Malaya and is currently a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College. He has taught a range of courses, including Critical Thinking and English for the Profession. Irwan conducts research examining how bilinguals process texts in their first language and second language using eye-tracking methodology.

Dr Meng Huat CHAU is Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, Visiting Professor at De La Salle University–Dasmariñas, and adjunct researcher in the Bilingual Cognition and Development Lab at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. His research and teaching interests focus on the study of language learning from a multilingual perspective and applications of corpus linguistics and discourse analysis to issues in language education and language acquisition research. His publications include Corpus Applications in Applied Linguistics (co-edited with Ken Hyland and Michael Handford, 2012).

Dr Siew Ming THANG is a Professor at the Department of Education, HELP University, Malaysia. Previously she was a Professor at the School of Language Studies and Linguistics, the National University of Malaysia (until her retirement in December 2016). She is President of PacCALL and Co-chair of GLoCALL series of conferences. Her key areas of interest are Learner Autonomy, CALL, Motivation Studies and Eye Movements Research.