Second language reading and recall processes under different reading purposes: an eye-tracking, keystroke-logging, and stimulated recall study

Abstract

This study explored second language (L2) reading and recall processes under different reading purposes, as reflected in their eye-movements during reading, keystrokes produced from summary writing, and stimulated recall comments. Seventy-two Korean undergraduate students read an English essay for different purposes, i.e., reading to extract the gist quickly (i.e., reading-to-skim) versus reading to prepare for a presentation (i.e., reading-to-learn), and wrote an unannounced summary of the essay. A subgroup of participants further produced stimulated recalls prompted by their own eye-movements and keystrokes. The results revealed that reading-to-skim led participants to engage in uninterrupted global text processing as manifested in significantly longer forward saccades and regressions. Those under the reading-to-learn condition, in contrast, showed significantly shorter eye-movements accompanied by constant pauses for local processing, while staying substantially longer on the essay. Reading-to-learn further resulted in more frequent pauses and revisions in the summary writing process, recalling a greater number of idea units from the essay. The findings of this study indicate that L2 learners prioritize distinct aspects of text processing depending on the reading purpose, which affects both reading and recall processes.

ABSTRACT IN KOREAN

본 연구는 읽기 목적이 제 2 언어 읽기와 회상 과정에 미치는 영향을 연구하기 위해 읽는 동안의 시선 움직임, 회상하는 동안의 키스트로크, 그리고 회상자극 인터뷰 내용을 분석하였다. 총 72 명의 한국인 대학생들은 영어 에세이 한 편을 빠르게 요지를 찾기 위해서 (훑어읽기), 또는 에세이와 관련한 발표를 준비하기 위해서 (학습읽기) 읽은 뒤, 예고에 없었던 에세이의 요약을 작성하였다. 또 참여자 중의 일부는 읽기와 요약하기가 끝난 직후 자신의 시선움직임과 키스트로크를 보면서 읽고 요약하던 당시에 어떤 생각을 하고 있었는지를 회상하였다. 분석 결과, 훑어읽기는 참여자로 하여금 더 긴 순방향 및 역방향 시선으로 드러나듯이 끊김이 덜하고 광범위한 방식으로 에세이를 읽어나가도록 유도한 것으로 나타났다. 대조적으로 학습읽기 조건은 참여자들이 에세이를 상당히 더 오래 읽게 하며, 짧은 시선움직임에서 나타난 것 처럼 국소적이고 끊김이 잦은 텍스트 처리를 하도록 이끌었다. 학습읽기는 또한 요약 쓰기 과정에서 더 빈번한 멈춤과 수정을 초래하였으며 더 많은 수의 아이디어 단위들을 회상할 수 있도록 하였다. 이 연구는 읽기의 목적이 제2언어 학습자가 읽는 과정은 물론 회상 과정에도 영향을 미친다는 점과 목적에 따라 텍스트의 서로 다른 측면을 우선시 한다는 것을 보여준다.

Plain language summary

Second language (L2) users constantly engage in numerous different types of reading tasks, and they often recall what they read to others. What happens in their mind during reading and recalling, however, has not been fully explored. To fill this gap, the present study examined eye movements during reading and keystrokes during summary writing for different reading purposes. Seventy-two Korean undergraduate students read an English essay for one of the two different goals, that is, reading to get the gist quickly (reading-to-skim) versus reading to prepare for a presentation (reading-to-learn), and completed an unannounced summary writing. As soon as the summary writing was done, a subset of participants was further asked to comment on what they were thinking while viewing their own eye movements and keystrokes, which was to generate a fuller picture of the impact of reading purposes on reading and recall processes. The results showed that reading-to-skim encouraged L2 users to read more globally with fewer interruptions, while reading-to-learn promoted localized reading with constant pauses. Reading-to-learn further resulted in considerably more frequent pauses and revisions during summary writing and an increased number of idea units recalled from the essay. The findings of this study indicate that L2 learners engage in distinctive reading behaviors depending on the purpose, which further affects their recall processes, and thus highlights the importance of the careful design of L2 reading tasks.

Keywords:

• Reading purpose
• reading and recall processes
• eye-tracking
• keystroke-logging
• stimulated recall

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The materials are openly accessible at https://www.iris-database.org/iris/app/home/detail?id=york%3a940214&ref=search. To obtain the author’s disclosure form, please contact the Editor.

Notes

1 McCray (2016) shared his R-scripts on RStudio to help researchers extract various reading indices, such as forward saccades and regressions during reading, using eye-movement data collected with Tobii Studio.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jookyoung Jung

Jookyoung Jung is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include task-based language teaching (TBLT), second language (L2) reading and writing development, technology-mediated L2 learning, and the role of individual differences in second language acquisition (SLA). Her recent work has appeared in journals such as Language Teaching Research, System, and Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

Minjin Lee

Minjin Lee received her Ph.D in Applied Linguistics from the UCL Institute of Education, University College London and is a lecturer at Yonsei University. Her research interests include second language acquisition, instructed second language acquisition, and task-based language teaching, with particular emphasis on understanding cognitive processes that underlie second language learning. Her research has been published in The Modern Language Journal, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, and Second Language Research.