ERIC Number: EJ1440608
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Sep
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1533-242X
The Process of Coherence and Cohesion Judgment Tasks of Japanese University EFL Learners: Evidence from Eye-Tracking
Ken Fujita; Mitsuo Ishida
Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, v24 n2 p21-37 2024
Readers should construct a coherent discourse during reading comprehension. The ability to build coherence has been examined using coherence and cohesion judgment tasks. Although eye-tracking studies have been conducted on building coherence or processing cohesion among native language users, few such studies have been conducted with second language learners. This study investigated the process of conducting a task using eye-tracking with 30 Japanese university students who were asked to judge the coherence between two sentences on a screen. The 24 stimulus items consisted of four conditions (with or without coherence and cohesion), and six items were assigned to each condition. The fixation duration in some areas and frequencies of the regressions were measured. The results showed that the difference in fixation duration between conditions was not statistically significant, but the frequencies of regressions were significantly different, with incoherent-cohesive pairs having more regressions than incoherent-incohesive pairs. Thus, the study revealed that readers might make more inferences because of the contradictory information of the condition, which partly supports previous research on native participants.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Foreign Countries, Reading Comprehension, Eye Movements, Undergraduate Students, Task Analysis, Reading Processes, Decision Making, Computer Assisted Testing, Inferences, Connected Discourse, Language Processing, Comparative Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A