Eyetracking has become a powerful tool in scientific research and has finally found its way into disciplines such as applied linguistics and translation studies, paving the way for new insights and challenges in these fields. The aim of the first International Conference on Eyetracking and Applied Linguistics (ICEAL) was to bring together researchers who use eyetracking to empirically answer their research questions. It was intended to bridge the gaps between applied linguistics, translation studies, cognitive science and computational linguistics on the one hand and to further encourage innovative research methodologies and data triangulation on the other hand. These challenges are also addressed in this proceedings volume: While the studies described in the volume deal with a wide range of topics, they all agree on eyetracking as an appropriate methodology in empirical research.
Eye-tracking is quickly becoming a valuable tool in applied linguistics research as it provides a 'real-time', direct measure of cognitive processing effort. This book provides a straightforward introduction to the technology and how it might be used in language research. With a strong focus on the practicalities of designing eye-tracking studies that achieve the standard of other well-established experimental techniques, it provides valuable information about building and designing studies, touching on common challenges and problems, as well as solutions. Importantly, the book looks at the use of eye-tracking in a wide variety of applied contexts including reading, listening and multi-modal input, writing, testing, corpus linguistics, translation, stylistics, and computer-mediated communication. Each chapter finishes with a simple checklist to help researchers use eye-tracking in a wide variety of language studies. Discussion is grounded in concrete examples, which will allow users coming to the technology for the first time to gain the knowledge and confidence to use it to produce high quality research.
Eye Tracking in Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism provides foundational knowledge and hands-on advice for designing, conducting, and analysing eye-tracking research in applied linguistics. Godfroid’s research synthesis and methodological guide introduces the reader to fundamental facts about eye movements, eye-tracking paradigms for language scientists, data analysis, and the practicalities of building a lab. This indispensable book will appeal to undergraduate students learning principles of experimental design, graduate students developing their theoretical and statistical repertoires, experienced scholars looking to expand their own research, and eye-tracking professionals.
This addition to the Cognitive Science and Second Language Acquisition series presents a comprehensive review of the latest research findings on sentence processing in second language acquisition. The book begins with a broad overview of the core issues of second language sentence processing research and then narrows its focus by dedicating individual chapters to each of these key areas. While a number of publications have discussed research findings on knowledge of formal syntactic principles as part of theories of second language acquisition, there are fewer resources dedicated to the role of second language sentence processing in this context. This volume will act as the first full-length literature review of the field on the market.
We make 3-5 eye movements per second, and these movements are crucial in helping us deal with the vast amounts of information we encounter in our everyday lives. In recent years, thanks to the development of eye tracking technology, there has been a growing interest in monitoring and measuring these movements, with a view to understanding how we attend to and process the visual information we encounter Eye tracking as a research tool is now more accessible than ever, and is growing in popularity amongst researchers from a whole host of different disciplines. Usability analysts, sports scientists, cognitive psychologists, reading researchers, psycholinguists, neurophysiologists, electrical engineers, and others, all have a vested interest in eye tracking for different reasons. The ability to record eye-movements has helped advance our science and led to technological innovations. However, the growth of eye tracking in recent years has also presented a variety of challenges - in particular the issue of how to design an eye-tracking experiment, and how to analyse the data. This book is a much needed comprehensive handbook of eye tracking methodology. It describes how to evaluate and acquire an eye-tracker, how to plan and design an eye tracking study, and how to record and analyse eye-movement data. Besides technical details and theory, the heart of this book revolves around practicality - how raw data samples are converted into fixations and saccades using event detection algorithms, how the different representations of eye movement data are calculated using AOIs, heat maps and scanpaths, and how all the measures of eye movements relate to these processes. Part I presents the technology and skills needed to perform high-quality research with eye-trackers. Part II covers the predominant methods applied to the data which eye-trackers record. These include the parsing of raw sample data into oculomotor events, and how to calculate other representations of eye movements such as heat maps and transition matrices. Part III gives a comprehensive outline of the measures which can be calculated using the events and representations described in Part II. This is a taxonomy of the measures available to eye-tracking researchers, sorted by type of movement of the eyes and type of analysis. For anyone in the sciences considering conducting research involving eye-tracking, this book will be an essential reference work.
This volume encompasses the range of research questions on language-related problems that arise in language teaching, learning and assessment. The [150] chapters are written by experts in the field who each offer their insights into current and future directions of research, and who suggest several highly relevant research questions. Topics include, but are not limited to: language skills teaching, language skills assessment and testing, measurement, feedback, discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, language learning through technology, CALL, MALL, ESP, EAP, ERPP, TBLT, materials development, genre analysis, needs analysis, corpus, content-based language teaching, language teaching and learning strategies, individual differences, research methods, classroom research, form-focused instruction, age effects, literacy, proficiency, and teacher education and teacher development. The book serves as a reference and offers inspiration to researchers and students in language education. An important skill in reviewing the research literature is following a study’s “plan of attack.” Broadly, this means that before accepting and acting upon the findings, one considers a) the research question (Is it clear and focused? Measurable?), b) the subjects examined, the methods deployed, and the measures chosen (Do they fit the study’s goal and have the potential to yield useful results?), and c) the analysis of the data (Do the data lead to the discussion presented? Has the author reasonably interpreted results to reach the conclusion?). Mohebbi and Coombe’s book, Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics: A Reference Guide, helps budding researchers take the first step and develop a solid research question. As the field of language education evolves, we need continual research to improve our instructional and assessment practices and our understanding of the learners’ language learning processes. This book with its remarkable 150 topics and 10 times the number of potential research questions provides a wealth of ideas that will help early career researchers conduct studies that move our field forward and grow our knowledge base. Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., Director, Academic Language Research & Training, Past President, TESOL International Association (2021-22) As a teacher in graduate programs in TESOL I frequently come across the frustration of students at centering their research interests on a particular topic and developing research questions which are worth pursuing so as to make a contribution to the field. This frustration stems from the fact that our field is so vast and interrelated, that it is often impossible to properly address all that interests them. Hence, I wholeheartedly welcome this most relevant and innovative addition to the research literature in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Coombe and Mohebbi have created a real tour de force that stands to inform budding researchers in the field for many years to come. Additionally, the cutting-edge depiction of the field and all it has to offer will no doubt update the research agendas of many seasoned researchers around the world. The 150 chapters are organized in a most powerful, yet, deceptively simple way offering a positioning within the topic, suggesting questions that might direct inquiry and offering a basic set of bibliographic tools to start the reader in the path towards research. What is more, the nine sections in which the chapters are organized leave no area of the field unexplored. Dr. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, Academic Advisor, Institute of Education, Universidad ORT del Uruguay, President, IATEFL
The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Applied Linguistics provides a critical survey of the methodological concepts, designs, instruments and types of analysis that are used within the broad field of applied linguistics. With more than 40 chapters written by leading and emerging scholars, this book problematizes and theorizes applied linguistics research, incorporating numerous multifaceted methodological considerations and pointing to the future of good practice in research. Topics covered include: key concepts and constructs in research methodology, such as sampling strategies and mixed methods research; research designs such as experimental research, case study research, and action research; data collection methods, from questionnaires and interviews to think-aloud protocols and data elicitation tasks; data analysis methods, such as use of R, inferential statistical analysis, and qualitative content analysis; current considerations in applied linguistics research, such as a need for transparency and greater incorporation of multilingualism in research; and recent innovations in research methods related to multimodality, eye-tracking, and advances in quantitative methods. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Applied Linguistics is key reading for both experienced and novice researchers in Applied Linguistics as well as anyone undertaking study in this area.
This volume presents a state-of-the-art of current research on the role of eye gaze in different types of interaction, including human-human and human-computer interaction. Approaching the phenomenon from different disciplinary and methodological angles, the chapters in the volume are united through a shared technological approach, viz. the use of eye-tracking technology for measuring speakers’ and hearers’ eye gaze patterns while engaged in interaction. Envisioned as an ‘innovating reader’, the volume addresses key questions of interdisciplinary relevance (e.g. to what extent can the analysis of fine-grained eye gaze data, obtained with eye-tracking technology, inform conversation analysis, and vice versa?), positioning (e.g. what is the semiotic status of eye gaze in relation to linguistic signaling?), and methodology (e.g. can we strike a balance between experimental control and authenticity in setting up dialogue settings with eye-tracking technology?). The exploration of these and other questions contributes to the demarcation of a burgeoning research program.
Comprehension Processes in Reading addresses the interrelationship among several areas relevant to understanding how people comprehend text. The contributors focus on the on-line processes associated with text understanding rather than simply with the product of that comprehension -- what people remember from reading. Presenting the latest theories and research findings from a distinguished group of contributors, Comprehension Processes in Reading is divided into four major sections. Each section, concluding with a commentary chapter, discusses a different aspect of reader understanding or dysfunction such as individual word comprehension, sentence parsing, text comprehension, and comprehension failures and dyslexia .
This book addresses eye movements and gestures as markers of language comprehension and production in interpreting as the "visible embodiment" of cognitive processing in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. It discusses conference interpreting as a complex, multimodal activity where language processing is not restricted to auditory perception and oral production, highlighting the complexity of interpreting and exploring possible strategies that can be used by professional interpreters and students to make their work easier and more accurate.
