Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data

Reading English academic texts can be a daunting task for many ESL university students. The complex features of academic texts which include academic discourse, text structure, and vocabulary may affect the reading process. An investigation of how ESL university students read English academic readin...

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Main Authors: Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairudin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/1/32990-122634-1-PB.pdf
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author Nur Ainil Sulaiman,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
Rozainee Khairudin,
author_facet Nur Ainil Sulaiman,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
Rozainee Khairudin,
author_sort Nur Ainil Sulaiman,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Reading English academic texts can be a daunting task for many ESL university students. The complex features of academic texts which include academic discourse, text structure, and vocabulary may affect the reading process. An investigation of how ESL university students read English academic reading materials would provide insights on what learners do to attain comprehension of the text. This study aims to investigate the cognitive processes that take place when ESL undergraduates read English academic texts using eye movement data. Quantitative data (total fixation duration, total fixation count, fixation duration) and qualitative data (scan path) of eye movements derived from eye tracker accompanied with retrospective interview were collected from twenty ESL undergraduates from two academic programmes. The findings revealed that participants who failed to recall the texts had longer fixation duration and resulted in more in words regressions compared to participants who recalled and explained the texts accurately. Vocabulary used in academic texts was found to be one of the factors that affect the comprehension of the texts. The findings of the study suggest that specialised instructions that emphasise academic reading skills should be implemented at the early level of tertiary education.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:151342020-09-08T01:36:56Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/ Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Rozainee Khairudin, Reading English academic texts can be a daunting task for many ESL university students. The complex features of academic texts which include academic discourse, text structure, and vocabulary may affect the reading process. An investigation of how ESL university students read English academic reading materials would provide insights on what learners do to attain comprehension of the text. This study aims to investigate the cognitive processes that take place when ESL undergraduates read English academic texts using eye movement data. Quantitative data (total fixation duration, total fixation count, fixation duration) and qualitative data (scan path) of eye movements derived from eye tracker accompanied with retrospective interview were collected from twenty ESL undergraduates from two academic programmes. The findings revealed that participants who failed to recall the texts had longer fixation duration and resulted in more in words regressions compared to participants who recalled and explained the texts accurately. Vocabulary used in academic texts was found to be one of the factors that affect the comprehension of the texts. The findings of the study suggest that specialised instructions that emphasise academic reading skills should be implemented at the early level of tertiary education. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/1/32990-122634-1-PB.pdf Nur Ainil Sulaiman, and Khazriyati Salehuddin, and Rozainee Khairudin, (2020) Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 26 (1). pp. 60-78. ISSN 0128-5157 http://ejournals.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1258
spellingShingle Nur Ainil Sulaiman,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
Rozainee Khairudin,
Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title_full Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title_fullStr Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title_full_unstemmed Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title_short Reading English academic texts: evidence from ESL undergraduates’ eye movement data
title_sort reading english academic texts: evidence from esl undergraduates’ eye movement data
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/15134/1/32990-122634-1-PB.pdf