We investigated the word-reading development of adult second-language learners of English. A sample of 70 (Mandarin or Cantonese) Chinese-speaking students enrolled in a university-level English bridging program at a Canadian university silently read passages of text at the beginning and end of the program while their eye movements were recorded. At each timepoint, we also administered a battery of tests that measure key component skills of second-language reading (phonological processing, vocabulary knowledge, and listening comprehension). We found longitudinal changes in lexical processing for long words in early (refixation probability and gaze duration) and late (go-past time and total reading time) eye movement measures, indicating a shift from a sublexical to a holistic word-processing strategy. We found the largest gains in sublexical processing among students with stronger phonological awareness upon entry to the program and students who acquired more vocabulary than their peers during the program. We interpret the results of this study as evidence of a transition from a lexical processing strategy that is heavily reliant on phonological decoding to word-reading behavior that is more actively engaged in higher order cognitive processes, such as meaning integration. This research offers novel insights into predictors of reading skill in postsecondary English-language bridging programs.

中文翻译：

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英语学习者大学生单词阅读发展的决定因素：纵向眼动研究

我们调查了成人英语第二语言学习者的单词阅读发展。70 名（普通话或粤语）华语学生在加拿大一所大学参加了大学水平的英语桥接课程，他们在课程开始和结束时默读课文，同时记录他们的眼球运动。在每个时间点，我们还进行了一系列测试，以衡量第二语言阅读的关键组成部分技能（语音处理、词汇知识和听力理解）。我们发现在早期（再注视概率和凝视持续时间）和晚期（过去时间和总阅读时间）眼动测量中长词词汇处理的纵向变化，表明从亚词汇到整体词处理策略的转变。我们发现在进入课程时语音意识更强的学生和在课程期间获得的词汇量比同龄人更多的学生在亚词汇处理方面的收益最大。我们将这项研究的结果解释为从严重依赖语音解码的词汇处理策略向更积极地参与更高阶认知过程（例如意义整合）的单词阅读行为转变的证据。这项研究为中学后英语语言衔接课程中阅读技能的预测因素提供了新的见解。我们将这项研究的结果解释为从严重依赖语音解码的词汇处理策略向更积极地参与更高阶认知过程（例如意义整合）的单词阅读行为转变的证据。这项研究为中学后英语语言衔接课程中阅读技能的预测因素提供了新的见解。我们将这项研究的结果解释为从严重依赖语音解码的词汇处理策略向更积极地参与更高阶认知过程（例如意义整合）的单词阅读行为转变的证据。这项研究为中学后英语语言衔接课程中阅读技能的预测因素提供了新的见解。