A study of glossing behavior among second language readers
Date
2002
Authors
Corbin, Shari Ruth
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Abstract
This study investigates the effects that a computerized glossary had on the reading comprehension of six upper intermediate ESL students enrolled in an academic English class. Earlier empirical research in second language reading has revealed that students acquire and retain information better when it is presented in both a textual and visual format. However, little research has been conducted on how specific annotations promote comprehension and the role that individual variables contribute to it. Specifically, little information has been collected from individual students as to what types of multimedia annotations promote or hinder on-line reading comprehension and what reasons they give for it.
Participants in this investigation read and summarized an on-line expository text that had been annotated using three context-based glossing formats: definitions, pictures, and definitions + pictures. Data was collected from pre and post session interviews, an on-line tracker that monitored and recorded their movements on-line and from recorded think aloud protocols that were divided into clauses using Trabasso and Magliano's 1998 model.
The findings from the data suggest that video clips were the most useful of all of the annotations in helping the students comprehend and summarize the article because of the real life quality that they added to the text. Verbs in particular were best understood and remembered when they were illustrated with video formatting. Additionally, associations between the text and real life scenarios were more readily made through the use of video clips. Recall protocols for vocabulary were also higher for those items that were glossed with definition + picture or a combination of multiple types of annotations. These results support Pavia's dual-coding theory, but also indicate that individual learning styles, strategies and experiences all come into play during the reading process.