Abstract
Taking Schmidt’s (1990) noticing hypothesis as point of departure this study aims to measure attention and learning gains during second language (L2) reading by making use of eye-tracking methodology. Relying on Robinson’s hierarchical memory model (1995, 2003), it is hypothesized that vocabulary learning and attention are closely associated. After a vocabulary pre-test, seventy-five learners of English read a standard text individually while their eye movements were being recorded followed by an immediate post-test. The results revealed that learners spent more time on unknown words than they did on familiar ones. Attention and learning gains also positively correlated; fixation values on an unknown word increased its further recognition probability in post-test. Finally, the findings revealed a cut-off point of approximately 450ms as an activation threshold for noticing. Eye-tracking as a technique to measure attention in second language acquisition (SLA) was also discussed.
Highlights
Noticing, attention and consciousness in second language acquisition (SLA) have been controversial topics for more than 2 decades and still inspire many experimental studies in the field
This study examined the role of noticing as a form of attention in L2 vocabulary acquisition during reading, by using eye tracking methodology
The primary finding of the current research is that a direct relationship exists between attention and learning gains
Summary
Attention and consciousness in second language acquisition (SLA) have been controversial topics for more than 2 decades and still inspire many experimental studies in the field. As a form of weak interface hypothesis, the noticing hypothesis is grounded on the assumption that attention and learning are directly related: people learn things they pay attention to and do not learn much about things they do not attend to (Schmidt, 2010). In his hypothesis, Schmidt (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, Schmidt and Frota, 1986) claimed that consciousness at the level of noticing had a crucial role in second language acquisition and was necessary for learning. Objections emerged to this strong form of the hypothesis on the basis that the hypothesis was conceptually weak, vague and empirically untestable
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