Examining Second Language Reading: An On-Line Look

Abstract

The results of several eye-movement experiments, which examined adult non-native readers' performance online whilst they read single sentences in their second language, are discussed. Reading performance was investigated in subjects of varying second language ability, and for a variety of linguistic structures. Bilingual subjects' immediate sensitivity to the inconsistency of lexical and/or syntactic constraints across their two languages was demonstrated. This sensitivity provoked longer reading times specifically in the second language and specifically at the region of the sentence where the inconsistency occurred. Moreover, we provide evidence that bilinguals are sensitive to lexical constraints within their second language and use this information when reading potentially ambiguous structures. Transfer effects from the native to the second language were seen to influence syntactic processing, however the amount and effect of transfer varied considerably both as a function of the level of non-native speaker and syntactic ambiguity.