Poster, AMLaP 2025, Prague, Czech Republic
This study investigates whether L2 English proficiency and exposure modulate word frequency and length effects during L1 Chinese reading, using eye-tracking evidence to examine potential reductions in L1 reading automaticity.
Talk, AMLaP 2025, Prague, Czech Republic
Background Saccadic targeting during reading integrates visual, linguistic, and motor planning processes [1, 2]. While second language (L2) learners may develop native-like fixation durations in their L2 [3], it is unclear whether spatial adaptations extend to their first language (L1), especially when scripts are vastly different. This study investigates whether advanced English proficiency and exposure reshape saccadic precision and landing stability during L2 English reading, and whether these patterns transfer, to L1 Chinese reading. Method Forty Chinese university students were categorised into Advanced and Upper Intermediate L2 English learner groups using Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis of English vocabulary size, IELTS scores, and years of residence in the UK [4]. Participants read 24 matched Chinese (38–71 words each, M = 55.9, SD = 10.3) and English (44–98 words each, M = 70.7, SD = 12.9) texts in a counterbalanced order while their eye movements were recorded. Relative Landing Positions (RLPs) were computed using the x-coordinate of the first fixation relative to word centre, capturing both central tendency and dispersion. Results In L1 Chinese reading, both groups demonstrated highly stable, centre-based RLPs that did not vary with word length, aligning with native-like saccadic patterns [5, 6]. In contrast, during L2 English reading, both groups showed increasingly leftward RLPs of the first fixation from word centre as word length increased, consistent with spatial undershoot patterns attributed to oculomotor constraints or motor planning strategies. This spatial undershoot occurred despite the Advanced group showing native-like fixation durations, indicating that temporal and spatial components of eye movement control may be governed by different mechanisms. Discussion The present findings highlight a dissociation between temporal fluency and spatial targeting in bilingual reading. While L2 proficiency and exposure may support native-like fixations, they do not affect saccadic targeting. The persistence of L1 Chinese saccadic patterns suggests that spatial aspects of eye movement control are script-specific and relatively resistant to change [3], particularly when the scripts of the two languages differ markedly. These findings suggest that L1-based saccadic routines persist in L2 reading, highlighting the need for bilingual models to account for the limited cross-script adaptability of spatial oculomotor control.
Invited Talk, Language Attrition Network, Online (Microsoft Teams)
This invited talk focused on the impact of prolonged L2 (English) exposure on L1 (Chinese) reading behaviour, highlighting eye-tracking evidence for L1 attrition effects.
Talk, AMLaP 2024, Prague, Czech Republic
This talk investigated how L2 proficiency modulates fixation durations and reading dynamics in second language reading.
Talk, British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL), Queen’s University Belfast, UK
This talk explored developmental changes in eye-movement behaviour during L2 reading, highlighting how increasing proficiency is reflected in fixation durations and reading efficiency.
Talk, EuroSLA 31, Fribourg, Switzerland
Accepted conference talk at EuroSLA 2022. Not attended due to visa restrictions.
Talk, European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), University of Leicester, UK
This talk demonstrated how eye-movement measures during natural reading capture fine-grained developmental trajectories in L2 reading proficiency.
Talk, Linguistics and English Language Postgraduate Conference (LELPGC), University of Edinburgh, UK
This talk examined how eye-movement patterns during natural reading vary as a function of L2 proficiency, focusing on fixation-based measures as indicators of reading development in a second language.