The Role of Sequence Markers on Reading and Recall: A Comparison of Native and Nonnative English Speakers
Abstract
Native and nonnative English speakers read informational passages containing four target points and later recalled the targeted information. The explicitness with which the target information was marked in the passage was varied. The targeted information was either explicitly signalled and enumerated (Full marking), explicitly signalled but not enumerated (Number marking), vaguely signalled (Vague marking), or neither signalled nor enumerated (No marking). A rating study (Experiment 1) established that the signalling manipulation produced the expected effects on rated ease of comprehending the logical development in the passage. In Experiments 2 and 4, native English speakers read and recalled the passages. In Experiment 3 students learning English as a second language (ESL) read and recalled the passages. In all three experiments, the more explicit the marking the better the recall of the target information. In Experiments 3 and 4, reading behavior was also measured. Processing time data indicated that reading time generally increased the more explicit the signalling. This trend was stronger in the native English than in the ESL speakers. In general there were only minor differences between native English and ESL speakers in the effects of sequence markers on reading and retention performance. Implications of these data for understanding the relation between signalling devices such as sequence markers and readers' strategies are discussed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA204151
Entities
People
- Susan R. Goldman
Organizations
- University of California, Santa Barbara