Using eye tracking to understand learners' reading process through the concept-mapping learning strategy

Accepted Manuscript Using Eye Tracking to Understand Learners’ Reading Process Through the ConceptMapping Learning Strategy Pei-Lin Liu, Ph.D. PII:

S0360-1315(14)00136-5

DOI:

10.1016/j.compedu.2014.05.011

Reference:

CAE 2648

To appear in:

Computers & Education

Received Date: 16 January 2014 Revised Date:

28 May 2014

Accepted Date: 31 May 2014

Please cite this article as: LiuP.-L., Using Eye Tracking to Understand Learners’ Reading Process Through the Concept-Mapping Learning Strategy, Computers & Education (2014), doi: 10.1016/ j.compedu.2014.05.011. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Using Eye Tracking to Understand Learners’ Reading

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Strategy

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Process Through the Concept-Mapping Learning

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Pei-Lin Liu, Ph.D. Department of Foreign Languages National Chia-Yi University Taiwan No.300 Syuefu Rd., Chiayi City 60004, Taiwan (R.O.C.) E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 88652263411-8217

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Using Eye Tracking to Understand Learners’ Reading Process Through the Concept-Mapping Learning Strategy Abstract

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The author used an eye-tracking methodology to examine the influence of the

concept-mapping learning strategy on learners performing an English reading task. Eighty-six

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freshmen enrolled in English courses participated in this control-group pretest-posttest

experiment, and received either traditional or concept-mapping instruction for learning

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English reading skills. A concept-mapping strategy was introduced to the learners in the experimental group to improve their reading ability. The results of independent t tests, in which eye-tracking data on fixation time and fixation path were used, indicated that the

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participants who received concept-mapping instruction exhibited shorter fixation times on the core concept and other content in the text, compared with the group that received traditional instruction. Moreover, the experimental group demonstrated longer and irregular rereading

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paths than the control group (CG) did. These results indicated that concept mapping serves as

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a reference to assist average readers to improve and to identify primary ideas that clarify the meaning of an article.

Keywords: pedagogical issues, evaluation methodologies, teaching/learning strategies

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Research Background In English learning, reading is an essential skill that promotes the acquisition of knowledge and exchange of information. Compared with learners who have reading

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difficulties, successful readers typically have a range of suitably established strategies from which they can select and conduct appropriate learning activities to regulate their learning

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(Anonym, 2010; Griffiths, 2013; Hall, 2012). In these situations, effective reading strategies are recommended for native learners as well as English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners

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who are struggling to construct meaning from unfamiliar expository texts.

Based on increased understanding of effective strategies in assisting learners to become successful readers, EFL teachers no longer assign a text and subsequently begin

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instruction. Instead, they assist students to access explicit strategies to manage complex reading tasks (Vásquez, Hansen, & Smith, 2013). Grabe and Stoller (2001) and O’Connor and Vadasy (2013) identified an effective approach for reading using semantic organizers, by

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which readers graphically represent the reading material to assist in text comprehension.

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The concept map is a specific type of graphic organizer that students can use to clarify text structure and improve reading comprehension (Emmorey, Weisberg, McCullough, & Petrich, 2013; Guthrie, Mason-Singh, & Coddington, 2012; Kandiko, Hay, & Weller, 2013; Oliver, 2009; Redford, Thiede, Wiley, & Griffin, 2012). In this network, the nodes represent concepts, the lines linking the nodes represent relationships, and the labels on the lines represent the characteristics of the relationships (Woolley, 2011). The technique for visualizing these relationships among various concepts is referred to as concept mapping (Liu,

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2010). When adopting concept mapping while reading, learners must identify the meaning of a topic by first examining the letters, followed by words, sentences and paragraphs, and arrange the concepts to determine the main concept. Then learners must link and align several

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concepts, and subsequently comprehend the entire essay. The mapping process enables learners to recall and organize the information conveyed in essays. After mapping, the

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learners can also review the relationships among concepts (Liu, Chen, & Chang, 2010). Previous studies have shown that concept mapping is useful for organizing and

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representing knowledge (DeLauder & Muilenburg, 2012; Hagemans, van der Meij, & de Jong, 2013), decreasing learner cognitive load (Hwang, Yang, & Wang, 2013; Yang, Hwang, Hung, & Tseng, 2013), increasing learner memory capacity of reading materials (Huang,

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Chiou, Chiang, Lai, Huang, & Chou, 2012; Hung, Hwang, Su, & Lin, 2012), and summarizing information with diagrams (Cornelius-White, Motschnig-Pitrik, & Lux, 2013; Liu & Lee, 2013). Concept maps also stimulate reader self-efficacy and motivation (Gurlitt &

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Renkl, 2010; Hwang, Wu, & Kuo, 2013; Khajavi & Ketabi, 2012). Other studies have

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suggested that teaching the concept mapping strategy is useful for learners, particularly for those with reading disabilities (Mason & Hagaman, 2012; Solis, Ciullo, Vaughn, Pyle, Hassaram, & Leroux, 2012). Research Purpose and Problems Three common methods for analyzing the effect of concept mapping are using tests (Khajavi & Ketabi, 2012; Soleimani & Nabizadeh, 2012), observations (Conradty & Bogner, 2010; Tzeng, 2010), and surveys (Gurlitt & Renkl, 2010; Liu, Chen, & Chang, 2010). Few

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT studies have collected eye-movement data to investigate how learners view a concept map and the information within a map (Amadieu, Van Gog, Paas, Tricot, & Marine, 2009; Liu, Hsueh, Lai, Sangin, Nussli, & Dillenbourg, 2009; Nesbit, Larios, & Adesope, 2007; Van

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Amelsvoort, Van der Meij, Anjewierden, & Van der Meij, 2012); however, no study has

focused on how the graphical properties of concept maps affect learner reading behaviors.

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How learners process and comprehend reading tasks by using a concept map and the exact characteristics of its effects are still unknown. For solving this problem, an eye tracker was

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employed in this study to examine the physiological changes of young EFL learners and thereby provide a detailed understanding of how the concept map is used during the reading comprehension process.

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Eye tracker is a modern technology that examines eye movements during the reading process. This method allows readers to read without any interruption, and monitors readers’ reading pace and route (Hyönä & Nurminen, 2006). Moreover, monitoring eye movements

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during reading can provide valuable eye-tracking data regarding reading comprehension

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processes (Rayner, Chace, Slattery, & Ashby, 2006). A comprehensive review of eye-tracking measures (saccades, papillary, and tracking) is beyond the scope of this paper. Based on previous studies, a consistent link exists between a person’s fixation and the occurrence of cognitive processes (Hayhoe, 2004). The purpose of the present study was to present a novel approach to interpreting the benefits of concept mapping by using eye tracking. The following research questions were addressed:

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Q1 What are the influences of a concept mapping strategy on the fixation time of learners when recognizing English reading texts? Q2 What are the differences in learners’ English reading path performance with and without the use of concept maps?

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Fixations are specific locations that the eyes are concentrated. In this study, three gaze points were considered to form one fixation. Gaze points are generally defined as the location

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on which eye movement is focused.

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Literature Review

Concept mapping and EFL reading comprehension Introduced in the 1970s by Novak, concept maps have become valuable metacognitive tools to facilitate meaningful learning by students and teachers. David Ausubel’s learning

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theory (1963) emphasizes the influence of students’ prior knowledge on subsequent meaningful learning. Meaningful learning results when people consciously and explicitly

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apply new knowledge to relevant concepts or propositions of which they are already aware (Novak, 2010). This learning strategy requires more than rote memorization; it requires

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students to be actively involved in their own learning and to incorporate new information into their existing knowledge framework (Skidmore, 2008). Concept mapping is a graphic technique that attempts to illustrate students’ understanding of a concept. O'Donnell, Reeve, and Smith (2011) described graphic organizers as a visual display of verbal information. Graphic organizers are intended to help students comprehend, summarize, and synchronize information. A substantial advantage of

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT concept maps over graphic organizers is the benefit to the constructor, whether it is the teacher or the student (Skidmore, 2008). When adopting concept mapping in reading, teachers frequently construct a concept map

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of new reading materials and present it to the class prior to reading. Instructors develop this concept map, or expert-constructed concept map, to train learners to comprehend a text and to

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save instructor time in teaching (Salehi, Jahandar, & Khodabandehlou, 2013). An

expert-constructed concept map can explicitly interrelate crucial ideas of the text visually

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because concept maps show related concepts and, using labels, show how those concepts are related (Liu, 2010).

Using this graphic technique, teachers can effectively prepare students to understand

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what they are reading. Students reading a text can incorporate the relationships or links among the new concepts learned in the concept map. The concept map allows students to develop organizational skills because they can view the concepts and details as they relate to

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one another in a visual, hierarchical format (Macceca, 2007).

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Concept maps also represent learning materials that have been successfully applied in the context of EFL reading education. Rajan (2013) examined how language learners in an EFL middle school used concept maps as information organizers when reading texts. The result of the posttest suggested that students who used concept maps as graphic organizers were effective at reading questions involving identifying the main idea, determining the supporting details, managing vocabulary, and making inferences. Furthermore, because students create their own maps for the passages they read, the mapping process improves

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT student creativity. Regarding ESL vocabulary memorization in reading, Khoii and Sharififar (2013) investigated the effects of concept mapping on vocabulary acquisition. The results indicated that mapping is a useful strategy for acquiring vocabulary for improving student

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word storage.

Because of the rapid development of technology in recent years, researchers have begun

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to apply computerized concept maps in EFL reading. Maps et al. (2010), Liu et al. (2010), and Liu and Lee (2013) asked students to create concept maps by using software. Maps et al.

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(2010) introduced the main features of the software and their usefulness for displaying a web of concepts and their relationships to aid both general and in-depth comprehension. Liu et al. (2010) observed a greater reading benefit from the computer-assisted concept-mapping

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learning strategy for the low-level group than for the high-level group. In addition, the computer-assisted concept-mapping learning strategy enhanced learner use of other English reading strategies, such as listing, enforcing, and reviewing.

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Liu and Lee (2013) developed a concept map knowledge-management system for use as

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a tool in observing change in a student’s understanding of reading concepts over time. The system combines the diagnosis of concept mapping with the style of thought processing, and promotes stepwise teaching activities to facilitate effective student learning. Our results showed that knowledge management involved in computer-aided instruction exerted a positive influence on learning effectiveness. The system was also useful in promoting student thought processing, creativity, and the ability to judge.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT The results showed that constructing meaning by creating concept maps can be an effective EFL reading strategy. Students who used concept maps as graphic organizers were effective in making inferences and comprehending reading texts (Liu et al., 2010; Maps et al.,

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2010; Rajan, 2013), improving creativity and word storage (Khoii & Sharififar, 2013; Liu & Lee, 2013; Rajan, 2013), and enhancing the use of other English reading strategies (Liu et al.,

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2010).

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Eye movement studies on reading and concept mapping When visually processing words, eyes do not move continually along a line of text, but make short rapid movements (saccades) intermingled with short stops (fixations) and backward-directed eye movements (regressions). The distance the eye moves in each saccade

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is between one and 20 characters, whereas the average fixation duration is 200–250 thousandths of a second (Reichle, Warren, & McConnell, 2009). Eye tracking allows

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information to be gathered on what, where, and how long people attend to parts of a visual scene. Thus, this technology provides fine-grained data on learning processes that might not

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otherwise be easily accessible. Sereno and Rayner (2003) asserted eye movement to be the optimal and most up-to-date approach for discovering immediate signs of word recognition. Around 1980, Rayner, Just, and Carpenter investigated the details of eye-movement behavior during reading. Just and Carpenter demonstrated that longer and rarer words receive a longer fixation than shorter and more frequent words do (Henderson & Ferreira, 2013). Numerous eye-movement studies have emphasized the difference between skilled and slower

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT readers during the reading process (Foster, Ardoin, & Binder, 2013; Kuperman, Drieghe, Keuleers, & Brysbaert, 2013; Reichle, Tokowicz, Liu, & Perfetti, 2011). Compared with skilled readers, slower readers typically exhibited shorter saccades, longer average fixation

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durations, and more regressions (Rayner, Slattery, & Belanger, 2010; Reichle et. al, 2013). Skilled readers typically demonstrated shorter gaze durations and read target words faster

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than average readers did (Jared, Levy, & Rayner, 1999). Both groups read high-frequency words faster than low-frequency words (Ashby, Rayner, & Clifton, 2005).

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Fixation durations are the most frequently discussed eye-movement data. Reading time refers to the time readers spend decoding messages. Several studies have shown the difference in fixation duration between skilled and slower readers (Chen & Ko, 2010; Evans,

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Saint-Aubin, & Landry, 2009); slower readers exhibited longer fixation durations than skilled readers did. However, skilled readers spent a longer time on crucial information (Van der Schoot, Vasbinder, Horsley, & Van Lieshout, 2008), and were able to determine the key

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point of a passage and then decode the message.

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Liu et al. (2009) explained the differences between skilled readers and slower readers in building concept maps using eye-tracking data. Participants collaboratively constructed concept maps while their eye-movement data were recorded. Compared with skilled readers, slower readers exhibited shorter attention spans on specific concepts and scattered gazes. Amadieu et al. (2009) used eye movement and navigation data to explore the effects of prior knowledge (high vs. low) and concept-map structure (hierarchical vs. network) on disorientation, cognitive load, and learning from hypertext. The eye-tracking data showed

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT that participants with higher prior knowledge demonstrated higher fixation duration for both types of concept-map structure. Participants who exhibited enhanced reading skill or high background knowledge were able to focus their attention on specific concepts more than

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participants who exhibited poor reading skill or low background knowledge were. The

measurement of eye-fixation duration supplied further information on how learners with

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various learning abilities process a concept map.

Compared with other representations with graphical properties (such as drawing), text is

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the core of concept maps. The user must read the text to understand the content. How to design an effective concept map to assist learners’ reading has been another topic researchers have explored using eye movement patterns. Nesbit et al. (2007) used eye-tracking to

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investigate the order in which learners view nodes when reading a concept map. The study revealed that readers first focus on nodes in the center, upper-center, and upper-left regions. Van Amelsvoort et al. (2012) assessed the influence of perceptual cues on reading behavior

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and subsequent retention. Perceptual cues provide information such as where to begin reading,

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or what information is crucial. Eighty-two participants were assigned to read one of four versions of a node-link concept map, and the process was measured through eye-tracking. The eye-tracking data analysis indicated that the reading patterns were strongest when the arrows and category headers both pointed in the same direction in a map. Based on these two eye-tracking studies, future designers can apply these findings by placing nodes containing superordinate information in central regions or positioning arrows to point to critical information for facilitating learner reading.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Eye fixation and movement patterns might be helpful in understanding how a concept map can aid reading activity, thereby increasing the power of reading comprehension. Previous eye-movement studies in concept mapping have identified that learners with higher

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reading abilities allocate more attention (evidenced by longer fixation times) to crucial

concepts (Amadieu et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2009), and suggested effective methods to create a

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concept map for increasing learner attention (Nesbit et al., Van Amelsvoort, Van der Meij, Anjewierden, & Van der Meij, 2012). This study examined the effectiveness of applying a

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concept-mapping strategy with eye movement during the EFL reading process. It is the first one to use a control-group design (concept map vs. without concept map) to investigate the effect of a concept-mapping strategy on the reading performance of nonnative learners by

Methodology

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using eye-tracking.

An eye-tracking device was used to examine the effect on English reading performance

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in a concept-mapping group (EG: experimental group) and in a non-concept-mapping group

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(CG: control group). A pretest-to-posttest nonequivalent groups design was used in this study to determine if the use of concept mapping was effective between the two groups. To provide all students with a fair and equal test-taking experience and the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities, the researcher eliminated bias in the pretest and posttest items. The researcher reviewed each item on the tests to scan for possible sex or cultural bias and revised items that were biased.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT The researcher selected participants with similar reading abilities for fairly comparing the EG and CG. The EG received concept-mapping instruction, whereas the CG received traditional reading instruction from the same instructor. To prevent the external variables

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from interfering with the outcome of the experiment, the researcher controlled the influence of these variables, such as the experimental measurements and experimental location, as

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much as possible. The method used to eliminate these possible external variables is described

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in the following related sections.

Participants

Eighty-six non-English major Taiwanese freshmen enrolled in two sections of an English course at a midsized university in Taiwan were chosen as the participants. All

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participants were Mandarin speakers whose baseline reading ability was at the elementary level based on the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT). This test corresponds to

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Taiwan’s English education framework, and provides a reference for evaluating learners’ English proficiency levels. Learners who pass this level demonstrate basic English ability and

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can understand simple written English related to daily life, such as short passages and frequently used signs. The test yielded a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of .91.

The participants from two classes were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). The EG (N = 44) was provided with concept-mapping reading instruction, whereas the CG (N = 42) received traditional instruction. To ensure consistency, the same teacher instructed both the experimental and control groups.

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Reading materials Six articles included in an English magazine were selected as the reading materials in this study. The basic vocabulary size required for the readers was 2,000–3,000 words. The

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magazine was chosen as the teaching material because the articles were novel and lively, and because they did not require any particular background knowledge or specific reference to

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use. Thus, these articles could be considered general purpose language reading texts. Four articles were used for reading-strategy instruction, and two for eye-tracking reading materials

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and the English proficiency posttest. The expert-constructed concept maps developed by the instructor for these six articles were provided only to the EG participants. Because all the students completed an 8-item posttest by examining two reading

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materials in the eye-tracking environment, one obvious confounding variable in this situation is previously acquired knowledge of the reading topic that was studied. This variable would most likely influence the student scores, regardless of which strategy they used. To prevent

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this influence, topics that only knowledgeable readers can understand were eliminated from

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the article selections. The titles of the two eye-tracking reading materials were upcoming movies (Article 1) and MBA programs in the United States (Article 2). The first article addressed four upcoming movies to be released in the summer, which were The Karate Kid, Letters to Juliet, Footloose, and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The second article described an institution called the Master Business Administration, which assists students in furthering their studies in the United States.

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Reading strategy instruction The researcher chose four articles from the English magazine for reading strategy instruction. The EG students received the concept-mapping reading instruction and the CG

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students received the traditional reading instruction. Because both EG and CG students

learned the same reading content during the learning time, the comparison can be considered

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fair for both student groups. To prevent external variables from interfering with the

instructor’s attitude, an instructor who did not hold stereotypes or negative attitudes toward

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the participants in the two groups was chosen. Both groups were taught by the same instructor who received comprehensive training on concept mapping and traditional reading instruction and were not aware of the hypotheses examined in the research.

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Concept-mapping reading instruction: Because of participants’ low reading ability, the expert-constructed concept maps were used to train them in comprehending a text.

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Expert-constructed mapping assists readers by presenting them with the macrostructure of the text, using diagrammatic representation prepared by instructors in the subject domain. The

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readers have a guide to follow in a top-down approach to reading and identifying the focus points in the text. A suitably-defined diagrammatic organization by instructors also serves as a preview structure for outlining the text (Liu, 2010). Based on the effective principles of Makofsky (2012) for concept-map instruction, the instruction comprised four steps: (a) scan the concept map for any key organizational techniques used; (b) identify the main idea; (c) follow the organizational paths as illustrated in the concept map; and (d) note the subsets to

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT the main ideas. After “reading” the concept map, readers can delve further into the reading texts and use the concept map as a visual thinking guide to determine how the ideas are related.

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Traditional reading instruction: The directed reading-thinking activity method is a comprehension strategy that guides students in asking questions about a text, making

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predictions, and subsequently reading to confirm or refute their predictions. The instructor used the following process adopted from Stauffer (1969) and Brunner (2012) to provide

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direct instruction on words: (a) provide a description of the new word; (b) ask students to restate the description in their own words; (c) engage students to predict the text after reading the title; and (d) after the entire selection has been read, ask students to reflect on their

2008).

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prediction. The main role of the instructor was to facilitate discussions of the text (Stahl,

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Apparatus and eye-tracking materials

Two reading articles and post-reading tests were presented on a 19-in (48.26-cm)

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Viewsonic LCD monitor (1280 × 1024 resolution) controlled by a Dell Dimension 4550 computer. Participants were seated approximately 80 cm from the computer screen, and head movements were minimized using a chin rest. Eye movements were recorded by a FaceLAB 4.5 eye-tracker. The eye-tracker sampled at a rate of every 16 ms (i.e., 60 Hz) and tracked both the pupil and the corneal reflection.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Both articles were drawn from the area of interest (AOI), which refers to the area the study measures, for further eye-tracking data analysis. For the CG participants, the AOIs were drawn as the major concepts in the articles. For the EG participants, the AOIs were the

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same concepts as the concept map, and the participants could determine the focal point of the articles by using the map. In the first article, both the concept map and the text were drawn

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from 15 AOIs (Fig. 1) (adopted from Liu et al., 2011, p. 33), whereas 11 AOIs were shown in Article 2 (Fig. 2) (adopted form Wen, 2014, p.28). The participants were unable to see these

– Insert Fig. 1 here – – Insert Fig. 2 here –

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AOIs and the numbers on the screen. These AOIs were only for eye-tracking data recording.

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After reading the articles, all participants were asked to complete the post-reading tests (4 items for each article) on an LCD monitor to evaluate the participants’ reading comprehension. A divider was installed to maintain the quality of the experiment, and the

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participants could concentrate on the monitor without being interrupted by those overseeing

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the experiment. The laboratory plan is shown in Figure 3. – Insert Fig. 3 here –

Procedure

Students from two classes whose baseline reading ability was at the elementary level based on the GEPT were selected as the participants. The mean GEPT scores for the were 72.24 (SD = 14.81) for the EG participants and 72.98 (SD = 14.42) for the CG participants.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT No significant difference was observed between the participants from both groups. – Insert Fig. 4 here –

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Participants from both classes were divided into an EG and a CG. The experimental part of the study was conducted for both groups over eight 50-min class periods in four different weeks. The EG was provided with concept-mapping reading instruction, whereas the CG

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students received traditional reading instruction.

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After receiving reading instruction, the participants were scheduled to receive the postreading tests, using the eye-tracking equipment. The EG group received two reading materials with expert-constructed concept maps (see Fig. 5). The CG group received the same reading texts without the map (see Fig. 6). The computer screen displayed one article and test

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item at a time, and the participants told the researcher which was the correct answer to determine the participants’ understanding of the articles. The participants were not under any

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time limitation to complete the reading and posttest in the eye-tracking environment; however, the average time for this eye-tracking activity was approximately 40 min.

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– Insert Fig. 5 here – – Insert Fig. 6 here –

Results

Concept-map reduce fixation time on reading An independent sample t test was conducted to examine the influence of concept-map reading instruction on the students’ fixation time when reading two articles using the

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT eye-tracker. The results of statistical analysis of the research data are presented in Table 1 and Figure 4. Although no significant difference was observed in total reading time of all eye-tracking material between students who received concept-mapping instruction and those

differences existed in fixation time on other subcategories.

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receiving traditional instruction (Total A1: t = .73, p = .46; A2 t = -.36, p = .72), significant

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Learners who received concept-map reading instruction spent significantly shorter fixation times on the AOI than those who received traditional instruction (A1: t = 5.29, p =

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.00*; A2 t = 4.65, p = .00*). The same pattern persisted for reading texts (A1: t = 6.70, p = .00*; A2 t = 4.05, p = .00*). However, students in the EG spent significantly more time on test items than the CG did (A1 t = -2.20, p = .03*; A2 t = 12.4, p = .04*).

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Therefore, concept-map reading instruction reduces participant processing time on the reading text and target sentences (AOI). Consequently, students may have more time in answering reading test questions. Although we did not limit participants’ time spent on

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eye-tracking reading material, no significant difference was observed in fixation time in the

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entire reading material between the two groups. Participants spent approximately 6 min on each reading article.

– Insert Table 1 here – – Insert Fig. 7 here –

Learners who received concept-map assistance exhibited fewer fixation and regression paths than interactive paths

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Figure 8 and 9 presents the fixations and fixation paths of participants reading with or without concept-map assistance. Participants who used a concept map as reading assistance exhibited fewer fixations on the reading text and considered the concept map as an inferential

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reference. They also exhibited longer look-from paths from the text-to-text paths among crucial areas and were more likely to skip over less crucial areas. The EG participants

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demonstrated fewer regressions than the CG participants did, and the CG group learners spent significantly more time on rereading the passage than the EG group did (A1: t = -6.72, p =

– Insert Table 2 here –

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.00*; A2 t = -6.73, p = .00*).

Moreover, the reading paths of EG participants demonstrated both parallel and

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horizontal movements. Their reading patterns were interactive (top-down/bottom-up), and involved a deep level of reading comprehension. Participants who received traditional instruction spent time on each word of a reading text rather than focusing on crucial areas,

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right.

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and most of their eye-movement paths were horizontal on a word-by-word basis from left to

The test item areas showed a similar visual behavior pattern. The EG participants exhibited dense fixations only on specific item choices, whereas the CG participants exhibited more fixations on each item choice. Participants in the EG focused on the correct answers for question items, instead of scanning individual items. – Insert Fig. 8 here – – Insert Fig. 9 here –

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT The researcher conducted a follow-up 8-item posttest to evaluate the differences in reading tasks between the two groups. The mean scores for the EG participants were 3.91 (SD = .98) and 3.00 (SD = .94) for the CG participants. The result indicated that participants

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who received concept-mapping training outperformed those who received traditional

instruction (t = -2.84, p = .01). Providing concept maps as a form of reading assistance

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increased learners’ reading comprehension.

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Discussion and Conclusion

The author attempted to advance the understanding of the effect of using the concept-mapping strategy on reading conducted by ESL learners. This study contributes to

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the research field by providing a novel approach for interpreting and explaining the benefits of the concept-mapping reading strategy by using an eye-tracking device.

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The data confirmed the expected differences between the concept-mapping group and the traditional reading-instruction group. Participants in the concept-mapping group exhibited

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shorter fixation durations on reading texts, and longer look-from paths, compared with participants in the traditional instruction group.

Concept maps decrease the complexity of task

Students reading text embedded with a concept map exhibited shorter fixation durations on crucial concepts (AOI) and on texts, compared with the other students reading without a concept map. Although inferring specific cognitive processes from particular

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT fixations is difficult, where a person is looking and a person’s thought process are generally considered to be associated (She & Chen, 2009). Fixation durations often correlate positively with the complexity of the task. These tasks include reading ambiguous syntax or

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low-frequency words (Bisra, 2010). Therefore, the increased fixation demonstrated by the CG students may be an indication that those participants expended a substantial amount of

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cognitive resources on the reading task, which was complex for them.

Several eye-movement studies have indicated that, compared with slower readers,

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skilled readers were characterized by less time spent on target words (Jared et al., 1999; Ashby et al., 2005), less regression on unimportant information (Rayner et al., 2010; Reichle et al., 2013), and more attempts to focus on specific concepts (Amadieu et al., 2009; Liu et al.,

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2009). Consistent with these characteristics of skilled readers, the concept-mapping group showed similar visual behaviors to skilled readers. Students who received concept-map training exhibited shorter fixation durations on AOI and texts, and fewer regressions than did

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students who received traditional instruction. The collected data indicated that concept

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mapping enables learners to become efficient readers by revealing connections between concepts, a strategy that helps students view individual ideas from a larger whole. Previous studies have indicated that the effect of text-element importance on fixation

duration was most closely associated with word recognition (Juhasz & Rayner, 2003). The successful learners were more likely to understand and remember critical parts of a text, reread these parts, and spend more time on analyzing them than the less successful learners were. This explanation conforms to the Kaakinen et al. (2002) study on the

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT important-unimportant differences in fixation duration between important and unimportant text elements. They suggested that allocating more processing time to important rather than

information in the mental model constructed from the text.

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unimportant text elements is associated with the extra effort required to encode crucial

Students attempted to integrate concept maps to identify crucial information

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The EG group demonstrated more up and down rereading paths than the CG did. As

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revealed by the reading paths (look-from text to map and look-from map to text), participants attempted to integrate map and text information as resources for answering posttest questions. The CG students tended to regress between words-to-words and sentences-to-sentences more often than the EG students did, and spent more time rereading the text than the EG students

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did. The CG students concentrated on specific areas during reading and focused on each

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word, indicating that they could not identify the critical information in the text.

Previous studies (Liu, 2010; Salehi et al., 2013) have asserted that using

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expert-constructed maps assists readers by presenting the macrostructure of the text in diagrammatic form. The readers follow a guide in a top-down approach to reading and determining the focus points in the text. A well-defined diagrammatic organization provided by instructors also serves as a preview structure for outlining the text (Hall, 2012; Jonassen, Beissner, & Yacci, 1993). In the experiment, because participants read new articles for the first time, providing a graphic organizer helped readers process the unfamiliar text. The finding regarding eye movement patterns, revealing that students attempted to integrate

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT verbal and pictorial information, extends the findings of Vásquez et al. (2013) and O'Connor and Vadasy (2013), that using semantic organizers to represent the reading material assists learners’ text-comprehension abilities.

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The prototypical scan path of participants’ eye movements (Figs. 8 and 9) shows that learners who received concept-mapping instruction tended to skip over words in unimportant

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areas, whereas learners who received traditional instruction tended to look at every word. This finding conforms to other studies (Cornelius-White et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2010; Liu &

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Lee, 2013, Rajan, 2013), that using concept maps is effective in reading for identifying the main idea and summarizing. This strategy assists learners to discover major and minor constructs, thereby clarifying the meaning of the article.

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Limitations and Future Studies

This study had certain limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results. First, the eye-tracking reading material included a short text and only eight

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postreading questions. Longer texts that are accompanied by additional reading questions

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should be used in future studies. To improve the reliability of the posttest, researchers can increase the number of items included in the assessments in the future. This ensures that the students have been exposed to the skills being tested. Increasing the number of tests administered also increases testing reliability because the average score of a series of assessments enables a more accurate evaluation of the students’ abilities. Second, the participants underwent a short training period with a randomized control-group pretest-posttest design. A longer training period is necessary for reliable

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT outcomes regarding their learning from the concept-mapping reading strategy, and future studies could use a one-group pretest and posttest design to examine the change in visual behavior of the same group of students before and after the concept-map training. Third,

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although we measured the effect of expert-constructed maps, we did not consider different types of maps that might cause various eye movements. Other types of concept maps such as

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the learner-constructed map, fill-in map, and cooperative map can be explored to advance knowledge of the mapping process between text and readers.

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References

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of Educational Technology & Society, 16(3), 167-178.

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Table 1. Fixation time on different reading areas under two types of instruction

A1

SD

M

67.67

16.48

122.54

119.32

18.56

233.94

27.03

17.01

N/A

AOI Text (AOI included)

SD

MD

t

p

17.21

54.88

5.29

.00*

12.30

114.62

6.70

.00*

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Test Items

218.07

15.54

155.38

13.66

-62.70

-2.20

.03*

Total

364.42

19.89

389.42

10.87

24.89

.73

.46

AOI

49.32

12.94

86.51

19.70

37.19

4.65

.00*

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A2

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Concept Map

t-test

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M

CG

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EG

Text (AOI included)

104.22

17.72

168.41

14.93

64.19

4.05

.00*

29.71

10.80

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Test Items

209.59

12.66

165.25

18.43

-44.34 -12.14

.04*

Total

343.52

14.89

333.65

14.96

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Concept Map

Note: the unit of the fixation time is seconds.

-9.86

-.36

.72

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 2. The number of regressions on reading texts under two types of instruction CG

t-test

SD

M

SD

MD

A1

10.27

9.39

23.38

8.66

-13.11

A2

9.63

5.30

21.80

8.14

-12.17

19.90

8.66

45.18

8.30

-25.28

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Total

t

p

-6.72

.00*

-6.73

.00*

-6.51

.00*

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M

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EG

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Figure captions: Figure 1. The 15 AOIs and the map are in the first reading article. Note: The numbers and boxes of the paragraph indicated the correspondent main concepts between the reading article and the map. The map was arrayed on the top of

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the article when it displayed on the screen. Figure 2. AOIs and its correlation between concept map and text in Article 2.

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Figure 3. The laboratory plan of eye tracker (Adopted from Lai & Chen, 2012, p. 88)

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Figure 4. Experimental procedure for exploring the effect of the concept mapping reading instruction with eye-tracking technology Figure 5. The eye-tracking reading materials the experimental group received. The students could scroll down on slide 6 and slide 8 for reading the test items. Figure 6. The eye-tracking reading materials that control group received.

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Figure 7. Comparison of fixation time between concept map and traditional instruction Figure 8. An example of fixations and reading paths over Article 1 from the participants of two groups.

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Note: The circles are the fixation points, where the participant’s eye stopped briefly to take in information. The lines connecting the circles are the saccades, the movements between fixations. Figure 9. An example of fixations and reading paths over Article 2 from the participants of two groups.

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Fig.1. The 15 AOIs and the map for the first reading article.

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Note: The numbers and boxes of the paragraph indicated the correspondent main concepts between the reading article and the map. The map was arrayed on the top of the article when it displayed on the screen.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT These days,

1 more and more college graduates and

working professionals are entering MBA programs offered by business schools in the U.S. These programs can enable students to prepare for future careers and help professionals rise in their current ones. But

2 MBA programs cost a great deal of money. And

this presents

3 a challenge for international students

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who come from other countries to study in the U.S. Some international students are financially supported by their families back home. Others need to borrow money to finance their MBA studies. In the past, they could turn to 4 a variety of lending institutions in the U.S. for money. Since

6 the global financial crisis began in

2008, however, many of

5 these sources have

disappeared. This has left international students in a

7 some have even been forced

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difficult situation. And

to abandon their studies as a result. For many international students, however, a new loan program offers hope.Called the

8 Affiliated Loan

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Program for Students (ALPS), it is currently offered by half a dozen top universities and a number of graduate schools in the U.S.

9 International students can apply

for ALPS loans to cover their graduate school expenses.

And best of all, 10 the students are not required to find U.S. citizens who can sign their loans and take responsibility for paying them back if the students

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cannot.

11 This responsibility is taken by the

universities and graduate schools themselves. ALPS is already helping many international students study at business schools in the U.S. It’s also helping the schools themselves, since their goal is to attract the best international students to their MBA programs.

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Fig 2. AOIs and its correlation between concept map and text in Article 2.

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Fig. 3. The laboratory plan of eye tracker (Adopted from Lai & Chen, 2012, p. 88)

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86 freshmen students Elementary level of General English Proficiency Test (α = .91)

[

4 weeks

Concept mapping instruction (4 articles with map) (a) Scan the concept

(4 articles without map) (a) New words identify (b) Restate the words in students’ own words (c) Text prediction (d) Reflection to students’ prediction

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(b) Identify the main idea (c) Follow the map path (d) Note the subsets

Traditional reading instruction

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In the Classroom

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Control group (N = 42)

Experimental group (N = 44)

Eye-tracking environment 40 Mins. / Person

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Reading and post-test (2 articles with map)

Reading and post-test (2 articles without map)

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Fig. 4. Experimental procedure for exploring the effect of the concept mapping reading instruction with eye-tracking technology

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT slide 1: Instruction

slide 2: Adjustment page

This experiment includes two reading articles Please follow the following steps 1. Read the question on the screen carefully 2. Read the article on the screen 3. Read the question again and answer the question Click here to enter the description of Adjustment page

slide 3: Adjustment point

slide 5: Concept map of A1

The description of adjustment page Next page is adjustment page at the center

And stare the at least 5 second Click here to enter the Adjustment page

slide 7: Concept map of A2

slide 8: Map, text and test items of A2

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slide 6: Map, text and test items of A1

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Please look at the

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Fig 5. The eye-tracking reading materials the experimental group received. The students could scroll down on slide 6 and slide 8 for reading the test items.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT slide 3 Adjustment point

slide 2 Adjustment page

This experiment includes two reading articles Please follow the following steps 1. Read the question on the screen carefully 2. Read the article on the screen 3. Read the question again and answer the question Click here to enter the description of Adjustment page

Please look at the

at the center

And stare the at least 5 second Click here to enter the Adjustment page

slide 5 Text and test items of A2

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slide 4 Text and test items of A1

The description of Adjustment page Next page is adjustment page

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slide 1 Instruction

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Fig. 6. The eye-tracking reading materials that control group received.

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Fig 7. Comparison of fixation time between concept map and traditional instruction

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Reading pattern of eye-movement with the Map

Reading pattern of eye-movement without the Map

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Test items

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Reading text

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Map / No map

Fig. 8. An example of fixations and reading paths over Article 1 from the participants of two groups. Note: The circles are the fixation points, where the participant’s eye stopped briefly to take in information. The lines connecting the circles are the saccades, the movements between fixations.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Reading pattern of eye-movement with the Map

Reading pattern of eye-movement without the Map

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Test items

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Reading text

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Map / No map

Fig. 9. An example of fixations and reading paths over Article 2 from the participants of two groups.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT ˙We provided a novel approach for interpreting and explaining the benefits of the concept-mapping reading strategy, using an eye-tracking device.

˙Participants in the concept-mapping group exhibited shorter fixation durations on

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reading texts, and longer look-from paths, compared with participants in the traditional instruction group. ˙Participants in the traditional instruction group tended to regress between

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words-to-words and sentences-to-sentences more often than the concept-mapping students did.