抄録
Past L2 reading research showed that L2 readers have difficulty understanding multiple dimensions (e.g., the protagonist, causal, and intentional dimensions) of situations in narrative texts. However, the cause of such processing difficulty is not fully understood. Addressing this gap, we conducted an eye-tracking study to specify reading processes in which Japanese EFL readers’ processing difficulty with multiple situational dimensions is rooted. Forty Japanese graduate and undergraduate students read narrative texts while their eye movements were recorded. The texts had information on either the protagonist, causal, or intentional dimension. It was found that the participants had significantly longer first-pass reading times and total reading times for the causality texts than for the protagonist and intentionality texts. These results indicate that (a) the causal dimension poses greater processing difficulty than the other two dimensions, and (b) the causal dimension difficulty affects both early- and late-stage processes. These findings together indicate that EFL readers’ processing difficulty with different situational dimensions emerges at more basic-level linguistic processes than assumed in past L2 research. We discussed the findings with reference to a theoretical account of text comprehension and proposed theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications.
