抄録
Readers run validation processes to understand texts coherently. One of the factors affecting the validation process is outdated information. However, little is known about its impact in secondlanguage (L2) readers’ comprehension. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the impact of outdated information on English as a foreign language (EFL) readers’ validation process by changing the order in which outdated information was presented in a text. This study included 18 Japanese graduate and undergraduate students who read narrative texts. We prepared 16 experimental texts, each of which had four context sections: Consistent, Inconsistent, Qualified-First, or Qualified-Second. The Consistent context described the protagonist’s traits that were consistent with the target sentence. The Inconsistent context contained traits that conflicted with the action of the target sentence. In the Qualified-First context, the protagonist’s profile was presented first and the outdated information was introduced second. In the Qualified-Second context, the order of introducing the protagonist’s characteristics and outdated information was reversed. Reading times for target sentences revealed that outdated information did not affect validation process, and the order of presentation also did not cause any comprehension difficulties. These findings suggest that EFL readers process outdated information in different ways from first-language (L1) readers.
