Can Japanese EFL Learners ''See'' Before They ''Read''?

抄録

Based on empirical evidence from research assessing eye movements during reading, readers are not only aware of information from words fixated upon but also upcoming words. In other words, readers “see” words before they actually “read” them. However, this line of research, which relates to parafoveal processing during reading, has focused on first language reading but not on second language (L2) reading. Thus, the current study focused on the following: 1) providing a brief introduction to parafoveal processing, 2) introducing the methods for investigating parafoveal processing, and 3) giving an account of current literature on parafoveal processing during L2 reading. Of specific interest is to discuss whether and to what extent Japanese EFL learners make use of parafoveal information during reading.