Options
Measurement of attention to written stimuli in part 3 and part 4 of the listening section of the CAEL CE : an eye-tracking study
Author
Xiao, Yang
Supervisor
Aryadoust, Vahid
Abstract
The primary objective of the present dissertation was to investigate the relationship between gaze behavior and performance of the test takers who sit for the Canadian Academic English Language Test Computer Edition (CAEL CE) listening test. Specifically, it investigated whether there were any differences in test takers’ gaze behaviors (measured by eye fixation and visit duration and counts, using eye-tracking technology) during different stages of test taking (pre- and while-listening). Second, it examined the relationships between test performance and listeners’ gaze behavior during the while-listening phase at item level. Finally, it investigated the relationships between the length of written stimuli and listeners’ gaze behaviors. The dissertation adopted a correlation analysis and a multivariate data analysis. It was found that i) there was a significant difference in gaze behaviors between the pre- and while-listening stages-that is, there were longer and more frequent visits to and fixations on test items during the while-listening phase; ii) there was a significant difference in eye movements in 3 test items between the participants who answered the items correctly and those who missed them (represented by scores 0 and 1), which revealed that participants’ test performance might be affected by the test items; and iii) there was a significant correlation between the length of the written stimuli and reading patterns measured by fixation counts, fixation duration, visit counts, and visit duration during the pre-listening stage, whereas no correlation was found during the while-listening stage, which suggests that the length of written stimuli likely had an impact on the participants’ eye movement measures during the pre-listening stage but not in while-listening stage. In sum, the study revealed that there was a source of variation in test takers’ cognitive processes under test conditions, which is important to consider in the validation of listening assessments.
Date Issued
2020
Call Number
PE1114 Xia
Date Submitted
2020