Reading from the Screen in a Second Language
Empirical Studies on the Effect of Marked Hyperlinks on
Incidental Vocabularly Learning, Text Comprehension & the Reading Process

By Isabelle de Ridder
June 2003
Garant
Distributed by
ISBN: 9044113976
210 pages, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2"
$59.50 Paper Original

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In texts on paper, highlights are mostly used to clarify structure and content. In online texts, however, highlights have a very different function: they are used to indicate hyperlinks. As such, their function is narrowed down to drawing the reader's attention to the fact that extra information can be accessed. A potentially promising application of this technology is found in highlighting vocabulary items in screen texts for foreign language learners. The vocabulary items are then linked to an explanation or translation, possibly making it easier for the reader to understand the text or remember the vocabulary. Yet how do readers cope with this new type of highlighting? Does the use of visible or invisible links to electronic glosses lead to fundamental change in the reading and learning process or do foreign language learners easily adapt to whatever screen design is presented to them? These questions are addressed in a series of three experiments.

Contents:
Introduction & Prolegomena
Chapter 1. Incidental Vocabulary Learning
Chapter 2. Glossing
Chapter 3. Marked and Unmarked Hyperlinks
Chapter 4. Marking and the Reading Task
Chapter 5. Electronic Glosses Revisted
Chapter 6. Summary and Further Research

Reading Skills


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