APJCR_2024_5_1_23

Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 23-36
Abbreviation: APJCR
e-ISSN: 2733-8096
Publication date: 31 August 2024
Received: 22 April 2024 / Received in Revised Form: 7 August 2024 / Accepted: 13 August 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22925/apjcr.2024.5.1.23

Corpus of eye movements in L3 Spanish reading: A prediction model

Hui-Chuan Lu (National Cheng Kung University), TAIWAN; Li-Chi Kao (National Cheng Kung University), TAIWAN; Zong-Han Li (National Cheng Kung University), TAIWAN; Wen-Hsiang Lu (National Cheng Kung University), TAIWAN; An-Chung Cheng (University of Toledo), USA
Copyright 2024 APJCR

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This research centers on the Taiwan Eye-Movement Corpus of Spanish (TECS), a specially created corpus comprising eye-tracking data from Chinese-speaking learners of Spanish as a third language in Taiwan. Its primary purpose is to explore the broad utility of TECS in understanding language learning processes, particularly the initial stages of language learning. Constructing this corpus involves gathering data on eye-tracking, reading comprehension, and language proficiency to develop a machine-learning model that predicts learner behaviors, and subsequently undergoes a predictability test for validation. The focus is on examining attention in input processing and their relationship to language learning outcomes. The TECS eye-tracking data consists of indicators derived from eye movement recordings while reading Spanish sentences with temporal references. These indicators are obtained from eye movement experiments focusing on tense verbal inflections and temporal adverbs. Chinese expresses tense using aspect markers, lexical references, and contextual cues, differing significantly from inflectional languages like Spanish. Chinese-speaking learners of Spanish face particular challenges in learning verbal morphology and tenses. The data from eye movement experiments were structured into feature vectors, with learner behaviors serving as class labels. After categorizing the collected data, we used two types of machine learning methods for classification and regression: Random Forests and the k-nearest neighbors algorithm (KNN). By leveraging these algorithms, we predicted learner behaviors and conducted performance evaluations to enhance our understanding of the nexus between learner behaviors and language learning process. Future research may further enrich TECS by gathering data from subsequent eye-movement experiments, specifically targeting various Spanish tenses and temporal lexical references during text reading. These endeavors promise to broaden and refine the corpus, advancing our understanding of language processing.

Keywords

Corpus Development, Machine Learning, Input Processing, Second Language Acquisition, Eye-Tracking

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The Authors

Dr. Hui-Chuan Lu currently serves as a tenured professor within the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, specializing in the fields of Spanish Linguistics, corpus linguistics, and syntax studies.

Li-Chi Kao is a part-time researcher at National Cheng Kung University. She will earn her master’s degree in computer science and information engineering in 2024.

Zong-Han Li is a part-time researcher at National Cheng Kung University. He will earn his master’s degree in computer science and information engineering in 2025.

Dr. Wen-Hsiang Lu is a tenured Professor at National Cheng Kung University. He earned his PhD in information engineering in 2003 at Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. His principal research lies in the field of natual language processing.

Dr. An Chung Cheng is the Chair and professor of the Department of World Languages and Cultures and Director of the Asian Studies Insitute at the University of Toledo in the United States.

The Authors’ Addresses

First and Corresponding Author
Hui-Chuan Lu
Professor
National Cheng Kung University
1 University Road, Tainan, TAIWAN
E-mail: hclu@mail.ncku.edu.twCo-authors
Li-Chi Kao
MA student
National Cheng Kung University
1 University Road, Tainan, TAIWAN
E-mail: joycem45@gmail.com

Zong-Han Li
MA student
National Cheng Kung University
1 University Road, Tainan, TAIWAN
E-mail: P76121429@gs.ncku.edu.tw

Wen-Hsiang Lu
Professor
National Cheng Kung University
1 University Road, Tainan, TAIWAN
E-mail: whlu@mail.ncku.edu.tw

An-Chung Cheng
Professor
University of Toledo
2801 W. Bancroft St. Toledo, OH43606, USA
E-mail: anchung.cheng@utoledo.edu

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