Speaker
Ms
Aleksandra Dobrego
(Student)
Description
The present study is one of the first eye-tracking experiment on Russian language material, checking out if the text style (static or dynamic) is among the readability categories and if it influences the effect of reading perspective. Two text types were used: a static text (descriptive sentences) and a dynamic text (sequence of events following swiftly on one another). In experiment participants (20 native speakers of Russian) read eight texts of the same length written in a different style (4 static texts and 4 dynamic texts), presented randomly and retell them afterwards. The following measurements were considered: first fixation duration, average saccade velocity, regression path duration. Retelling the texts was additionally used to collect data on text comprehension and accessibility. The readability of the texts was also checked on
the special website http://ru.readability.io/, where 5 readability formulas adapted for the Russian language are used (Flesch-Kincaid formula, Automatic Readability Index, SMOG, ColemanLiau Index, Dale–Chall readability formula). This checking and retelling the texts were important in order to interpret and explain the eye tracking data. Findings demonstrated significant differences between perception and comprehension the texts of different types. The results indicate that there is a certain tendency to read a static text longer than dynamic, that was shown while checking first fixation duration. Dynamic texts are easier to retell than static texts (significant differences in the length of the retellings and mentioning the main topics). The results of checking the texts by readability formulas are correlated with eye tracking data and retellings.
Primary author
Ms
Aleksandra Dobrego
(Student)
