When we read a text, highly complex cognitive processes take place behind the scenes.
One useful method for examining these reading processes is eye-tracking, which records readers’ eye movements as they read. Using this method, I study how Japanese first-language (L1) readers process and understand texts when reading in English as a foreign language (EFL).
This line of research can also provide insights that are useful for teaching EFL reading and designing instructional materials.
To further develop this research, I am also expanding the scope of data collection to include eye-tracking data on L1 reading in Japanese and English, with the aim of organizing and sharing these data as a corpus.
In recent years, large language models and other forms of AI have also become capable of analyzing texts.
By exploring the relationship between these technologies and eye-tracking data, I aim to shed light on what makes reading a distinctively human process.