Specific to the area of L2 reading, Martínez-Lage and Herren
(1998), assert that,
"Technology-based annotated texts present us with new opportunities
to assist our students in getting beyond the 'mechanical' aspects of the
reading process and to provide them with a means of developing good reading
strategies." (pp. 146-147)
To enhance reading, many researchers currently endorse the interactive theory which posits that both top-down and bottom-up processes, dealing with comprehension and vocabulary respectively, are occurring either alternately or simultaneously when people read. (Goodman, 1967; Smith, 1977; Carrell, Devine and Eskey, 1988; Bernhardt, 1991; Grabe, 1991; cited in Chun and Plass, 1997).
In this respect, Singhal (1999) supported Park and Hannafin's (1993)
point about the importance of designing computer applications based on
strong pedagogical principles.
îGiven what we currently know about the reading process, it is important
that computer instruction, and computer programs designed to teach reading
are based on such knowledge about the reading process.î (p.2)
Blake (1992) created a Spanish Hypercard program consisting of several components including the main text, cultural notes and background information, grammar tutorials and a dictionary. While reading, students had the option of clicking on any of the above. A log record showed every card that opened, every button clicked, every word searched, every question answered, and the time when each action was taken. Overall, Blake found that first semester students relied more on native-language glossing of words than more advanced students. Less advanced students were also not able to take advantage of the vast number of cognates that exist between English and Spanish across all lexical categories. Blake pointed out that his study was not designed to affirm the computer as a methodological advancement over other traditional formats. Instead, he was advocating the use of the computer as a unique means of tracking L2 reading behaviors and strategies which might in turn provide insight into the reading process.
Chun and Plass (1995) developed a multimedia application program called CyberBuch which offered annotations through pictures, text, sound and video. From 1993 to 1995 they conducted three studies involving 160 university students enrolled in a German as a second language course. Students were introduced to the program and watched a video which provided an overview of a story (advance organizer) before working with the multimedia application. After reading the story and using the annotations, participants took a vocabulary test and wrote a recall protocol involving a written summary of what they had read. Subsequently, vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension assessments were linked to students' visual and verbal learning preferences (information-processing styles). Results showed a higher than expected rate of incidental vocabulary learning as well as an improvement in reading comprehension and also indicated that different types of learners consult different types of annotations dependent upon their cognitive style. (Oxford, Holloway and Horton-Murillo, 1992, referenced earlier, made the distinction between cognitive style and the physiological preferences measured in this study.)
In two subsequent CyberBuch related articles on incidental vocabulary
learning and reading comprehension, Chun and Plass (1996a, 1996b) offered
results, in the first instance, which indicated that test scores for words
annotated with text/pictures were greater than those with text/video or
text alone. In the second instance, as an aid in reading comprehension,
information provided in visual and verbal modes was perceived to be more
effective. The data collected showed that visualizers and verbalizers scored
equally well on vocabulary tests and, as with the 1995 findings, accessed
different modes of information corresponding to their respective learning
style. The authors felt that the relationship between vocabulary acquisition
and overall comprehension required further investigation into the interactive
theory of L2 learning, entailing a top-down and bottom-up approach.
ìComprehension involves the smooth interaction between top-down processing
and bottom-up processing and that neither alone is sufficient.î (p.195)
A related study by Plass, Chun, Mayer and Leutner (1998) into psychological principles behind multimedia learning, researched individual learning preferences of English-speaking college students studying German. Their inquiry was based upon the generative theory of multimedia learning (Mayer, 1997), which draws from Paivio's dual-coding theory and states that students select relevant words and images, organize text into verbal representations and images into visual representations. Successful integration occurs when features of the two representations make a one-to-one connection. As with Chun and Plass (1995, 1996b), they found that, indeed, students who chose both modes of annotation remembered word translations better than when they had selected one or neither annotation. Comprehension also improved when students, dependent upon their learning preference, had the opportunity to receive their preferred visual or verbal annotation.
Davis and Lyman-Hager (1997) noted the increased use of expensive technology to enhance the reading situation yet found few studies that examined what learners actually do in a computer assisted L2 reading context. Their work, along with that of Blake, Chun, Plass, Lomicka and others, investigated the use of annotated (glossed) multimedia reading software incorporating the use of a tracking tool for keeping a record of reading behaviors. Results offer insight into the media choices that students make and how these choices affect comprehension. While the students opinions about the computer experience were very positive, this did not translate into enhanced comprehension. Software design issues were considered a major factor in that students tended to consult primarily English definitions and did not consult other glosses.
Glosses have been traditionally designed to assist student understanding of a text. However, their use has been criticized for being incomplete or for interrupting fluent reading processes. According to Lyman-Hager and Davis (1996), with the advent of multimedia and hypertext, these glossing deficiencies have been addressed. Computer-mediated glossing expands the amount of information available to the student and individualizes the learning experience by hiding the glossing until the student feels the need to access it.
Lyman-Hager, Davis, Burnett and Chennault (1993) developed an original interactive, technology-enhanced reading program to assist with comprehension and vocabulary retention. A feature unique to the program, the computer's ability to track keyboard and mouse selections, allowed them to investigate learner preferences for certain media. The 262 third semester French students were divided into computer and non-computer treatments. The computer group received help on-line while the non-computer group had access to pages of glosses drawn directly from the computer program. For difficult to define concepts and words, gloss types included audio tape (or digitized audio), pictures and English and French definitions. Like those cited in Blake (1992) and Davis and Lyman-Hager (1997), results indicated that most students preferred first language definitions. Also, students who worked with the multimedia program were better able to retain vocabulary words than students who worked with the non-computerized text.
In a follow-up article, Lyman-Hager and Davis (1996) reviewed L2 reading
comprehension processes, examined the pros and cons of glossing for comprehension
and explored related work with computer-mediated reading. Although the
authors list a number of unresolved queries on this subject, they do offer
some encouraging commentaries. For example, the authors feel that few instruments
can compare to the computer's ability to record, with great detail, the
queries of learners as they engage in L2 reading. One question they pondered
was whether
"computer-aided reading can create more proficient readers by offering
a choice of glosses to develop better vocabularies, greater background
knowledge surrounding the text and more effective reading strategies."
(p.775)
They concluded that, indeed, with data from a computerized tracker,
ìthe computer offers an ideal means of investigating the reader's need
for aids.î (p.786)
Building on the earlier Lyman-Hager, Davis, Burnett and Chennault (1993) text-based version and with a team from Penn State's Educational Technology Services, Lyman-Hager developed a piece of software called GALT (Glossing Authentic Language Texts). Designed as a template-based authoring shell, it reduces the time needed to generate a digital text with built-in multimedia features. The software allows the instructor to annotate any foreign language text for use in the classroom. Words, phrases or groups of words can be hyperlinked to digital media (video, graphics, animations, sound files) or text glosses. The software enables educators with a limited technical background to create materials of direct pertinence to their curriculum needs. (Lyman-Hager and Davis, 1996)
Using the GALT multimedia software, Lomicka (1997) sought to answer
two opposing questions put forth by Lyman-Hager and Davis:
ìDoes glossing improve L2 reading comprehension?î and ìDoes glossing
hinder fluency in L2 reading?î (p.41)
She explored how annotations influenced the level of comprehension
of twelve college students enrolled in a second semester French course.
Participants read the text under one of three conditions: full glossing,
limited glossing or no glossing. A tracker recorded the amount and type
of glosses and length of time that each was consulted. Her findings, similar
to those of Martínez-Lage and Herren (1998), suggested that annotated
multimedia texts could help students move beyond the text-based aspect
of reading and develop better reading strategies. This would also promote
a deeper level of text comprehension. She also felt that instructors could
discuss the process of L2 reading comprehension and work through texts
with their students by constructing both text base and situation models.