[PS-2.8] The effect of syntactic, vocabulary, and monitoring interventions on accuracy and eye movements in reading comprehension

Valdés-Coronel, M. 1 , Moreno Pérez, F. J. 1 , Rodríguez-Ortiz, I. R. 1 , Simpson, I. C. 2 & Saldaña, D. 1

1 Universidad de Sevilla
2 Universidad Loyola Andalucía

Simple view of reading determines that oral language difficulty is what prevents good decoders from understanding a text, but there is still some variance unexplained that could be accounted for executive functions. Eye- tracking could shed light on the reading pattern change that leads to a good comprehension. We carried out two interventions on oral language components, vocabulary and syntax, and another one on an executive functions component, self-monitoring, along with a control about reading motivation. We measured eye movements while reading and answering to literal and inferential questions before and after the interventions. All three experimental interventions led to an improvement on the criterion-referenced treatment measures compared to the control group and the self-monitoring intervention led to an improvement on a standardized reading comprehension measure. The vocabulary intervention was related to a greater decrease in the number and duration of fixations and the syntax intervention was related to a greater decrease in the fixations duration compared to the control group in the eye-tracking task. Eye movements can be used to detect improvements in vocabulary and syntax knowledge. Self-monitoring is key in reading comprehension but its nature hinders the possibility to observe the improvement in eye movements.