The eyes have it: Oral miscue and eye movement analyses of the reading of fourth-grade Spanish/English bilinguals

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the processes fourth grade bilinguals use as they read in Spanish and English. Through miscue analysis, eye movement analysis and the integration of the two, EMMA, this study contributes to the field of biliteracy by expanding on what is already known about the reading processes of young bilinguals who are developing literacy in two languages. There are no known eye movement miscue analysis studies of bilingual elementary students. Four fourth grade bilingual participants read and retold the first two chapters of a short novel. The participants read the first chapter from the English version of the story and the second chapter from the Spanish version. The participants' oral readings and eye movements were recorded and analyzed for each reading. The analysis tools used were miscue analysis, eye movement analysis, and the integration of the two, Eye Movement Miscue Analysis (EMMA). Differences and similarities between the two languages and among the four readers were explored in order to answer the research question: What do miscue analysis, eye movement analysis, and Eye Movement Miscue Analysis (EMMA) reveal about differences and similarities of the reading in Spanish and English of fourth grade biliterate readers? The findings of this dissertation show that the four bilingual readers use similar strategies in each language to make sense of text. They make miscues in both languages which show that the readers integrate their knowledge of syntax, semantics and graphophonics in both their English and Spanish reading. The data from the reader's eye movements reveal that the readers sample text selectively as they read each language. The miscues, eye movements, and the patterns of eye movements around miscued words for each reader reveal that they are somewhat more efficient and effective reading their primary language, Spanish. The research also shows that the strategies these biliterate readers use to make sense of text in their primary language influences the reading of their second language, English. Thus, this dissertation provides further support for a universal, transactional socio-psycholinguistic model of the reading process.