Authentic Text Reading – Native Spanish Speakers Needed!

STUDY BASICS

Are you a native Spanish speaker and college student in the Pittsburgh area? You may be eligible for a research study to understand how the first language backgrounds of learners influence learning a second language. Compensation is provided.

STUDY PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to understand how the first language backgrounds of learners influence learning a second language. By understanding these influences the goal is to improve instruction for second language teaching and learning. 

COULD THIS STUDY BE RIGHT FOR YOU?

Eligible participants are:

• Ages 18-30
• Native Spanish speakers
• College students (undergraduate or graduate) in the Pittsburgh area 

WHAT PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT

Participants will complete a Qualtrics survey that begins by asking demographics questions as well as questions about their reading habits and language history. Afterward, participants will be given many English words and asked to rate their familiarity with these words on a scale of 1-7. Afterward, they will be shown several two sentence passages in English and asked to rate their familiarity with the topic of these passages using the same scale. The topic of each passage will be identified and translated into Spanish. Finally, participants will complete two timed tasks lasting 45 minutes that will assess their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills in English.