A cross-linguistic perspective on imagery and affect in reading: Dual coding in Chinese and English

Three studies of bilingual readers' nonverbal responses were conducted in China. Participants read a text in either English or Chinese about a train trip, then gave reports of imagery experienced during reading and rated text segments for vividness of imagery. These procedures were repeated for emotional responses. In the first experiment, readers of the English version reported fewer images and emotional responses than did those reading the Chinese version. In the second study, readers of the English version were allowed to write their reports in Chinese, but there was no increase in number of reports. In the third study, English readers wrote their reports in Chinese. No significant difference was found in the ratings or number of reports of affect, but English readers still produced fewer reports of imagery Qualitative analysis of these reports showed that English readers did not understand the passage as well as the Chinese readers did. However, imagery and affect were formed even in the absence of total understanding, showing they are fundamental aspects of foreign language reading.