An Eye-Tracking Study of Picture Book Reading in Preschool Children with and without Language Delay

Objectives: A child's information processing and language skills may be important factors that influence story comprehension during book reading. Using an eye-tracking method, the present study investigated how age, gender, and language skills influence young children's book reading by measuring online eye-movement. Methods: A total of 18 children (4-6 years old) participated in the study. One picture book without text was modified for the study. A total of 6 pages presented on a computer screen while children listened to a pre-recorded story. After reading, children were asked to answer story comprehension questions. The dependent variables were total fixation duration, average fixation duration, fixation time, fixation count, and first fixation duration. Correlation analyses were conducted among the variables age, story comprehension, and eye movement. Gender differences in the eye movement and story comprehension variables were analyzed. In addition, eye movement patterns and story comprehension performances were compared between children with typical development (N=5) and children with language delay (N=5). Results: First, significant correlation was found only between story comprehension and first fixation duration. Second, gender differences were significant only on the fixation count. Lastly, group differences were significant on both story comprehension and some eye movement variables. Conclusion: An eye tracking method is useful to reveal online processing during book reading. Children's eye movement patterns differed depending on gender and language abilities. The findings indicate that depending on a child's profile, different reading strategies should be applied for better learning outcomes during book reading.