| Summary: | 博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 華語文教學系 === 106 === This study attempts to examine the effect of word-unit presentation on reading Chinese by using a self-paced reading task with Linger and E-prime software. Chinese natives and CSL learners in Taiwan are required to read Chinese materials, broken into four linguistic units (character, word, sentence, and paragraph), at a pace they control by pressing the spacebar. A pilot experiment and two main experiments are conducted to compare the reading proficiency between the two groups. The comprehension rate, reaction time, and total reading time are investigated. The result of the pilot study indicates that both groups read materials presented in word units fastest without lowering the comprehension and reaction time. However, the facilitatory effects of word units might be considered as the result of fewer key presses compared with character units. In Experiment 1, replication of the pilot study, sentence-unit presentation is added. The result shows that sentence units are read fastest for Chinese natives. In contrast, CSL learners read the materials presented by word units the fastest. The number of key press is therefore not the issue since participants do not press the key while reading sentence units. Experiment 2 adopts word-unit and paragraph-unit presentation. The result suggests that CSL learners read the materials presented by word units faster than paragraph units. These findings of the study well demonstrate the facilitatory effect of word units on reading Chinese for CSL learners because they can take advantage of pre-segmentation procedures, identify words accurately and improve their reading proficiency. With these exploratory findings of the study, a key aim is to extend them to apply to empirical Chinese teaching. Therefore, software for learners to practice reading Chinese is successfully developed from the study to help reduce CSL learners’ cognitive load, intensify the sensibility to Chinese words, enhance their reading skills, and learn Chinese more efficiently. It is hoped that the relevant findings of the study can provide theoretical basis, motivate future research, and contribute to Teaching Chinese as a Second Language.
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