Eye tracking in language assessment: Emerging best practices and future frontiers
Eye tracking, the real-time recording of a person’s eye movements, is a powerful tool to study cognitive processes across diverse disciplines, including in language assessment. Researchers in assessment have adeptly harnessed eye-movement data to examine the cognitive validity of tests. The gaze of the eyes becomes a window into the test taker’s mind, offering a novel perspective on the alignment between a test developer's intended functioning of a task or item and the actual behavior exhibited by the test taker (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2015).
In this keynote, I present a high-level introduction to the recording of eye movements, how useful it is in assessment research, and how assessment researchers have been using it. Drawing upon my extensive work in eye-tracking research methodology (Godfroid, 2020; Godfroid & Hui, 2022; Godfroid et al., forthcoming) and my background as an applied psycholinguist, I present a thoughtful critique of the methodology. This critique is infused with a sense of appreciation, as it remains mindful of the shared objectives of language testers and psycholinguists—those of obtaining maximally accurate and fair measures of second-language abilities.
I discuss strengths and comparative weaknesses in contemporary eye-tracking research and invite reflection on the evolving use of eye tracking in our fields. This reflection serves as a springboard for envisioning the future trajectory of eye tracking in language assessment, outlining its continued contributions to the field.
References
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, Joint Committee on Standards for Educational, & Psychological Testing (US). (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Godfroid, A. (2020). Eye tracking in second language acquisition and bilingualism: A research synthesis and methodological guide. New York: Routledge.
Godfroid, A., & Hui, B. (2020). Five common pitfalls in eye-tracking research. Second Language Research, 36(3), 277-305. doi: 10.1177/0267658320921218.
Godfroid, A. Finch, B., & Koh, J. (forthcoming). Reporting eye-tracking research in second language acquisition and bilingualism: A synthesis and field-specific guidelines. Language Learning.