Hou muckle slower is readin in a second leid?

Thir findings are reportit in the review's section on non-native readers. The review says explicitly that the novel study's statistics dinna allou a directly comparable absolute WPM estimate. It matters tae keep that qualification: the 17% shouldna be uised as an adjustment factor for ilka language learner. Brysbaert, 2019

Whit proficiency matters mair than the label L2

Experience wi a second leid chynges hou wirds are processed, includin sensitivity tae hou aften they occur. The Whitford and Titone study leukes at thae effects throu eye muivements durin paragraph readin. Sae twa fowk wi the same first an second leids can face different demands on processin, acause their exposure an proficiency differ. Whitford et al., 2012

Wird knowledge is pairt o this context. Coverage research speirs hou mony wirds in a particular text the reader kens, while estimates o wird size depend on whether forms, lemmas or families are coontit. A raw wird-coont estimate canna its lane predict fluent readin o ilka text. Nation, 2006 Brysbaert et al., 2016

Whit WPM canna uise tae rank leids directly

Different leids uise different nummers o written wirds tae express comparable information. Wird length, morphology an writin systems influence the unit that is bein coontit. Sae the reviews o readin rate an eye muivements dinna support takin a lower WPM in anither leid tae mean lower intelligence or slower general thinkin. Brysbaert, 2019 CLIFTON et al., 2015

Text difficulty an task instructions chynges the result

Readin for pleasure, studyin an findin a fact are different tasks. Research on eye muivements shows hou wird difficulty an comprehension demands affect whit the een tak in. A familiar story an an unfamiliar technical airticle shouldna be treatit as interchangeable tests o ae fixed readin speed. Rayner, 1998 CLIFTON et al., 2015

Regression can help a reader sort oot uncertainty. Experimental evidence that haudin back rereadin harms comprehension is a caution agin treatin ilka pause or return in L2 as an inefficiency tae suppress. Some o the extra time micht help wi understandin. Schotter et al., 2014

Can practice close the gap?

The reviews support the importance o experience wi the leid an efficient wird-recognition, but they dinna set oot a universal nummer o hours needit tae match first-leid readin. Nor dae thir cross-study examples gie a valid forecast by age an sex for trainin. Improvement should be measured athin comparable tasks an leid conditions. Rayner et al., 2016 Whitford et al., 2012

Uise suitable unfamiliar material, check comprehension an tak a note o the leid an purpose for ilka timin. Readin easier text faster can be uisefu, but it disna by its lane show that readin ability rase by the same amoont on harder material. A meaningful comparison keeps the difficulty an goal reasonably alike. Brysbaert, 2019 Nation, 2006

The practical answer is tharefore a range o possibilities, no ae multiplier. The published 139, 61 an 17% results show hou muckle the population an task matter. They should help mak sense o variation, no set a new universal threshold for learners. Brysbaert, 2019