Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, cilt.2016, sa.DecemberSpecialIssue, ss.421-430, 2016 (Scopus)
This article reports on an experimental study that investigated the role of language proficiency on second language reading comprehension and retention, comparing EFL intermediate learners (N=37) to advanced (N=43) at a university in Istanbul. All learners were exposed to three hypermedia text types in English: animation with narration (AN), animation with narration and on-screen text (ANT), and animation with sequential narration and on-screen text (A-NT). Their performance was measured by retention and transfer test. The results first showed that advanced learners outperformed intermediate learners on both tests given after ANT, AN, and ANT presentations, respectively. Next, although both groups performed the worst in ANT text type, the adv interview results explored that whether the narrator in multimedia presentations is native or non-native speaker serves a major role in helping learners process the information in working memory, thereby showing language proficiency is not a single factor that paves way for better reading comprehension in L2. A series of implications are given and suggestions made for English language teachers and multimedia researchers.