The Research of Eye-Tracking (ET) Technology in English Reading of University Students: A Systematic Literature Review

Eye-tracking (ET) technology has become an important tool in second language (L2) reading research, yet a lack of comprehensive review studies highlights the need to systematically examine its applications and future directions in this emerging field. This study systematically analysed 32 ET papers, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, Wiley Online Library, SpringerLink, Google Scholar, and the ACM Digital Library, over the last decade to investigate the use of ET technologies in reading research. The study's findings identified seven domains for the use of ET technology in reading research, with strategy research and comparison research emerging as the predominant research paths. The methodologies used in ET study on reading were also recognised. Among them, fixation length, saccade, reading time, and regression were the most frequently used metrics. This review deepens our understanding of how ET technology is applied in English reading research at university, informs the design of more targeted and methodologically sound experimental studies, and promotes the adoption of broader, more diverse, and multimodal research approaches in future investigations.