Analytic visual word recognition in L2 learners: evidence from the length effect among ESL speakers

Research on first language acquisition has shown that children initially approach word recognition analytically and gradually shift to holistic processing as their reading experience increases, as evidenced by a reduction and eventual disappearance of the word length effect in word recognition. The present study aimed to investigate visual word recognition strategies among non-native speakers of English, specifically examining whether these speakers recognize words analytically or holistically and whether their first language influences their recognition strategies. The study tested native and non-native speakers of English with Chinese or Latin-script language backgrounds on 160 English words and 160 nonwords, ranging from 4 to 8 letters in length. The results indicated that Chinese ESL speakers exhibited a positive length effect, showing slower response times to longer words, in contrast to native English speakers, who demonstrated a reversed length effect, and to the Latin-script group, who exhibited no significant length effect. These findings suggest that non-native speakers are more likely to adopt an analytic word recognition strategy when the writing systems of their first and second languages differ. Conversely, same-script second language learners appear able to transfer holistic word recognition strategies from their first language to English.