Efeitos do realce do input no noticing e na aprendizagem da gramática em PLE: um estudo de rastreamento ocular

This work aims to investigate the effects of input enhancement vs. input flood on noticing and grammatical development in Chinese learners of Portuguese as a foreign language. Thirty-six participants were divided in two groups: the experimental group (n = 18) performed a reading task with enhanced input and the control group (n = 18) read the same text without enhancement. The target form was the present subjunctive used in three specific contexts. A pretest/ posttest design was used, and four eye tracking measures were selected (first fixation duration, gaze duration, total fixation duration and fixation count). Grammar correction increased significantly in the posttest of both groups. In the unenhanced group (i.e., input flood group) learners’ noticing on the target-form was significantly higher through first fixation duration. Thus, the input enhancement hypothesis (Sharwood Smith, 1991, 1993) was not confirmed, as enhancement did not promote noticing nor a deeper processing of the input. Pedagogical implications of this research are discussed.