Volume 30 Number 1, 2026 The role of arousal in L2 readers’ engagement and comprehension during pedagogical agent–guided online reading

The role of arousal in L2 readers’ engagement and comprehension during pedagogical agent–guided online reading

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June 26, 2026, 1:55 a.m.
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June 26, 2026, 7:43 p.m.
access-status:
open.access
bitstream:
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bitstream_txt:
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collection:
Volume 30 Number 1, 2026
contributor.author:
Drobisz, Jack Park, Sanghoon Smith, Glenn
date.accessioned:
2026-06-24T02:12:32Z
date.available:
2026-06-24T02:12:32Z
date.copyright:
2026
date.issued:
2026-06-25
description.abstract:
Reading comprehension is essential for second language (L2) learners’ academic success, yet many struggle in English–speaking schools due to their various backgrounds and limited lexical knowledge. Prior research highlights the importance of attitude and motivation in promoting the use of reading strategies, but little work has examined how multimedia design can support these factors. In this study, we designed four arousal conditions of pedagogical agent–guided online reading materials in which four pedagogical agents induced two types of arousal (perceptual vs. inquiry) in two levels (high vs. low) through the manipulation of their background images, gestures, voices, and delivered messages. Using a randomized 2 x 2 factorial design, we examined how the study conditions influenced L2 readers’ situational interest, cognitive load and reading comprehension. A total of 157 L2 readers participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. Two–way ANOVA results revealed significant main effects of inquiry arousal on germane cognitive load and reading comprehension, as well as an interaction between inquiry and perceptual arousal on germane cognitive load. These findings suggest that inquiry arousal is a key design consideration for pedagogical agent–guided reading tasks for L2 learners.
endingpage:
19
format.extent:
19
identifier.citation:
Drobisz, J., & Park, S., & Smith, G. (2026). The role of arousal in L2 readers’ engagement and comprehension during pedagogical agent–guided online reading. Language Learning & Technology, 30(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73694
identifier.doi:
https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/73694
identifier.issn:
1094-3501
identifier.uri:
https://hdl.handle.net/10125/73694
language:
eng
number:
1
publicationname:
Language Learning & Technology
publisher:
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center Center for Language & Technology
rights.license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
rights.uri:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
site_url:
/item/10125-73694/
startingpage:
1
subject:
online reading, pedagogical agents, cognitive load, interest & motivation
title:
The role of arousal in L2 readers’ engagement and comprehension during pedagogical agent–guided online reading
type:
Article Text
volume:
30