Analysis of Summarizing Patterns of Foreign College Students Using Eye-Tracking and Retrospective Think-Aloud

Objectives This study aims to analyze the summarizing process among foreign undergraduate students using eye-tracking technology and retrospective think aloud for academic writing education. Methods This study observed the summarization process of six international undergraduate students using eye-tracking techniques. Additionally, retrospective think-aloud protocols were conducted to examine the specific patterns that emerged during the summary writing process. Results The analysis revealed that the summarization process varied among the students, showing a complex interaction of planning, summarizing, and revising stages, and in some cases, certain stages were entirely absent. Specifically, during the ‘planning’ stage, students tended to focus on the ‘structure’ of the reading text, while the ‘summarizing’ stage often overlapped with the ‘revising’ stage. Conclusions Therefore, to perform complete summarizing, ① Education on skimming, ② Education on paraphrasing, ③ Understanding of the use of detailed content, and ④ Education on various revising methods are needed