Reading with images. An interdisciplinary project on images in EL texts

Abstract

Images are regularly included in Easy Language texts, and some guidelines exist regarding their use. While initial studies have explored aspects such as image type, text-image relations, and their influence on comprehension and preference (e.g. Yaneva, 2016; Bock, 2019), empirical findings remain still limited, leaving many answers unanswered. Given the diversity of potential influencing factors and target groups, further research is needed to clarify under which conditions images enhance comprehension. In this talk, we present a research project that complements current findings and investigates how images influence comprehension, gaze behavior and the attractiveness of texts in three different target groups: people with intellectual disabilities, prelingually deaf people and non-native speakers.