How do first-language in-text repeated glosses in second-language reading influence novel words processing and learning outcomes beyond effects of occurrence frequency?

This study investigated how repeated occurrences of novel words and the corresponding number of first-language in-text glosses influenced novel words processing and learning outcomes during second-language reading. Using eye-tracking, 48 college students in China read a 4,693-word graded reader. With 2 balanced versions, 24 words (12 glossed and 12 non-glossed) occurring 1 to 7 times served as target words. Results showed that, first, processing times of target words were shorter in the gloss condition, and combined processing times of target words plus glosses were shorter than the times of non-glossed target words; second, processing times of target words in two conditions showed different trajectories across repeated occurrences, whereas processing times of first-language glosses remained relatively constant; and third, first-language glossing augmented the effect of occurrence frequency in meaning recall but undermined its effect in form recognition. Theoretical and pedagogical implications were discussed.