Attention to Visual Cues in Explicit and Implicit Item Types on Video L2 Listening Tests: An Eye-Tracking Study

The present article employs eye tracking methodology to investigate the influence of item type (explicit and implicit) on test-taker attention to visual cues in video L2 listening tests. The findings reveal that implicit items direct test takers’ attention toward nonverbal communicative cues related to affect more than explicit items, and that explicit items may direct more attention to illustrative gestures and objects. These findings raise questions about the construct addressed by implicit questions in multimodal video listening tests and call for careful consideration of test purpose when designing L2 listening tests.