ИСТИНА

This paper presents the results of a comparison of visual semantic search tasks in native and foreign languages. In the study, Russian-speaking subjects (n=32) solved the task of detecting and recognizing words hidden in a 15x15 letter matrix. Each matrix included 10 words with calculated emotional valence and frequency indices. The number of stimuli found and eye movement indices were recorded. Half of the subjects searched for Russian words among Cyrillic letters, while the other half sought to find English words in a matrix of Latin letters. Subjects who solved the task in English were foreign language learners, with a proficiency level corresponding to level C1 according to the CEFR classification. The study identified effects of native and foreign language, word order and word frequency. Native language words, with higher frequency and horizontal placement, had an advantage in detection. A weak influence of emotional valence was found only for foreign language words. Eye movement analysis revealed that native language search was more effective due to the use of more efficient cognitive processing strategies. In this case, subjects employed a consciously controlled strategy, reflected in longer fixations and shorter, slower saccades. When searching in a foreign language, subjects relied on a more chaotic strategy, covering a larger search space and realized through longer saccades and shorter fixations. Furthermore, it was shown that word recognition in native and foreign languages also functions differently and varies depending on lexeme frequency. The results largely replicate the data obtained in our previous study, which compared the semantic search for Russian words by Russian-speaking and Azerbaijani-speaking subjects. This similarity indicates stable and consistently different strategies for processing lexical material in native and foreign languages.