The first independent variable of interest in this study was task modality, which included two levels: reading and listening. In the reading condition, students were exposed to the test passage described in Section 2.3.1 as written passage read on a computer screen at individual stations. Participants were given a practice reading passage so that they could become familiar with the navigation of the material presentation and to determine a baseline reading time. The test passage was 4500 words that were divided into 34 word segments. Each segment was presented on a separate screen. To advance through each screen participants had to click the next button. The computer kept track of the time it took participants to move from one segment to the next. The participants read the passage at their own pace. The computer timed how long it took for each student to complete the passage. See Fig. 1 for a schematic of the laboratory classroom for the reading conditions.