Using Spatial Representations in Designing English Software Manuals for Non-native Speakers: A Preliminary Study

Research has shown that spatial reasoning is strongly affected by spatial lexicons used in the language. However, there is hardly any research on how spatial lexicon-screenshot combinations work for procedural tasks in English user manuals for non-native speakers. This article reports some preliminary findings on whether and how various spatial text-screenshot combinations in software manuals can help readers comprehend the task with reasonable efficiency. Further, this study provides an indication of how readers like to access text and screenshots in software manuals, whether these resources help build mental models, identify objects, icons on screen and verify readers´ actions for accuracy.