Individual differences in the second language processing of object–subject ambiguities

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Mixed Regression ◽  
Syntactic Ambiguities ◽  
Types Of Information

ABSTRACTThis study investigates whether and how individual differences modulate the adult second language (L2) processing of syntactic ambiguities. In a linear mixed regression analysis, we test how proficiency, working memory, reading speed, automaticity in lexical access, and grammatical integration ability affect the resolution of temporary object–subject ambiguities in L2 English. The results from 75 first language German advanced learners attest that individual differences in syntactic integration ability modulate the reliance on morphosyntactic and plausibility information. Similar to native speakers, L2 learners are found to adopt two different routes in L2 processing. The findings highlight the role of individual differences and qualify previous generalizations about the relative use of morphosyntactic and other types of information in L2 processing.

Variation, individual differences and second language processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwen Patricia Dyson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract Research on second language acquisition has located individual variation, without clarifying whether language processing prompts learners to differ systematically in the production of syntax and morphology. To address this issue, the study examined the hypothesis on variation in Processability Theory. This theory predicts that, within second language development, individual learners vary systematically in how they respond to developmental conflicts. Specifically, learners have distinct types, which are evident in their use of options and 'trailers' (structures which emerge late). Longitudinal spoken data were collected over one academic year from six adolescent ESL learners. The results revealed different learner types in terms of syntactic options and trailers. However, the learners had less clear types for the morphological options, used unpredicted options, and lacked consistency in their use of syntactic and morphological trailers. The paper suggests that learners vary in processing due to diverse orientations towards the acquisition of either syntax or morphology.

Second language processing: when are first and second languages processed similarly?

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sabourin ◽  
Laurie A. Stowe
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Neural Processing ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 And L2

In this article we investigate the effects of first language (L1) on second language (L2) neural processing for two grammatical constructions (verbal domain dependency and grammatical gender), focusing on the event-related potential P600 effect, which has been found in both L1 and L2 processing. Native Dutch speakers showed a P600 effect for both constructions tested. However, in L2 Dutch (with German or a Romance language as L1) a P600 effect only occurred if L1 and L2 were similar. German speakers show a P600 effect to both constructions. Romance speakers only show a P600 effect within the verbal domain. We interpret these findings as showing that with similar rule-governed processing routines in L1 and L2 (verbal domain processing for both German and Romance speakers), similar neural processing is possible in L1 and L2. However, lexically-driven constructions that are not the same in L1 and L2 (grammatical gender for Romance speakers) do not result in similar neural processing in L1 and L2 as measured by the P600 effect.

Examining second language development using event-related potentials

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Gabriele ◽  
Robert Fiorentino ◽  
José Alemán Bañón
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Number Agreement ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Structural Distance

This cross-sectional study examines the role of L1-L2 differences and structural distance in the processing of gender and number agreement by English-speaking learners of Spanish at three different levels of proficiency. Preliminary results show that differences between the L1 and L2 impact L2 development, as sensitivity to gender agreement violations, as opposed to number agreement violations, emerges only in learners at advanced levels of proficiency. Results also show that the establishment of agreement dependencies is impacted by the structural distance between the agreeing elements for native speakers and for learners at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency but not for low proficiency. The overall pattern of results suggests that the linguistic factors examined here impact development but do not constrain ultimate attainment; for advanced learners, results suggest that second language processing is qualitatively similar to native processing.

Native and second-language processing of contrastive pitch accent: An ERP study

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleuna Lee ◽  
Michelle Perdomo ◽  
Edith Kaan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Building Information

Prosody signals important aspects of meaning, and hence, is crucial for language comprehension and learning, yet remains under-investigated in second-language (L2) processing. The present electrophysiology study investigates the use of prosody to cue information structure, in particular, the use of contrastive pitch accent (L+H*) to define the set of elements that are contrasted. For instance, in We ate Angela’s cake, but saved BENjamin’s cake, the pitch accent on Benjamin’s is a cue that two cakes are contrasted; BENjamin’s ice cream is not plausible in this context. Native English speakers showed a large negativity on the target noun ( cake) when the preceding possessive was inappropriately accented. Event-related brain potential (ERP) results from Mandarin-Chinese L2 learners of English suggest they did not use contrastive pitch accent to cue the contrast set in the way native English speakers did, even though Mandarin is similar to English in the use of prosodic cues to express contrast. Our results are in line with previous studies suggesting that L2 speakers have difficulty integrating information across domains and building information structure, especially in demanding task situations like in the present study.

scholarly journals Facilitating the task for second language processing research: A comparison of two testing paradigms

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. KATE MILLER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Probe Classification

ABSTRACTThis study considers the effects of experimental task demands in research on second language sentence processing. Advanced learners and native speakers of French were presented with the same experimental sentences in two different tasks designed to probe for evidence of trace reactivation during processing: cross-modal priming (Nicol & Swinney, 1989) and probe classification during reading (Dekydtspotter, Miller, Schaefer, Chang, & Kim, 2010). Although the second language learners produced nontargetlike results on the cross-modal priming task, the probe classification during reading task revealed results suggestive of trace reactivation, which point to detailed structural representations during online sentence processing. The implications for current theories of second language sentence processing and for future research in this domain are discussed.

scholarly journals Becoming Native-Like for Good or Ill: Online and Offline Processing of Case Forms in L2 Russian

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Cherepovskaia ◽  
Elizaveta Reutova ◽  
Natalia Slioussar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Strong Indication ◽  
Judgment Accuracy ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Offline Processing ◽  
Online Measures

One of the central questions in second language processing studies is whether native (L1) and second language (L2) readers process sentences relying on the same mechanisms or there are qualitative differences. As their proficiency grows, L2 readers become more efficient, but it is difficult to determine whether they develop native-like mechanisms or rely on different strategies. Our study contributes to this debate by focusing on constructions that were demonstrated to cause characteristic problems in L1 processing: a particular type of case errors in Russian was taken as an example. We investigated how beginner and intermediate learners of Russian process such errors, measuring reading times and grammaticality judgment accuracy. At the beginner level, we found non-native-like patterns both in online and in offline measures. But at the intermediate level, native-like problems emerged in offline measures. In our view, this is a strong indication that these readers are using the same underlying mechanisms as in L1 processing. In online measures, L2 readers at both levels were, in general, much slower than native participants and exhibited characteristic non-native-like patterns, which we explained by delayed morphosyntactic processing. We conclude that our results are compatible with approaches, assuming that the mechanisms for L1 and advanced L2 processing are the same, but L2 processing is more cognitively demanding and therefore slower.

Does the shallow structures proposal account for qualitative differences in first and second language processing?

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Laura Sabourin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 And L2

In their Keynote Article, Clahsen and Felser (CF) provide a detailed summary and comparison of grammatical processing in adult first language (L1) speakers, child L1 speakers, and second language (L2) speakers. CF conclude that child and adult L1 processing makes use of a continuous parsing mechanism, and that any differences found in processing can be explained by factors such as limited working memory capacity and incomplete lexical knowledge. The authors then suggest that the existing differences between L1 (both adult and child) and L2 processing provide evidence that parsing mechanisms are qualitatively different between these groups. They posit that this qualitative difference between L1 and L2 is due to L2 speakers having shallower and less detailed syntactic representations than L1 speakers. This commentary focuses on discussing this shallow structures account and considers what this means for L2 processing.

Differential lateralization in first-versus second-language processing: An fMRI study

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thad Polk ◽  
Charles Behensky ◽  
Heather Pond ◽  
Stefan Frisch ◽  
Marilyn Shatz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Fmri Study

scholarly journals Letter transpositions and morphemic boundaries in the second language processing of derived words: An exploratory study of individual differences

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-446
Author(s):  
Hasibe Kahraman ◽  
Bilal Kırkıcı
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Reading Proficiency ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Morphological Priming

AbstractResearch into nonnative (L2) morphological processing has produced largely conflicting findings. To contribute to the discussions surrounding the contradictory findings in the literature, we examined L2 morphological priming effects along with a transposed-letter (TL) methodology. Critically, we also explored the potential effects of individual differences in the reading networks of L2 speakers using a test battery of reading proficiency. A masked primed lexical decision experiment was carried out in which the same target (e.g., ALLOW) was preceded by a morphological prime (allowable), a TL-within prime (allwoable), an substituted letter (SL)-within prime (allveable), a TL-across prime (alloawble), an SL-across prime (alloimble), or an unrelated prime (believable). The average data yielded morphological priming but no significant TL priming. However, the results of an exploratory analysis of the potential effects of individual differences suggested that individual variability mediated the group-level priming patterns in L2 speakers. TL-within and TL-across priming effects were obtained only when the performance of participants on nonword reading was considered, while the magnitude of the morphological priming effects diminished as the knowledge of vocabulary expanded. The results highlight the importance of considering individual differences while testing L2 populations.

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