Construct operationalization, L1 effects, and context in second language processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN JUFFS
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Second Language Processing

Cunnings (2016) provides welcome insights into differences between native speaker (NS) sentence processing, adult non-native speaker processing (NNS), and working memory capacity (WMC) limitations. This commentary briefly raises three issues: construct operationalization; the role of first language (L1); and context.

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.

scholarly journals Plausibility and recovery from garden paths in second language sentence processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEAH ROBERTS ◽  
CLAUDIA FELSER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Real Time Processing ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
On Line

ABSTRACTIn this study, the influence of plausibility information on the real-time processing of locally ambiguous (“garden path”) sentences in a nonnative language is investigated. Using self-paced reading, we examined how advanced Greek-speaking learners of English and native speaker controls read sentences containing temporary subject–object ambiguities, with the ambiguous noun phrase being either semantically plausible or implausible as the direct object of the immediately preceding verb. Besides providing evidence for incremental interpretation in second language processing, our results indicate that the learners were more strongly influenced by plausibility information than the native speaker controls in their on-line processing of the experimental items. For the second language learners an initially plausible direct object interpretation lead to increased reanalysis difficulty in “weak” garden-path sentences where the required reanalysis did not interrupt the current thematic processing domain. No such evidence of on-line recovery was observed, in contrast, for “strong” garden-path sentences that required more substantial revisions of the representation built thus far, suggesting that comprehension breakdown was more likely here.

EVIDENCE FOR THE DECREASING IMPACT OF COGNITIVE ABILITY ON SECOND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AS PROFICIENCY INCREASES

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen J. Serafini ◽  
Cristina Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Morphosyntactic Development ◽  
Grammatical Structures

This study investigated whether the role of working memory capacity varies over the course of second language (L2) morphosyntactic development. Eighty-seven beginning, intermediate, and advanced university L2 Spanish learners completed two nonverbal tasks measuring executive function (EF) and phonological working memory (PWM) in their native language (English) and two tasks measuring knowledge of ten grammatical structures in Spanish at three points during and after a semester of instruction. Robust relationships between both working memory components, especially PWM, and L2 performance, emerged only for lower level learners, particularly at the start of instruction and 3.5 months later. Findings demonstrate that the facilitative effects of cognitive ability appear to lessen with increasing L2 proficiency and empirically support a developmental perspective of L2 learning.

Working Memory in Aphasia

2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Harris Wright ◽  
Rebecca J. Shisler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Theoretical Framework

Recently, researchers have suggested that deficits in working memory capacity contribute to language-processing difficulties observed in individuals with aphasia (e.g., I. Caspari, S. Parkinson, L. LaPointe, & R. Katz, 1998; R. A. Downey et al., 2004; N. Friedmann & A. Gvion, 2003; H. H. Wright, M. Newhoff, R. Downey, & S. Austermann, 2003). A theoretical framework of working memory can aid in our understanding of a disrupted system (e.g., after stroke) and how this relates to language comprehension and production. Additionally, understanding the theoretical basis of working memory is important for the measurement and treatment of working memory. The literature indicates that future investigations of measurement and treatment of working memory are warranted in order to determine the role of working memory in language processing.

Some effects of first language argument structure and morphosyntax on second language sentence processing

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Juffs
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Verb Argument Structure

This article explores some effects of first language verb-argument structure on second language processing of English as a second language. Speakers of Chinese, Japanese or Korean, three Romance languages and native English speakers provided word-by-word reading times and grammaticality judgement data in a self-paced reading task. Results suggest that reliable differences in parsing are not restricted to cases where verb-argument structure differs crosslinguistically.

scholarly journals The Investigation of Working Memory in Monolinguals, Bilinguals and Trilinguals

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Nashmineh Moradi ◽  
Hamid Gholami
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Correlational Study ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Quantitative Correlational Study

The aim of the present study was to figure out if there are any differences between monolinguals, bilinguals and trilinguals regarding their working memory capacity. This study was exposed fact in design and was a quantitative correlational study. For the purpose of this study, 90 Iranian participants were selected from different universities and foreign language institutes. For all monolingual samples Persian was their only language, for bilinguals Persian was their first language and Kurdish was their second language, and trilinguals were participants with the ability, in addition to Persian and Kurdish, to speak in English. The results of the three research questions indicated that monolinguals and bilinguals had no significant difference regarding their working memory capacity, the result was the same for monolinguals and trilinguals, but there was a significant difference between bilinguals and trilinguals in their working memory capacity. 

Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys ◽  
Niki Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Monty Hall Dilemma ◽  
Monty Hall ◽  
Memory Resources

Abstract. The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is an intriguing example of the discrepancy between people’s intuitions and normative reasoning. This study examines whether the notorious difficulty of the MHD is associated with limitations in working memory resources. Experiment 1 and 2 examined the link between MHD reasoning and working memory capacity. Experiment 3 tested the role of working memory experimentally by burdening the executive resources with a secondary task. Results showed that participants who solved the MHD correctly had a significantly higher working memory capacity than erroneous responders. Correct responding also decreased under secondary task load. Findings indicate that working memory capacity plays a key role in overcoming salient intuitions and selecting the correct switching response during MHD reasoning.

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