Between- and within-group variation in first and second language syntactic priming
We tested the predictions of the error-based implicit language learning model of syntactic priming in second (L2) and first (L1) language speakers. We compared L2 and L1 French speakers’ production of fronted/non-fronted temporal phrases and active/passive structures when primed with and without lexical overlap. We also measured the effect of attention and motivation on priming. Our findings are compatible with the general predictions of the model: we observed immediate and long-term priming, and lexical boost effects; individual differences in attention modulated priming strength. Moreover, the results suggest that priming with and without lexical overlap relies on different mechanisms. Nonetheless, some findings contradicted the model’s predictions: immediate abstract priming only arose for the fronting alternation; L2 speakers did not show consistently larger priming effects than L1 speakers; patterns of syntactic priming varied highly across syntactic alternations, even within individuals. Overall, the study highlights the importance of comparing priming of different structures within speakers.