ERIC Number: EJ1329032
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Apr
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0267-6583
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
L2 Processing of Filler-Gap Dependencies: Attenuated Effects of Naturalistic L2 Exposure in a Multilingual Setting
Second Language Research, v38 n2 p373-393 Apr 2022
In the online processing of long-distance wh-dependencies, native speakers have been found to make use of intermediate syntactic gaps, which has the effect of facilitating dependency resolution. This strategy has also been observed in second language (L2) speakers living in an L2 immersion context, but not in classroom L2 learners. This research note investigates whether there is evidence of use of the intermediate gap among L2 speakers that have received considerable naturalistic exposure to the L2 from a young age, but do not live in a standard immersion context. Two groups of participants, one L1 English and one L1 Afrikaans-L2 English, completed a self-paced reading task involving English sentences containing long-distance wh-dependencies. The data were analysed using Bayesian regression. The results indicate that the intermediate gap facilitated dependency resolution in the L1 English group but not in the L2 group. Increased L2 exposure seemed to increase sensitivity to the intermediate gap among the L2 speakers, but was not associated with faster dependency resolution. The findings suggest that although non-immersive L2 experience affects L2 processing of abstract grammatical cues, it may be less effective than fully immersive experience in engendering nativelike processing of long-distance wh-dependencies.
Descriptors: Language Processing, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Indo European Languages, English (Second Language), Syntax, English, Reading Processes, Task Analysis, Learning Experience, Grammar, Cues, Multilingualism, Reading Rate, Foreign Countries, Accuracy, Questionnaires
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A