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ERIC Number: EJ1429522
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-May
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-2631
EISSN: EISSN-1470-1545
Available Date: N/A
Testing for Proficiency Effects and Crosslinguistic Influence in L2 Processing: Filler-Gap Dependencies in L2 English by Jordanian-Arabic and Mandarin Speakers
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v46 n2 p564-580 2024
This study expands on previous research into filler-gap dependency processing in second language (L2) English, by means of a replication of Canales's (2012) self-paced reading study. Canales, among others, found that advanced L2-English speakers exhibited the same processing behavior that Stowe (1986) found for native English processing: On encountering a filler, they posited gaps in licensed positions and avoided positing gaps in grammatically unlicensed island positions. However, the previous L2 studies focused on advanced-level L2 proficiency and did not test specifically for first language (L1) influence. The present study compares two groups of intermediate-level L2-English speakers with contrasting non-wh-movement L1s, Jordanian Arabic and Mandarin, to investigate the effects of L1 influence and individual differences in proficiency. Our results provide evidence that at intermediate level, too, L2 filler-gap processing adheres to grammatical constraints. L1 did not affect this behavior, but proficiency effects emerged, with larger licensed filled-gap effects at higher proficiency.
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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: Jordan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A