ERIC Number: EJ1461531
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0090-6905
EISSN: EISSN-1753-6555
Available Date: 2025-02-26
The Role of Referential Context in EFL Learners' Relative Clause Ambiguity Resolution: Modulating Effect of Working Memory Capacity
Danning Sun1,3; Zihan Chen2; Shanhua Zhu1
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, v54 Article 9 2025
This study examines the referential context effect on second-language relative clause ambiguity resolution by proficient L1 Chinese learners who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) and investigates whether the ambiguity resolution process is constrained by individuals' working memory capacity (WMC). It presents a self-paced reading study and investigates L2 relative clauses ambiguity resolution in two phases. The baseline phase probes Chinese EFL learners' initial attachment preference when comprehending global ambiguous sentences without referential context. In the further experimental phases, each target sentence is preceded by a referential context with either neutral or NP-biasing information. We observe the change in reaction time spent on processing sentences and answering comprehension questions. Results showed that firstly regardless of WMC, proficient Chinese EFL learners employed a high-attachment parsing strategy when there was no referential context. Secondly, referential context facilitated sentence processing and comprehension, as demonstrated by decreased reaction times in critical region and on comprehension questions from neutral to biased contexts, with no significant difference in accuracy rates. Notably, the contextual effect was more pronounced when high-attachment contextual cues were present. Thirdly, working memory capacity modulated the ambiguity resolution process. Participants with different WMCs showed different parsing behaviors, and this difference manifested itself in both the interpretive and post-interpretive stages of processing. Participants with lower WMC had limited cognitive resources for processing ambiguous sentences, whereas those with larger WMC were more adept at resolving ambiguity in a context-dependent manner. These findings offer new insights into L2 shallow sentence processing as well as WMC constraints in L2 ambiguity resolution.
Descriptors: Short Term Memory, Context Effect, Ambiguity (Semantics), Form Classes (Languages), Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Language Proficiency, Foreign Countries, Reaction Time, Accuracy, Language Processing, Sentences
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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: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Southeast University, School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York, USA; 3National University of Singapore, Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, Singapore, Singapore