Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-jwnkl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T13:26:10.830Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

L1-Korean speakers’ definiteness processing in L2 English: A visual world paradigm eye tracking study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2022

Hyunah Ahn Open the ORCID record for Hyunah Ahn [Opens in a new window]  and
Mi-Jeong Song
Hyunah Ahn*
Affiliation:
Kunsan National University, Gunsan, Korea
Mi-Jeong Song
Affiliation:
Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
*
Author for correspondence: Hyunah Ahn, Department of English Language and Literature, Kunsan National University 558 Daehakro, Gunsan, Korea 54150 E-mail: hyunah1112@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigated whether L1-Korean L2-English speakers could use (in)definiteness to predict unmentioned (non-)unique referents. In previous studies on the topic, methodological considerations made it difficult to separate the effects of grammar from the effects of non-linguistic knowledge. We used a visual world paradigm eye-tracking task to resolve such issues and designed stimuli that focused only on (in)definiteness. Participants’ eye movements were recorded as they heard “Click on the/a blue circle.” L1 and advanced L2 speakers used definiteness information to predict unique referents before the critical noun (circle) was heard while indefinite articles were not utilized to the same extent. Intermediate L2 speakers relied heavily on color words, not articles, to locate a referent. The results imply that predicting a referent solely based on definiteness (without real-world knowledge) requires substantial advancement in L2 development, and indefinite articles do not predict non-unique referents as clearly as definite articles predict unique referents.

Keywords

L2 definiteness processingvisual world paradigm eye-trackingdefiniteness as uniquenessreal-world knowledgeL2 predictive processing
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , May 2023 , pp. 556 - 569
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahn, H (2021) From Interlanguage grammar to target grammar in L2 processing of definiteness as uniqueness. Second Language Research 37, 91–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658319868003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahn, H (2022) L2 processing of linguistic and non-linguistic information: L2 speakers use definiteness if real-world knowledge is unusable. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44, 507–535. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263121000322CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ariel, M (1991) The function of accessibility in a theory of grammar. Journal of Pragmatics 16, 443–463. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(91)90136-LCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barr, DJ, Gann, TM and Pierce, RS (2011) Anticipatory baseline effects and information integration in visual world studies. Acta Psychologica (Amst) 137, 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.09.011CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, DJ, Levy, R, Scheepers, C and Tily, HJ (2013) Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing: Keep it maximal. Journal of Memory and Language 68, 255–278. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2012.11.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bates, D, Maechler, M, Bolker, B and Walker, S (2015) Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67, 1–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, YG (2002) Second language learners' theories on the use of English articles. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, 451–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, CG, Tanenhaus, MK, Eberhard, KM, Filip, H and Carlson, GN (2002) Circumscribing Referential Domains during Real-Time Language Comprehension. Journal of Memory and Language 47, 30–49. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.2001.2832CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clahsen, H and Felser, C (2006) Grammatical processing in language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 27, 3–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clahsen, H and Felser, C (2018) Some Notes on the Shallow Structure Hypothesis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 40, 693–706. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263117000250CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clifton, C Jr. (2013) Situational context affects definiteness preferences: Accommodation of presuppositions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition 39, 487–501. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028975Google ScholarPubMed
Conklin, K and Pellicer-Sanchez, A (2016) Using eye-tracking in applied linguistics and second language research. Second Language Research 32, 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658316637401CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunnings, I (2017) Parsing and Working Memory in Bilingual Sentence Processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 20, 659–678. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728916000675CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeLong, KA, Urbach, TP and Kutas, M (2005) Probabilistic word pre-activation during language comprehension inferred from electrical brain activity. Nature Neuroscience 8, 1117–1121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dink, J and Ferguson, B (2018) eyetrackingR: An R Library for Eye-tracking Data Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.eyetrackingr.comGoogle Scholar
Dussias, PE (2010) Uses of Eye-Tracking Data in Second Language Sentence Processing Research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 30, 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1017/s026719051000005xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dussias, PE, Valdés Kroff, JR, Guzzardo Tamargo, RE and Gerfen, C (2013) When Gender and Looking Go Hand in Hand. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 35, 353–387. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263112000915CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J (2015) Applied regression analysis and generalized linear models. Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Grüter, T, Rohde, H and Schafer, AJ (2017) Coreference and discourse coherence in L2. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 7, 199–229. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.15011.gruCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gundel, JK, Hedberg, N and Zacharski, R (1993) Cognitive status and the form of referring expressions in discourse. Language 69, 274–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, JA (1991) On (In)definite Articles: Implicatures and (un)grammaticality prediction. Journal of Linguistics 27, 405–442. https://doi.org/10.2307/4176125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heim, I (1982) The semantics of definite and indefinite noun phrases. (Doctor of Philosophy). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Henry, N, Jackson, CN and Hopp, H (2020) Cue coalitions and additivity in predictive processing: The interaction between case and prosody in L2 German. Second Language Research 38, 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658320963151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopp, H (2015) Semantics and morphosyntax in predictive L2 processing. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 23, 277–306. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2015-0014Google Scholar
Hopp, H (2021) Prediction and grammatical learning in second language sentence processing. In Kaan, E and Gruter, T (eds), Prediction in Second Language Processing and Learning (Vol. 12, pp. 167). John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Hopp, H and Lemmerth, N (2018) Lexical and Syntactic Congruency in L2 Predictive Gender Processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 40, 171–199. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263116000437CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huebner, T (1983) A longitudinal analysis of the acquisition of English. Karoma Publishers.Google Scholar
Huettig, F and Mani, N (2015) Is prediction necessary to understand language? Probably not. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 31, 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2015.1072223CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T, Choi, SH and Liu, Q (2021) Knowledge of indefinite articles in L2-English: Online vs. offline performance. Second Language Research 37, 121–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658319857466CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T, Ko, H and Wexler, K (2004) Article Semantics in L2 Acquisition: The Role of Specificity. Language Acquisition 12, 3–69. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327817la1201_2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T, Zubizarreta, ML and Maldonado, SB (2008) Sources of linguistic knowledge in the second language acquisition of English articles. Lingua 118, 554–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2006.11.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ionin, T, Zubizarreta, ML and Philippov, V (2009) Acquisition of article semantics by child and adult L2-English learners. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 12, 337–361. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728909990149CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaan, E and Grüter, T (2021) Prediction in second language processing and learning: Advances and directions. In Kaan, E and Grüter, T (eds), Prediction in second language processing and learning (Vol. 12). John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kamide, Y, Scheepers, C and Altmann, GT (2003) Integration of syntactic and semantic information in predictive processing: cross-linguistic evidence from German and English. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 32, 37–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ko, H, Ionin, T and Wexler, K (2010) The role of presuppositionality in the second language acquisition of English articles. Linguistic Inquiry 41, 213–254. https://doi.org/10.1162/ling.2010.41.2.213CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuperberg, GR and Jaeger, TF (2016) What do we mean by prediction in language comprehension? Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 31, 32–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2015.1102299CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuznetsova, A, Brockhoff, PB and Christensen, RHB (2017) lmerTest Package: Tests in Linear Mixed Effects Models. Journal of Statistical Software 82. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v082.i13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenth, RV (2016) Least-Squares Means: The R Package lsmeans. Journal of Statistical Software 69. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v069.i01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, CD, Garcia, X, Breton, A, Thierry, G and Costa, A (2015) World knowledge integration during second language comprehension. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 31, 206–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2015.1084012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Master, P (1987) A cross-linguistic interlanguage analysis of the acquisition of the English article system. Los Angeles: University of California.Google Scholar
Master, P (1997) The English article system: acquisition, function and pedagogy. System 25, 215–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matin, E, Shao, KC and Boff, K (1993) Saccadic overhead: Information-processing time with and without saccades. Perception & Psychophysics 53, 372–380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matuschek, H, Kliegl, R, Vasishth, S, Baayen, H and Bates, D (2017) Balancing Type I error and power in linear mixed models. Journal of Memory and Language 94, 305–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2017.01.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mirman, D (2014) Growth Curve Analysis and Visualization Using R. Chapman and Hall / CRC Press.Google Scholar
Mirman, D, Dixon, JA and Magnuson, JS (2008) Statistical and computational models of the visual world paradigm: Growth curves and individual differences. Journal of Memory and Language 59, 475–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2007.11.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murphy, GL (1984) Establishing and accessing referents in discourse. Memory & Cognition 12, 489–497. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198311CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, C and Ehrenhofer, L (2015) The role of language processing in language acquisition. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 5, 409–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prince, EF (1992) The ZPG Letter: Subjects, definiteness, and information-status. In Mann, WC and Thompson, SA (eds), Discourse Description: Diverse linguistic analyses of a fund-raising text. John Benjamins, pp. 295–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Core Team. (2019) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Retrieved from https://www.R-project.org.Google Scholar
Roberts, L and Siyanova-Chanturia, A (2013) Using Eye-Tracking to Investigate Topics in L2 Acquisition and L2 Processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 35, 213–235. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263112000861CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D (2000) Variability in the use of the English article system by Chinese learners of English. Second Language Research 16, 135–172. https://doi.org/10.1191/026765800672262975CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, B (1905) On denoting. Mind 14, 479–493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, B (2006) Wh-scope marking in English interlanguage grammars: Transfer and processing effects on the second language acquisition of complex wh-questions. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI.Google Scholar
Schumacher, PB (2009) Definiteness marking shows late effects during discourse processing: Evidence from ERPs. In Devi, SL, Branco, A and Mitkov, R (eds), Anaphora processing and applications, Lecture notes in artificial intelligence (Vol. 5847). Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 91–106.Google Scholar
Snape, N (2009) Exploring Mandarin Chinese speakers' L2 article use. In Snape, N, Leung, Y-kI and Sharwood Smith, M (eds), Representational Deficits in SLA: Studies in honor of Roger Hawkins. John Benjamins Publishing, pp. 27–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snape, N, Leung, Y-kI and Ting, H-C (2006) Comparing Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish speakers in L2 English article acquisition: Evidence against the Fluctuation Hypothesis? In O'Brien, MG, Shea, C and Archibald, J (eds), Proceedings of the 8th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp. 132–139.Google Scholar
Sorace, A (2011) Pinning down the concept of “interface” in bilingualism. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 1, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.1.1.01sorCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorace, A and Filliaci, F (2006) Anaphora resolution in near-native speakers of Italian. Second Language Research 22, 339–368. https://doi.org/10.1191/0267658306sr271oaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trenkic, D, Mirkovic, J and Altmann, GTM (2014) Real-time grammar processing by native and non-native speakers: Constructions unique to the second language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 17, 237–257. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728913000321CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Ahn and Song supplementary material

Ahn and Song supplementary material
Download Ahn and Song supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 429.3 KB