NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1027041
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Dec
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: N/A
An Event-Related Potential (ERP) Investigation of Filler-Gap Processing in Native and Second Language Speakers
Dallas, Andrea; DeDe, Gayle; Nicol, Janet
Language Learning, v63 n4 p766-799 Dec 2013
The current study employed a neuro-imaging technique, Event-Related Potentials (ERP), to investigate real-time processing of sentences containing filler-gap dependencies by late-learning speakers of English as a second language (L2) with a Chinese native language background. An individual differences approach was also taken to examine the role of proficiency and working memory. Materials included a plausibility manipulation to look at whether a plausibility effect, the N400 effect, was found at the point of resolution, the verb, in filler-gap dependencies. The results suggest that, although the L2 speakers as a group are not sensitive to plausibility variations, correlational analysis indicates that more proficient L2 speakers, like the first-language (L1) speakers, are sensitive to plausibility variations while processing filler-gap sentences. Working memory was not found to be associated with more native-like processing of these constructions.
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A