Frequency Effects in L2 Multiword Unit Processing: Evidence from Self-Paced Reading

Autor/inn/en	Kim, Soo Hyon; Kim, Ji Hyon
Titel	Frequency Effects in L2 Multiword Unit Processing: Evidence from Self-Paced Reading
Quelle	In: TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, 46 (2012) 4, S.831-841 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0039-8322
Schlagwörter	Language Processing; Evidence; Native Speakers; Second Language Learning; Language Research; Psycholinguistics; Phrase Structure; Word Frequency; English (Second Language); Internet; Verbs; Advanced Students; Reaction Time; Reading Processes; Prediction; Japanese; Korean; Chinese; Asians + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachverarbeitung; Evidenz; Muttersprachler; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Sprachforschung; Psycholinguistik; Phrasenstruktur; Word analysis; Frequency; Wortanalyse; Häufigkeit; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Fortgeschrittener; Reaktionsvermögen; Leseprozess; Vorhersage; Japaner; Japanisch; Koreanisch; China; Chinesen; Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate
Abstract	Many second language acquisition (SLA) studies have traditionally limited their scope of investigation to the description and analysis of errors in L2 learners' use of multiword units. Recently, researchers have begun to approach this topic from a psycholinguistic perspective, examining the processing of multiword units by L2 learners. However, these studies have yielded mixed results. Some suggest that second language learners store and process multiword units as chunks, similar to native speakers, whereas others point to the opposite. A possibility underlying these mixed results is that the collocational frequency of the various multiword units used in these studies was a factor that may have affected the degree to which L2 learners chunk multiword units during processing. It may be that the previous studies showing mixed results may have been due to multiword units of varying levels of collocational frequency, leading to selective chunking of only high-frequency units during processing. This study extends this line of research by examining the effect of frequency on the processing of multiword units by second language learners and native speakers of English. Through an online self-paced reading study, we examine the processing of 32 two-word units composed of "verb" + "out" differing in frequency by native English speakers and advanced L2 English learners. If frequency is a factor that affects the degree to which a multiword unit is stored and retrieved as a chunk for L2 learners, as has been shown for native speakers, L2 learners are predicted to show shorter reading times for the multiword units of higher levels of frequency. The results revealed that although both the native English speaker group and the nonnative speaker group displayed frequency effects in the processing of multiword units, there was a slight difference in the two groups regarding the degree of sensitivity to different levels of frequency. Whereas the native speaker group's reaction times for the low-frequency targets were significantly longer than both mid-level and high-frequency targets, the nonnative speaker group only showed a significant difference between the low- and high-frequency targets. (Contains 1 figure, 6 footnotes, and 5 tables.) (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10