چکیده:
To be able to reach the level of ultimate attainment in an L2,
learners need to acquire not only the grammar of the L2 but
also the language processing mechanisms involved in the
comprehension of sentences in real time. Contrary to its
importance, very little is known yet about online L2
processing. This study examines whether advanced Iranian
learners of English reactivate dislocated indirect objects at gap
positions in accordance to the “trace reactivation hypothesis”
(TRH) and also whether their individual working memory
capacities play any role in antecedent priming in such
processing. To this end, 44 participants were randomly
selected for the study after being given the Oxford Placement
Test. The participants were then given the reading-span test to
check their working memory (WM) and were divided into 2
groups (low and high-span groups). A cross-modal priming
task was conducted using the software package E-Prime
Professional to record their reaction times (RTs). The data
were analyzed quantitatively and the results of 3 paired
samples t-tests showed that the learners differed from native
speakers as they did not reactivate the antecedents at the gap
position, indicating that foreign language learners resort to
shallow parsing during L2 comprehension. Furthermore, a
mixed ANOVA showed that the participants' performance was
not influenced by their individual working memory differences
unlike high-span native speakers.
خلاصه ماشینی:
This study examines whether advanced Iranian learners of English reactivate dislocated indirect objects at gap positions in accordance to the “trace reactivation hypothesis” (TRH) and also whether their individual working memory capacities play any role in antecedent priming in such processing.
The data were analyzed quantitatively and the results of 3 paired samples t-tests showed that the learners differed from native speakers as they did not reactivate the antecedents at the gap position, indicating that foreign language learners resort to shallow parsing during L2 comprehension.
1. 1 Purpose of the study The present study aimed to test whether advanced Persian learners of English are able to process sentences involving dislocated and fronted wh- dependencies in a way that is similar to the native speakers' processing of such sentences in accordance to the trace reactivation hypothesis (TRH).
Love and Swinney (1996), by using a cross-modal priming experiment, found that adult native speakers of English reactivate the antecedent once a structural gap is identified during online processing in English object-relative constructions in sentences such as (3) in which the direct object (the new pen) has been dislocated and fronted to the left of the verb.
In order to be able to come to a conclusion in head-initial languages such as English as to whether antecedent priming is trace-based or due to direct association, Roberts, Marinis, Felser and Clahsen (2007) conducted a study on the processing of filler-gap dependencies in which the indirect object is dislocated and fronted to a preverbal position by adult English natives.