Cover not available
Article published In:
Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 12:3 (2022) ► pp.280–309

Online processing and offline judgments of L2-English articles

ORCID logo | University of Wisconsin Madison

This study examines L1-Korean speakers’ online processing and offline judgments of L2-English articles using a self-paced task (SPRT) targeting implicit knowledge and an untimed acceptability judgment task (AJT) assessing explicit knowledge. SPRT results indicate that L1-Korean speakers exhibited targetlike online sensitivity to (in)appropriate use of articles, which provides evidence against the claim that L2-specific morphosyntactic structures cannot be utilized during online comprehension (Jiang, 2007). However, the same L2 speakers showed non-targetlike judgment patterns in the AJT. The discrepancy between online and offline performance is discussed in terms of the role of task effects on L2 performance and the development of implicit and explicit knowledge for L2 articles in the acquisition process. Methodological considerations for evaluating L2 knowledge are also discussed.

Keywords: English articles, task effects, implicit and explicit knowledge, online processing, offline judgments, self-paced reading
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.English articles
  • 3.Online processing of L2-English articles
  • 4.Task effects on L2 performance: Online vs. offline tasks
  • 5.Research questions and hypotheses
  • 6.Method
    • 6.1Test design and materials
    • 6.2Participants and procedures
    • 6.3Results
      • 6.3.1Acceptability judgment data
        • Native speakers
        • L2 speakers
      • 6.3.2Self-paced reading data
        • Native speakers
        • L2 speakers
  • 7.Discussion
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.18053.cho
References
Bates, D., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S.
(2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cho, J.
(2017) The acquisition of different types of definite noun phrases in L2-English. International Journal of Bilingualism, 21(3), 367–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clahsen, H., & Felser, C.
(2006) How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 101, 564–570. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clifton, Jr., C.
(2013) Situational context affects definiteness preferences: Accommodation of presuppositions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(2), 487–501.Google Scholar
Crain, K., & Nash, H.
(2011) The influence of connectives on young readers’ processing and comprehension of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 741, 51–61.Google Scholar
Crawley, M. J.
(2007) The R book. Chichester: Wiley. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R.
(2003) Implicit and explicit learning. In C. Doughty, & M. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 313–348). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dell, G. S., McKoon, G., & Ratcliff, R.
(1983) The activation of antecedent information during the processing of anaphoric reference in reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22(1), 121–132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dienes, Z., & Perner, J.
(1999) A theory of implicit and explicit knowledge. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(5), 735–808. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. C.
(1994) Implicit and explicit language learning. In N. C. Ellis (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages (pp. 79–114). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.
(2005) Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language: A psychometric study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2), 141–172. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2006) Modelling learning difficulty and second language proficiency: The differential contributions of implicit and explicit knowledge. Applied linguistics, 27(3), 431–463. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009) Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Ferreira, F., & Clifton, C.
(1986) The independence of syntactic processing. Journal of Memory and Language, 251, 348–368. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Godfroid, A., Loewen, S., Jung, S., Park, J.-H., Gass, S., & Ellis, R.
(2015) Timed and untimed grammaticality judgments measure distinct types of knowledge: Evidence from eye-movement patterns. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(2), 269–297. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hawkins, J.
(1978) Definiteness and indefiniteness. London, UK: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
(1991) On (in)definite articles: implicatures and (un)grammaticality prediction. Journal of Linguistics, 271, 405–442. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hopp, H.
(2006) Syntactic features and reanalysis in near-native processing. Second Language Research, 22(3), 369–397. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009) The syntax–discourse interface in near-native L2 acquisition: Offline and on-line performance. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(4), 463–483. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010) Ultimate attainment in L2 inflection: Performance similarities between non-native and native speakers. Lingua, 120(4), 901–931. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huebner, T.
(1983) A longitudinal analysis of the acquisition of English. Ann Arbor, MI: Karoma.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J., & De Graaff, R.
(1994) Under what conditions does explicit knowledge of a second language facilitate the acquisition of implicit knowledge? A research proposal. Aila Review, 111, 97–112.Google Scholar
Ionin, T., Choi, S. H., & Liu, Q.
(2019) Knowledge of indefinite articles in L2-English: Online vs. offline performance. Second Language Research. DOI logo. Published online by SAGE journals, June 24 2019.Google Scholar
Ionin, T., Ko, H., & Wexler, K.
(2004) Article semantics in L2 acquisition: The role of specificity. Language Acquisition, 12(1), 3–69. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiang, N.
(2004) Morphological insensitivity in second language processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25(4), 603–634. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007) Selective integration of linguistic knowledge in adult second language learning. Language learning, 57(1), 1–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012) Conducting reaction time research in second language studies. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jiang, N., Novokshanova, E., Masuda, K., & Wang, X.
(2011) Morphological congruency and the acquisition of L2 morphemes. Language Learning, 61(3), 940–967. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Just, M., Woolley, J., & Carpenter, P.
(1982) Paradigms and processes in reading comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 111(2), 228–238. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuznetsova, A., Bruun Brockhoff, P., & Haubo Bojesen Christensen, R.
(2016) lmerTest: Tests in linear mixed effects models. R package version 2.0-33. [URL]
Leal, T.
(2018) Data analysis and sampling. In A. Gudmestad, & A. Edmonds (Eds.), Critical reflections on data in second language acquisition (pp. 63–88). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liu, D., & Gleason, J. L.
(2002) Acquisition of the article the by non-native speakers of English: An analysis of four non-generic uses. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(1), 1–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S.
(2009) Grammaticality judgment tests and the measurement of implicit and explicit L2 knowledge. In R. Ellis, S. Loewen, C. Elder, H. Reinders, R. Erlam, & J. Philip (Eds.), Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching (pp. 94–112). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyons, C.
(1999) Definiteness. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murphy, G.
(1984) Establishing and accessing referents in discourse. Memory & Cognition, 12(5), 489–497. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murphy, S.
(1997) Knowledge and production of English articles by advanced second language learners. Doctoral dissertation. University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Orfitelli, R., & Polinsky, M.
(2017) When performance masquerades as comprehension: Grammaticality judgments in non-native speakers. In M. Kopotev, O. Lyashevskaya & A. Mustajoki, (Eds.), Quantitative approaches to the Russian language (pp. 197–214). New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rebuschat, P.
(2013) Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge in second language research. Language Learning, 63(3), 595–626. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L., Gullberg, M., & Indefrey, P.
(2008) On-line pronoun resolution in L2 discourse: L1 influence and general learner effects. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(3), 333–357. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Robertson, D.
(2000) Variability in the use of the English article system by Chinese learners of English. Second Language Research, 16(2), 135–72. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Snape, N.
(2008) Resetting the Nominal Mapping Parameter in L2 English: Definite article use and the count–mass distinction. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(1), 63–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Snape, N., & Yusa, N.
(2013) Explicit article instruction in definiteness, specificity, genericity and perception. In M. Whong, K. H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 161–183). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spinner, P., & Gass, S. M.
(2019) Using judgments in second language acquisition research. New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomas, M.
(1989) The acquisition of English articles by first- and second-language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 10(3), 335–355. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tokowicz, N., & MacWhinney, B.
(2005) Implicit and explicit measures of sensitivity to violations in second language grammar: An event-related potential investigation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2), 173–204. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trenkic, D.
(2007) Variability in second language article production: Beyond the representational deficit vs. processing constraints debate. Second Language Research, 23(3), 289–327. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) The representation of English articles in second language grammars: Determiners or adjectives? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(1), 1–18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trenkic, D., Mirkovic, J., & Altmann, G.
(2014) Real-time grammar processing by native and non-native speakers: Constructions unique to the second language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17(2), 237–257. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Umeda, M., Snape, N., Yusa, N., & Wiltshier, J.
(2017) The long-term effect of explicit instruction on learners’ knowledge on English articles. Language Teaching Research, 23(2), 179–199. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vafaee, P., Suzuki, Y., & Kachisnke, I.
(2017) Validating grammaticality judgment tests: Evidence from two new psycholinguistic measures. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39(1), 59–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vafaee, P., & Kachinske, I.
(2019) The inadequate use of confirmatory factor analysis in second language acquisition validation studies. Studies in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, 19(2), 1–18.Google Scholar
Zufferey, S., Mak, W., Degand, L., & Sanders, T.
(2015) Advanced learners’ comprehension of discourse connectives: The role of L1 transfer across on-line and off-line tasks. Second Language Research, 31(3), 389–411. DOI logoGoogle Scholar