Cover not available
Part of
The Acquisition of Gender: Crosslinguistic perspectives
Edited by Dalila Ayoun
[Studies in Bilingualism 63] 2022
► pp. 183–208

Chapter 8
Investigating grammatical gender agreement in Spanish

A methodological exploration of eye tracking

| University of Rhode Island
The present eye-tracking study tests the assumption that online techniques can tap implicit knowledge and reduce access to explicit knowledge by triangulating eye movements with a post-reading questionnaire. L1 English learners of L2 Spanish and Spanish native speakers (NSs) read sentences embedded with violations of determiner-noun and noun-adjective agreement followed by comprehension questions. They then completed a post-reading questionnaire that measured to what extent they were aware of the violations in the experimental stimuli. In the eye-tracking experiment, both L2 learners and Spanish NSs were sensitive to violations of determiner-noun agreement, but only Spanish NSs were sensitive to violations of noun-adjective agreement. On the post-reading questionnaire, most participants were also aware of the grammatical gender agreement violations, with determiner-noun agreement violations generally being more salient than noun-adjective violations. These results indicate that the violation detection paradigm implemented in this experiment did not entirely obviate explicit knowledge. Results are discussed in terms of methodological considerations researchers should keep in mind when designing and implementing studies that investigate grammatical gender agreement and other linguistic phenomena.
Keywords: online processing, eye tracking, implicit knowledge, explicit knowledge
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Eye tracking and grammatical gender agreement
    • 2.2Knowledge implemented in the violation detection paradigm
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Eye-tracking materials
    • 3.3Vocabulary posttest
    • 3.4Post-reading questionnaire
    • 3.5Procedure and apparatus
    • 3.6Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Reading times on determiner-noun agreement
    • 4.2Reading times on noun-adjective agreement
    • 4.3Post-reading questionnaire
      • Question 1
      • Question 2
      • Question 3
      • Question 4
      • Question 5
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 January 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.63.08spi
References (67)
References
Alemán Bañon, J., Fiorentino, R., & Gabriele, A. (2012). The processing of number and gender agreement in Spanish: An event-related potential investigation of the effects of structural distance. Brain Research, 1456, 49–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Using event-related potentials to track morphosyntactic development in second language learners: The processing of number and gender agreement in Spanish. PLoS One, 13(7), 1–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Andringa, S. (2020). The emergence of awareness in uninstructed L2 learning: A visual world eye tracking study. Second Language Research, 36(3), 335–357. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baayen, R. H., Davidson, D. J., & Bates, D. M. (2008). Mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects for subjects and items. Journal of Memory and Language, 59(4), 390–412. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barber, H., & Carreiras, M. (2005). Grammatical gender and number agreement in Spanish: An ERP comparison. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17(1), 137–153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bates, D. M., Mächler, M., Bolker, B. M., & Walker, S. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blom, E., & Vasić, N. (2011). The production and processing of determiner–noun agreement in child L2 Dutch. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1(3), 265–290. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bruhn de Garavito, J., & White, L. (2002). The second language acquisition of Spanish DPs: The status of grammatical features. In A. T. Pérez-Leroux & J. Muñoz Liceras (Eds), The acquisition of Spanish morphosyntax: The L1/L2 connection (pp. 153–178). Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brysbaert, M., Drieghe, D., & Vitu, F. (2005). Word skipping: Implications for theories of eye movement control in reading. In G. Underwood (Ed.), Cognitive Processes in Eye Guidance (pp. 53–77). Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cholewa, J., Neitzel, I., Bürsgens, A., & Günther, T. (2019). Online-processing of grammatical gender in noun-phrase decoding: An eye-tracking study with monolingual German 3rd and 4th Graders. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–16. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clifton, C., Staub, A., & Rayner, K. (2007). Eye movements in reading words and sentences. In R. P. G. van Gompel, M. H. Fischer, W. S. Murray, & R. L. Hill (Eds.), Eye movements: A window on the mind and brain (pp. 341–371). Elsevier. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Conklin, K., Pellicer-Sánchez, A., & Carrol, G. (2018). Eye-tracking: A guide for applied linguistics research. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coughlin, C. E., & Tremblay, A. (2013). Proficiency and working memory based explanations for nonnative speakers’ sensitivity to agreement in sentence processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34(3), 615–646. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Jong, N. (2005). Can second language grammar de learned through listening? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 205–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Denzin, N. K. (1989). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Dussias, P. E. (2010). Uses of eye-tracking data in second language sentence processing research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 149–166. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dussias, P. E., Valdés Kroff, J. R., Guzzardo Tamargo, R. E., & Gerfen, C. (2013). When gender and looking go hand in hand: Grammatical gender processing in L2 Spanish. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35, 353–387. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fernald, A., Zangl, R., Portillo, A. L., & Marchman, V. A. (2008). Looking while listening: using eye movements to monitor spoken language comprehension by infants and young children. In I. Sekerina, E. M. Fernández, & H. Clahsen (Eds.), Developmental psycholinguistics: On-line methods in children’s language processing (pp. 97–135). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Foucart, A., & Frenck-Mestre, C. (2012). Can late L2 learners acquire new grammatical features? Evidence from ERPs and eye-tracking. Journal of Memory and Language, 66(1), 226–248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Franceschina, F. (2001). Morphological or syntactic deficits in near-native speakers? An assessment of some current proposals. Second Language Research, 17(3), 213–247. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Godfroid, A. (2020). Eye tracking in second language acquisition and bilingualism: A research synthesis and methodological guide. Routledge.Google Scholar
Godfroid, A., & Winke, P. (2015). Investigating implicit and explicit processing using L2 learners’ eye-movement data. In P. Rebuschat (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages, (pp. 325–348). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Godfroid, A., Winke, P., & Conklin, K. (2020). Exploring the depths of second language processing with eye tracking: An introduction. Second Language Research, 36(3), 243–255. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grüter, T., Lew-Williams, C., & Fernald, A. (2012). Grammatical gender in L2: A production or a real-time processing problem? Second Language Research, 28(2), 191–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hopp, H. (2012). Grammatical gender in adult L2 acquisition: Relations between lexical and syntactic variability. Second Language Research, 29(1), 33–56. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hopp, H., & Lemmerth, N. (2018). Lexical and syntactic congruency in L2 predictive gender processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40(1), 171–199. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Huettig, F., Rommers, J., & Meyer, A. S. (2011). Using the visual world paradigm to study language processing: A review and critical evaluation. Acta Psychologica, 137(2), 151–171. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Instituto Cervantes. (2008). Diploma de español. Nivel intermedio. Retrieved on 10 June from [URL]
Jegerski, J., & VanPatten, B. (2014). Research methods in second language psycholinguistics. Routledge.Google Scholar
Jiang, N. (2004). Morphological insensitivity in second language processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 603–634. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Keating, G. D. (2009). Sensitivity to violations of gender in native and nonnative Spanish: An eye-movement investigation. Language Learning, 59(3), 503–535. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010). The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish. In B. VanPatten & J. Jegerski (Eds), Research in second language processing and parsing (pp. 113–134). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Keating, G. D., & Jegerski, J. (2015). Experimental designs in sentence processing research: A methodological review and user’s guide. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(1), 1–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuznetsova, A., Brockhoff, P., & Christensen, R. (2017). lmerTest Package: Tests in linear mixed effects models. Journal of Statistical Software, 82, 1–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leeser, M. J., Brandl, A., & Weissglass, C. (2011). Task effects in second language sentence processing research. In P. Trofimovich & K. McDonough (Eds.), Applying priming methods to L2 learning, teaching and research (pp. 179–198). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lemmerth, N., & Hopp, H. (2019). Gender processing in simultaneous and successive bilingual children: Cross-linguistic lexical and syntactic influences. Language Acquisition, 26(1), 21–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lew-Williams, C., & Fernald, A. (2010). Real-time processing of gender-marked articles by native and non-native Spanish speakers. Journal of Memory and Language, 63, 447–464. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lim, J. H., & Christianson, K. (2014). Second language sensitivity to agreement errors: Evidence from eye movements during comprehension and translation. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36(6), 1–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
López Prego, B., & Gabriele, A. (2014). Examining the impact of task demands on morphological variability in native and non-native Spanish. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 4(2), 192–221. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marian, V., Blumenfeld, H. K., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). The language experience and proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing language profiles in bilinguals and multilinguals. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50(4), 940–967. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marinis, T. (2010). Using on-line processing methods in language acquisition research. In E. Blom & S. Unsworth (Eds.), Experimental methods in language acquisition research (pp. 139–162). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mariscal, S. (2009). Early acquisition of gender agreement in the Spanish noun phrase: Starting small. Journal of Child Language, 36, 143–171. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marsden, E., Thompson, S., & Plonsky, L. (2018). A methodological synthesis of self-paced reading in second language research. Applied Psycholinguistics, 39(5), 861–904. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCarthy, C. (2008). Morphological variability in the comprehension of agreement: An argument for representation over computation. Second Language Research, 24(4), 459–486. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Miceli, G., Turriziani, P., Caltagirone, C., Capasso, R., Tomaiuolo, F., & Caramazza, A. (2002). The neural correlates of grammatical gender: An fMRI investigation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14(3), 618–628. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, D. C. (2004). On-line methods in language processing: Introduction and historical review. In M. Carreiras & C. Clifton (Eds.), The online study of sentence comprehension: Eyetracking, ERPs and beyond (pp. 15–32). Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Morales, L., Paolieri, D., Dussias, P. E., Valdes Kroff, J. R., Gerfen, C., & Bajo, M. T. (2016). The gender congruency effect during bilingual spoken-word recognition. Biling (Camb Engl), 19(2), 294–310. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pickering, M. J., Frisson, S., McElree, B., & Traxler, M. J. (2004). Eye movements and semantic composition. In M. Carreiras & C. Clifton (Eds.), The online study of sentence comprehension: Eyetracking, ERPs and beyond (pp. 33–50). Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Quiñones, I., Molinaro, N., Mancini, S., Hernández-Cabrera, J. A., Barber, H., & Carreiras, M. (2018). Tracing the interplay between syntactic and lexical features: fMRI evidence from agreement comprehension. Neuroimage, 175, 259–271. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rayner, K., & Liversedge, S. P. (2011). Linguistic and cognitive influences on eye movements during reading. In S. P. Liversedge, I. D. Gilchrist, & S. Everling (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of eye movements (pp. 751–766). Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reichle, E. D., Pollatsek, A., Fisher, D. L., & Rayner, K. (1998). Toward a model of eye movement control in reading. Psychological Review, 105(1), 125–157. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L. (2012). Psycholinguistic techniques and resources in second language acquisition research. Second Language Research, 28(1), 113–127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). Self-paced reading and L2 grammatical processing. In A. Mackey & E. Marsden (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp. 58–73). Routledge.Google Scholar
Roberts, L., & Liszka, S. A. (2013). Processing tense/aspect-agreement violations on-line in the second language: A self-paced reading study with French and German L2 learners of English. Second Language Research, 29(4), 413–439. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L., & Siyanova-Chanturia, A. (2013). Using eye-tracking to investigate topics in L2 acquisition and L2 processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35(2), 213–235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sabourin, L., & Stowe, L. A. (2008). Second language processing: When are first and second languages processed similarly. Second Language Research, 24(3), 397–430. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sagarra, N., & Herschensohn, J. (2010). The role of proficiency and working memory in gender and number agreement processing in L1 and L2 Spanish. Lingua, 120(8), 2022–2039. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). Proficiency and animacy effects on L2 gender agreement processes during comprehension. Language Learning, 61(1), 80–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spinner, P., Gass, S. M., & Behney, J. (2013). Ecological validity in eye-tracking: An empirical study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35(2), 389–415. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spino-Seijas, L. (2017). Grammatical gender agreement in L2 Spanish: The role of syntactic context (Unpublished PhD dissertation). Michigan State University.Google Scholar
Unsworth, S. (2008). Age and input in the acquisition of grammatical gender in Dutch. Second Language Research, 24(3), 365–395. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B., Keating, G. D., & Leeser, M. J. (2012). Missing verbal inflections as a representational problem: Evidence from self-paced reading. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 2(2), 109–140. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vitu, F., O’Regan, K., Inhoff, A. W., & Topolski, R. (1995). Mindless reading: Eye-movement characteristics are similar in scanning letter strings and reading texts. Perception and Psychophysics, 57(3), 352–364. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wen, S., Miyao, M., Takeda, A., Chu, W., & Schwartz, B. (2010). Proficiency effects and distance effects in nonnative processing of English number agreement. In K. Franich, K. Iserman & L. Keil (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 445–456). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
White, L., Valenzuela, E., Kozlowska-Macgregor, M., & Leung, Y.-K. I. (2004). Gender and number agreement in nonnative Spanish. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 105–133. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Witzel, N., Witzel, J., & Forster, K. (2012). Comparisons of online reading paradigms: Eye tracking, moving-window, and maze [Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t]. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 41(2), 105–128. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Papadopoulou, Despina, Nikolaos Amvrazis, Gerakini Douka & Alexandros Tantos
2024. Triangulating learner corpus and online experimental data: Evidence from gender agreement and relative clauses in L2 Greek. The Modern Language Journal DOI logo
Tantos, Alexandros, Nikolaos Amvrazis, Konstantinos Angelou & Kosmas Kosmidis
2023. Exploring Grammatical Gender Agreement in Russian Learners of Greek: An Eye-Tracking Study. Languages 8:4 ► pp. 265 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.