ACQUIRING L2 PRONOUN INTERPRETATION BIASES

Carla Contemori,Alba K Ramos,Sabrina Mossman

doi:10.1017/s0272263121000152

Carla Contemori, Alba K Ramos + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263121000152

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Abstract

AbstractLearners of a nonnull subject language (e.g., English) whose first language (L1) is a null subject language (e.g., Spanish) can show some optionality in the interpretation of overt subject pronouns in the second language (L2). By exposing L2 learners to nativelike interpretations of pronouns in discourse, we aim at understanding how exposure can promote implicit learning of pronoun comprehension biases in a L2. A sentence comprehension task was used with intermediate-proficiency English L2 speakers (L1 Spanish) that included a pretest, an exposure phase using the priming technique, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest administered 6–10 days later. English learners showed a significant increase in nativelike pronoun interpretations both in the immediate posttest and in the delayed posttest, in comparison to the pretest. The results show that exposure through priming can be effective in changing L2 participants’ interpretations and that effects of exposure are persistent and may aid in the successful acquisition of pronoun resolution biases.

Highlights

Anaphora resolution consists of resolving references to earlier or later words presented in the discourse
The results showed that both L2 and native speakers were sensitive to the prime stimuli and were more likely to interpret an ambiguous pronoun (e.g., “she” in (7)) as referring to the second antecedent (i.e., Linda in (7)) after encountering a prime sentence like (6), than after encountering a nonprime sentence
We compare local antecedent interpretations for ambiguous pronouns preceded by a baseline versus preceded by a prime sentence

Summary

Introduction

Anaphora resolution consists of resolving references to earlier or later words presented in the discourse. When speakers must resolve anaphoric expressions, they calculate the accessibility of the entities presented in the discourse. Semantic roles (e.g., agent vs patient) and grammatical roles (e.g., subject vs object) of the referents are crucial in calculating accessibility. Subjecthood is known to affect anaphora resolution, and anaphoric expressions are more likely to refer to antecedents in subject position than in other positions. In English, referents that are more accessible are usually expressed as pronouns in discourse. When presented with sentence (1), native speakers of English can quickly identify the referent of the pronoun “she” as “Mary” (e.g., Arnold et al, 2000)

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