Abstract
Based on the models of lexical ambiguity resolution and the organization of L2 mental lexicon proposed by previous researchers in recent years, this paper aimed at investigating the correlation between the Chinese EFL learners’ homonym processing in relation to their organization of L2 mental lexicon through cross-modal sentence-priming lexical decision tasks and word association tasks completed by both English major and non-English major students. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the learners’ organization of L2 mental lexicon and their performance on English homonym processing. Inferential statistic analysis indicates that learners whose L2 mental lexicon is more syntagmatically related can process the English homonym more effectively. They can use contextual cues (semantic and syntactic information) to deactivate inappropriate meanings while low proficiency learners may be slower and less effective in using the sentence context cues needed for disambiguation. Therefore, it has been tentatively indicated that effective spreading activation of a word during reading and listening is important and helpful for learners’ comprehension, and pedagogically suggested that consciously categorizing syntagmatically related words in L2 mental lexicon during teaching and learning new English words can help reconstruct lexical networks so as to correctly and quickly retrieve the words from the mental lexicon in a certain context and better understand the meaning of the whole context in reading and listening.
Highlights
L proficiency) influence learners’ homonym processing, many different experimental tasks have been conducted
Based on the models of lexical ambiguity resolution and the organization of L2 mental lexicon proposed by previous researchers in recent years, this paper aimed at investigating the correlation between the Chinese EFL learners’ homonym processing in relation to their organization of L2 mental lexicon through cross-modal sentence-priming lexical decision tasks and word association tasks completed by both English major and non-English major students
Since the storage mode of the L2 mental lexicon can affect the retrieval of the words, the reorganization of L2 mental lexicon is crucial to speech comprehension
Summary
L proficiency) influence learners’ homonym processing, many different experimental tasks (phoneme-monitoring paradigm, eye-movement techniques and the primed lexical decision task) have been conducted. Findings suggest that the homonym processing in L1 depends on two main factors: the relative frequency of word meanings and constrains imposed by the context It still remains a controversial issue, as three different kinds of models have been proposed. Studies in L2 (Elston-Guttler & Friederici 2004; Frenck-Mestre & Prince, 1997; Love, Maas, & Swinney, 2003) only began a decade ago and have obtained limited results on the processing of lexical ambiguity within a non-native language Those mixed findings call for additional studies on the influence of sentence context on homonym processing in relation to their language proficiency and organization of their mental lexicon and to specify the factors that might influence the learners’ homonym processing. Paradigmatic associations describe the relationship between the meanings of the words, such as synonymy, antonymy, and hyponymy
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