Reanalysis of ERP Studies on EFL Learners' Language Recursion-based Sentence Parsing

Abstract

This paper will investigate the possibility that EFL can learn the sentence parsing algorithms. This approach stems from Kim et al.s (2013, 2014) ERP studies which show some changes of EFL learners parsing results by educating them English parsing strategies. Referring to these studies, this paper will assume that learning parsing algorithms can lead the results of learning to be changed into getting closer to the level of English L1 speakers. To justify this assumption, this paper will identify the relevant evidence that the essence of the sentence parsing can be learned while we reanalyze EFL leaners syntactic responses from the previous ERP studies. Furthermore, this paper will also present the theoretical foundation to assume the possibility of learning parsing algorithms resulted from the language recursion: a property of human languages (Hauser et al. 2002, Jackendoff and Pinker 2005, Pinker and Jackendoff 2005). Through this investigation, this paper will claim that, though parsing algorithms vary according to the particular grammars, not only might parsing operations be correlated to the recursion of language, but also parsing algorithms can be learned by EFL due to the language property common to human-beings.