German L2 Learners Research Articles

Why Pitch Sensitivity Matters: Event-Related Potential Evidence of Metric and Syntactic Violation Detection Among Spanish Late Learners of German

Event-related potential (ERP) data in monolingual German speakers have shown that sentential metric expectancy violations elicit a biphasic ERP pattern consisting of an anterior negativity and a posterior positivity (P600). This pattern is comparable to that elicited by syntactic violations. However, proficient French late learners of German do not detect violations of metric expectancy in German. They also show qualitatively and quantitatively different ERP responses to metric and syntactic violations. We followed up the questions whether (1) latter evidence results from a potential pitch cue insensitivity in speech segmentation in French speakers, or (2) if the result is founded in rhythmic language differences. Therefore, we tested Spanish late learners of German, as Spanish, contrary to French, uses pitch as a segmentation cue even though the basic segmentation unit is the same in French and Spanish (i.e., the syllable). We report ERP responses showing that Spanish L2 learners are sensitive to syntactic as well as metric violations in German sentences independent of attention to task in a P600 response. Overall, the behavioral performance resembles that of German native speakers. The current data suggest that Spanish L2 learners are able to extract metric units (trochee) in their L2 (German) even though their basic segmentation unit in Spanish is the syllable. In addition Spanish in contrast to French L2 learners of German are sensitive to syntactic violations indicating a tight link between syntactic and metric competence. This finding emphasizes the relevant role of metric cues not only in L2 prosodic but also in syntactic processing.

Animacy affects the processing of subject–object ambiguities in the second language: Evidence from self-paced reading with German second language learners of Dutch

ABSTRACTThe results of a self-paced reading study with German second language (L2) learners of Dutch showed that noun animacy affected the learners' on-line commitments when comprehending relative clauses in their L2. Earlier research has found that German L2 learners of Dutch do not show an on-line preference for subject–object word order in temporarily ambiguous relative clauses when no disambiguating material is available prior to the auxiliary verb. We investigated whether manipulating the animacy of the ambiguous noun phrases would push the learners to make an on-line commitment to either a subject- or object-first analysis. Results showed they performed like Dutch native speakers in that their reading times reflected an interaction between topichood and animacy in the on-line assignment of grammatical roles.

Developing an Intelligent Language Tutor

This article discusses the development and functionalities of an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (ICALL) system. By way of example, we describe E-Tutor, an ICALL system for L2 learners of German that has been in use for a decade. Based on advancements in technology, user studies with L2 learners of German as well as feedback provided by language instructors, students, and researchers, the system has undergone several system updates since its initial implementation in 1999. This article focuses on the pedagogical benefits of ICALL systems by also providing reflections on the development of such systems that resulted from the lessons we have learned in building and maintaining E-Tutor.

Processing Subject‐Object Ambiguities in the L2: A Self‐Paced Reading Study With German L2 Learners of Dutch

The results of two self‐paced reading experiments are reported, which investigated the online processing of subject‐object ambiguities in Dutch relative clause constructions like Dat is de vrouw die de meisjes heeft/hebben gezien by German advanced second language (L2) learners of Dutch. Native speakers of both Dutch and German have been shown to have a preference for a subject versus an object reading of such temporarily ambiguous sentences, and so we provided an ideal opportunity for the transfer of first language (L1) processing preferences to take place. We also investigated whether the participants' working memory span would affect their processing of the experimental items. The results suggest that processing decisions may be affected by working memory when task demands are high, and in this case the high working memory span learners patterned like the native speakers of lower working memory. However, when reading for comprehension alone and when only structural information was available to guide parsing decisions, working memory span had no effect on the L2 learners' online processing, and this differed from the native speakers' online processing even though the L1 and the L2 are highly comparable.

The Teaching and Acquisition of Focus Constructions: An Integrated Approach to Language Awareness Across the Curriculum

This paper reports on a study that examined a group of advanced German L2 learners' awareness and use of English focusing devices. Recent studies suggest that learners are aware of lexical resources, but lack awareness of grammatical structures. Focus constructions, i.e. pragmatically motivated word order variations, are pivotal to any text where information cannot be highlighted by prosodic means. They are also important with respect to idiomaticity and stylistics, and thus, an ideal topic for an integration of linguistics and literature in the foreign language classroom. German university students of English were confronted with a literary text in which focus constructions abound, and then given several tasks to assess their awareness of and ability to (re-)produce them. The findings show that even advanced students have only a very general awareness of information highlighting by means of formal aspects and genre-specific devices, while their awareness of syntactic means is very low. The paper discusses the pedagogical implications of these findings and argues for a discourse grammar approach to the teaching of focus constructions, proposing a teaching unit designed to raise students' awareness for the fundamentals of information structure.

ONLINE PRONOUN RESOLUTION IN L2 DISCOURSE: L1 Influence and General Learner Effects

This study investigates whether advanced second language (L2) learners of a nonnull subject language (Dutch) are influenced by their null subject first language (L1) (Turkish) in their offline and online resolution of subject pronouns in L2 discourse. To tease apart potential L1 effects from possible general L2 processing effects, we also tested a group of German L2 learners of Dutch who were predicted to perform like the native Dutch speakers. The two L2 groups differed in their offline interpretations of subject pronouns. The Turkish L2 learners exhibited a L1 influence, because approximately half the time they interpreted Dutch subject pronouns as they would overt pronouns in Turkish, whereas the German L2 learners performed like the Dutch controls, interpreting pronouns as coreferential with the current discourse topic. This L1 effect was not in evidence in eye-tracking data, however. Instead, the L2 learners patterned together, showing an online processing disadvantage when two potential antecedents for the pronoun were grammatically available in the discourse. This processing disadvantage was in evidence irrespective of the properties of the learners' L1 or their final interpretation of the pronoun. Therefore, the results of this study indicate both an effect of the L1 on the L2 in offline resolution and a general L2 processing effect in online subject pronoun resolution.

The Teaching and Acquisition of Focus Constructions: An Integrated Approach to Language Awareness Across the Curriculum

This paper reports on a study that examined a group of advanced German L2 learners' awareness and use of English focusing devices. Recent studies suggest that learners are aware of lexical resources, but lack awareness of grammatical structures. Focus constructions, i.e. pragmatically motivated word order variations, are pivotal to any text where information cannot be highlighted by prosodic means. They are also important with respect to idiomaticity and stylistics, and thus, an ideal topic for an integration of linguistics and literature in the foreign language classroom. German university students of English were confronted with a literary text in which focus constructions abound, and then given several tasks to assess their awareness of and ability to (re-)produce them. The findings show that even advanced students have only a very general awareness of information highlighting by means of formal aspects and genre-specific devices, while their awareness of syntactic means is very low. The paper discusses the pedagogical implications of these findings and argues for a discourse grammar approach to the teaching of focus constructions, proposing a teaching unit designed to raise students' awareness for the fundamentals of information structure.

Processing strategies and the comprehension of sentence-level input by L2 learners of German

This study investigates how L2 learners of German (English L1) process structural and semantic information when reading German sentences. In a timed comprehension task, intermediate and advanced L2 learners of German read sentences that varied according to word order (subject-first versus object-first) and subject animacy (inanimate subject versus animate subject). Both learner groups exhibited higher comprehension rates and faster reading times for sentences with an inanimate subject, and higher comprehension rates for subject-first compared to object-first sentences. Only among the advanced L2 learners did this subject-first preference translate into significant reading time differences. Comprehension rates for advanced L2 learners were also higher than for intermediate L2 learners in sentences with an animate subject. The results suggest that while both learner groups adopted semantic-based processing strategies, the advanced L2 learners were better able to utilize structural-based strategies to interpret case markings and word order when completing the task.

The Use and Non‐Use of Semantic Information, Word Order, and Case Markings During Comprehension by L2 Learners of German

This article presents findings from a year‐long study of how intermediate second language (L2) learners of German (English first language) used case markings, word order, and semantic information when comprehending individual German sentences. The results showed that the learners relied on word order and semantic information, but did not necessarily use case‐marking information. The learners' performance, however, improved as the study progressed, which suggests that with repeated exposure to the target sentences, they became more adept at noticing and processing case‐marking information. The findings have implications for grammar instruction, not only at intermediate levels, but also for beginning‐level L2 instruction.

The Impact of Proficiency on Syntactic Second-language Processing of German and Italian: Evidence from Event-related Potentials

The present study investigated the role of proficiency in late second-language (L2) processing using comparable stimuli in German and Italian. Both sets of stimuli consisted of simple active sentences including a word category violation, a morphosyntactic agreement violation, or a combination of the two. Four experiments were conducted to study high- and low-proficiency L2 learners of German as well as high- and low-proficiency L2 learners of Italian. High-proficiency L2 learners in both languages showed the same event-related potential (ERP) components as native speakers for all syntactic violations. For the word category violation, they displayed an early anterior negativity (ELAN), an additional negativity reflecting reference-related processes, and a late P600 evidencing processes of reanalysis. For the processing of the morphosyntactic error, an anterior negativity (LAN) and a P600 were observed, whereas for the combined violation, the same ERP components were found as in the pure category violation. In high-proficiency L2 learners, the timing of the processing steps was equivalent to that of native speakers, although some amplitude differences were present. Low-proficiency L2 learners, however, showed qualitative differences in the agreement violation characterized by the absence of the LAN and quantitative differences reflected in a delayed P600 in every violation condition. These findings emphasize that with a high proficiency, late L2 learners can indeed show native-like neural responses with the timing approximating that of native speakers. This challenges the idea that there are fundamental differences in language processing in the brain between natives and late L2 learners.

Transfer and typological proximity in the context of second language processing

In this article, the issue of cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition is examined from a processing perspective. Applying Processability Theory as the theoretical framework we claim that second language (L2) learners can only produce forms they are able to process. We thus argue that the first language (L1) influence on the L2 is developmentally moderated. Data were collected from German L2 learners with Swedish as their L1. Twenty informants participated in the study, 10 in their first year of German (13 years of age) and 10 in their second year of German (14 years of age). Both languages involved are typologically very close but not mutually intelligible. The results show that Swedish learners of German do not transfer the verb-second structure from their L1 to the L2 even though this structure is identical in both languages.Instead they start out with canonical word order and subsequently produce an intermediate structure (adv NPsubjV X), which is ungrammatical in the L1 and the L2. These observations support the idea of a developmentally moderated transfer. The results clearly contradict the predictions from the ‘full transfer/full access’ hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994; 1996).

Influences of Typological Parameters on L2 Learners’ Judgments of Null Pronouns in English*

This study examines the responses of 60 Spanish, Chinese, and German L2 learners to English sentences with empty pronominal categories (ECs). Empty pronouns are not only acceptable in finite clauses of Spanish and Chinese but are pragmatically more natural (Rizzi, 1982; Huang, 1984, 1985). However, the phenomena are not sanctioned in standard German, which is similar to the condition for English. These facts were taken to indicate that the parametric apparatus governing pronoun conduct in the L1 of the Spanish and Chinese L2 learners would be less like that of German learners to a significant degree. It was also expected that if all three groups were asked to judge and edit English sentences with null pronouns, the Spanish and Chinese Ss would make significantly more errors than would the German Ss because of parametric adjustments than the former two groups would need to make. But this outcome was not fully supported by the data as it was only the Spanish Ss and not the Chinese Ss whose mean errors were significantly higher than those of the German group. Evidence indicated that typological parameters linked to pragmatic versus syntactic motivations of L1 had to be considered in accounting for the results.

Da oder weil, daher oder deswegen? / Weil es nicht zielsprachenadäquat ist…? Deswegen! Zielsprachenadäquate Ausdrücke von Kausalität in L1- und L2-Texten im Deutschen

Grammar books for L2-learners mostly follow grammatical themes, e.g. sentence – verb – conjunctions. However, when a L2-learner composes a text, he will probably focus more on the function he wants to express than the form he wants to use. In this article, functionality versus grammatical categories will be discussed in order to answer the question, whether and – if so – how German and Dutch students differ in their way of expressing causality in academic writing. An analysis of German Bachelor’s and Master’s theses written by German and Dutch students showed differences between these groups in their use of subcategories (word classes) and specific words for expressing causality. The absence of a functional structure and specific information about the use of causal connectives in grammar books can therefore be regarded asan important cause for these findings. Especially for advanced L2-learners of German it seems recommendable to organize grammar books to put a greater focus on function (rather than form).