The role of language proficiency and statistical learning in on-line comprehension of syntax among bilingual adult readers

dc.contributor.authorChui, Yuk Lingen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-08T04:39:56Z
dc.date.available2018-05-08T04:39:56Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractStatistical learning (SL) is the ability to identify co-occurring regularities from the environment, and has been implicated in learning across a range of skills, including language. This research project investigated whether there are associations between SL and on-line sentence processing in L1 Chinese L2 English bilinguals, and sought to examine whether second language proficiency mediated the relationship between visual SL and L2 language processing. To this end, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, sixty Chinese-English bilinguals completed a self-paced reading task in Mandarin and English, which tested participants’ on-line processing of subject and object relative clauses (RCs). They also completed a nonlinguistic visual SL task and a battery of additional measures measuring L2 English proficiency and general cognitive abilities. The results revealed that only nonverbal intelligence predicted L1 Chinese RCs processing, and neither visual SL capacity nor L2 proficiency predicted L2 English RCs processing. One possible explanation is that SL is partially modality-specific. Therefore, an auditory SL task was employed in addition to visual SL task in Study 2. In Study 2, fifty-two native Mandarin-speaking adults completed tests of visual and auditory SL, a self-paced reading task measuring the online processing of Mandarin relative clauses, and measures of general cognitive abilities. The results showed that auditory SL capacity independently predicted reading times in the self-paced reading task. Visual SL was also related to language processing, although the effect was marginal. The findings from Study 2 suggest that individual differences in adults’ capacity for SL are associated with on-line processing of Chinese.en_AU
dc.identifier.otherb49661978
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/143250
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.titleThe role of language proficiency and statistical learning in on-line comprehension of syntax among bilingual adult readersen_AU
dc.typeThesis (MPhil)en_AU
dcterms.valid2018en_AU
local.contributor.affiliationCollege of Medicine Biology and Environment, The Australian National Universityen_AU
local.contributor.authoremailkerichui007@gmail.comen_AU
local.contributor.supervisorKidd, Evan
local.contributor.supervisorcontactevan.kidd@anu.edu.auen_AU
local.description.notesthe author deposited 8/05/2018en_AU
local.identifier.doi10.25911/5d6668cfe6e31
local.mintdoimint
local.type.degreeMaster of Philosophy (MPhil)en_AU

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