Chinese L2 Learners’ Use of Structural and Lexical Information in Processing English Subject and Object Relative Clauses
نویسنده
چکیده
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a significant difference in the use of syntactic and semantic information, or the combination of both in Chinese learners’ processing strategies of English subject and object relative clauses. It also aims at determining whether a relationship exists in Chinese speakers’ L1 and L2 processing strategies. Thirty three advanced and 27 less advanced Chinese learners of English participated in a complex-rating task where they rated the complexity of both English and Chinese subject and object relative clauses based on a five-point scale. The results of this study indicated that like the control group, the advanced Chinese learners of English were able to use both syntactic and semantic information. However, in processing English subject and object relative clauses, the less advanced Chinese learners of English relied more on semantic information than syntactic cues.
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