L1 congruency,word frequency,collocational frequency,L2 proficiency,and their combined effects on Chinese–English bilinguals’ L2 collocational processing

Abstract

Aims:

The current study investigated the effects of first language (L1) congruency, word frequency, collocational frequency, second language (L2) proficiency, and their combined effects on L2 collocational processing.

Methodology:

Twenty English native speakers and 60 adult Chinese–English bilinguals (intermediate and advanced) completed an online phrasal decision task. They made a judgment about whether target word pairs (congruent collocations, incongruent collocations, and non-collocational baseline items) were commonly used in English.

Data and analysis:

Response time and accuracy data were analyzed with mixed-effects models, with focus on the interactions of the variables of interest.

Findings:

Results demonstrated differential effects for the response time and accuracy data: (1) both L2 groups were significantly more accurate but not significantly faster in judging the congruent collocations than the incongruent collocations, and unexpectedly similar patterns were observed with the L1 group; (2) all participants were sensitive to word frequency and collocational frequency, but they differed in the manner and degree of such sensitivity; and (3) the processing of incongruent collocations showed greater combined effects of word frequency and collocational frequency than did the processing of congruent collocations.

Originality:

We specifically investigated the effects of multiple influencing factors and their combined effects. In addition, we addressed a methodological limitation regarding stimuli control by using congruent and incongruent collocational pairs that differed in only one constituent word.

Implications:

Our findings highlight the non-colinear relationship of L2 proficiency and (explicit and implicit) collocational knowledge as well as the semantic aspects of cross-language differences, and they also support the usage-based models.

Keywords

L1 congruency word frequency collocational frequency L2 proficiency L2 collocational processing

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