Incidental acquisition of multiword expressions through audiovisual input: The role of repetition and typographic enhancement

There has been limited research on the efficacy of captioned second language (L2) television in facilitating the incidental acquisition of multiword expressions (MWEs). The present study aims to fill this gap. Additionally, this study examined the role of typographic enhancement and repetition. One-hundred and twenty-two L2 learners were assigned to one of six conditions which differed in terms of caption condition (no captions, normal captions, enhanced captions) and the number of times they watched the same video (once, twice). The participants took a cued MWE form recall test before watching the video, and immediately and two weeks after watching it. A content comprehension test was also administered. Repetition resulted in better content comprehension as well as better acquisition of MWEs. Both caption types positively influenced MWE recall relative to watching the video without captions, but typographic enhancement reduced the benefits of captions for content comprehension

Lexical fixedness and compositionality in L1 speakers’ and L2 learners’ intuitions about word combinations: Evidence from Italian

The present investigation focuses on first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers’ sensitivity to lexical fixedness and compositionality of Italian word combinations. Two studies explored language users’ intuitions about three types of word combinations: free combinations, collocations, and idioms. In Study 1, Italian Verb+Noun combinations were embedded in sentential contexts, with control conditions created by substituting the verb with a synonym. L1 and L2 speakers rated sentence acceptability. In Study 2, the original verb was removed from sentences. Participants chose the verb from the list provided they felt was most acceptable. Computational measures were used to measure compositionality of word combinations. Mixed-effects modelling revealed that L1 and L2 speakers judged target word combinations differently in terms of lexical fixedness. In line with phraseological models, L1 speakers judged the use of a synonym as less acceptable in collocations than free combinations. On the contrary, L2 learners judged the use of a synonym as more acceptable in collocations than free combinations

EXPRESS: As clear as glass: How figurativeness and familiarity impact simile processing in readers with and without dyslexia

For skilled readers, idiomatic language confers faster access to overall meaning compared with non-idiomatic language, with a processing advantage for figurative over literal interpretation. However, currently very little research exists to elucidate whether atypical readers – such as those with developmental dyslexia – show such a processing advantage for figurative interpretations of idioms, or whether their reading impairment implicates subtle differences in semantic access. We wanted to know whether an initial figurative interpretation of similes, for both typical and dyslexic readers, is dependent on familiarity. Here, we tracked typical and dyslexic readers’ eye movements as they read sentences containing similes (e.g. as cold as ice), orthogonally manipulated for novelty (e.g. familiar: as cold as ice, novel: as cold as snow) and figurativeness (e.g. literal: as cold as ice [low temperature], figurative: as cold as ice [emotionally distant]), with figurativeness being defined by the sentence context. Both participant groups exhibited a processing advantage for familiar and figurative similes over novel and literal similes. However, compared to typical readers, participants with dyslexia had greater difficulty processing similes both when they were unfamiliar, and when the context biased the simile meaning toward a literal rather than a figurative interpretation. Our findings suggest a semantic processing anomaly in dyslexic readers, which we discuss in light of recent literature on sentence-level semantic processing

On-line processing of multi-word sequences in a first and second language: evidence from eye-tracking and ERP

A view that has been gaining popularity is that humans are sensitive to frequency information at different levels, and that this information affects the processing of linguistic material, subsequently shaping our mental representations. Frequency effects have been reported extensively in word processing literature, but only a small number of studies have investigated frequency effects in units larger than a word. The question that the present thesis strives to answer is: Do units above the word level, both fully compositional and less so, exhibit frequency effects? In Study 1, using an eye-tracking paradigm, I investigate the comprehension of idioms used figuratively (at the end of the day – 'eventually'), literally (at the end of the day - 'in the evening'), as well as novel phrases (at the end of the war) in a first and second language. In Study 2, which also uses eye-tracking, native and non-native processing of frequent binomial expressions, such as bride and groom, is compared to their infrequent reversed forms, such as groom and bride. Finally, three ERP experiments, which form Study 3, further investigate on-line processing of frequent binomial expressions versus novel phrases in a first language. The results of the studies point to the following. Frequent phrases are processed faster than novel ones by native speakers. Non-native speakers, on the other hand, appear to have a "lexicon in transition", that is, their processing starts to approximate that of natives only with respect to very high frequency items. Overall, the processing of frequent multi-word sequences in a second language is more sequential than that in a first language (this is particularly the case with idioms). The processing advantage for binomials observed in the ERP study with native speakers also suggests that different neural correlates underlie the processing of familiar phrases when compared to novel ones. On the whole, the findings reported in the thesis suggest that the units that language users attend to are not limited to single words, but extend to multi-word sequences as well

The Effect of Gloss Type on Learners’ Intake of New Words During Reading: Evidence from Eye-tracking

A reading experiment combining online and off-line data evaluates the effect on second language learners’ reading behaviours and lexical uptake of three gloss types designed to clarify word meaning. These are (a) a textual definition, (b) a textual definition accompanied by a picture, and (c) a picture only. We recorded eye movements while intermediate learners of English read a story presented on-screen and containing six glossed pseudowords repeated three times each. Cumulative fixation counts and time spent on the pseudowords predicted post-test performance for form recall and meaning recognition, confirming findings of previous eye-tracking studies of vocabulary acquisition from reading. However, the total visual attention given to pseudowords and glosses was smallest in the condition with picture-only glosses, and yet this condition promoted best retention of word meaning. This suggests that gloss types differentially influence learners’ processing of novel words in ways that may elude the quantitative measures of attention captured by eye-tracking

Seeing a phrase “time and again” matters: the role of phrasal frequency in the processing of multiword sequences

Are speakers sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in language. The authors report an eye-tracking study that investigates this by examining the processing of multiword sequences that differ in phrasal frequency by native and proficient nonnative English speakers. Participants read sentences containing 3-word binomial phrases (bride and groom) and their reversed forms (groom and bride), which are identical in syntax and meaning but that differ in phrasal frequency. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that native speakers and nonnative speakers, across a range of proficiencies, are sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in English. Results also indicate that native speakers and higher proficiency nonnatives are sensitive to whether a phrase occurs in a particular configuration (binomial vs. reversed) in English, highlighting the contribution of entrenchment of a particular phrase in memory

On the Benefits of Multimodal Annotations for Vocabulary Uptake from Reading

Several research articles published in the realm of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) have reported evidence of the benefits of multimodal annotations, i.e., the provision of pictorial as well as verbal clarifications, for vocabulary uptake from reading. Almost invariably, these publications account for the observed benefits with reference to Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory, suggesting it is the visual illustration of word meaning that enhances the quality of processing and hence makes new words more memorable. In this discussion article, we explore the possibility that it is not necessarily the multimodality per se that accounts for the reported benefits. Instead, we argue that the provision of multimodal annotations is one of several possible means of inviting more and/or longer attention to the annotations — with amounts of attention given to words being a significant predictor of their retention in memory. After reviewing the available research on the subject and questioning whether invoking Paivio’s Dual Coding Theory is an optimal account for reported findings, we report an eye-tracking study the results of which are consistent with the alternative thesis that the advantage of multimodal glosses for word learning lies with the greater quantity of attention these glosses attract in comparison with single-mode glosses. We conclude with a call for further research on combinations and sequences of annotation types, regardless of multimodality, as ways of promoting vocabulary uptake from reading

The processing of formulaic language

It is generally accepted that we store representations of individual words in our mental lexicon. There is growing agreement that the lexicon also contains formulaic language (How are you? kick the bucket). In fact, there are compelling reasons to think that the brain represents formulaic sequences in long-term memory, bypassing the need to compose them online through word selection and grammatical sequencing in capacity-limited working memory. The research surveyed in this chapter strongly supports the position that there is an advantage in the way that native speakers process formulaic language compared to nonformulaic language. This advantage extends to the access and use of different types of formulaic language, including idioms, binomials, collocations, and lexical bundles. However, the evidence is mixed for nonnative speakers. While very proficient nonnatives sometimes exhibit processing advantages similar to natives, less proficient learners often have been shown to process formulaic language in a word-by-word manner similar to nonformulaic language. Furthermore, if the formulaic language is idiomatic (where the meaning cannot be understood from the component words), the figurative meanings can be much more difficult to process for nonnatives than nonidiomatic, nonformulaic language

Eye movements in vocabulary research: Current findings and future directions

The field of vocabulary research is witnessing a growing interest in the use of eye-tracking to investigate topics that have traditionally been examined using offline measures, providing new insights into the processing and learning of vocabulary. During an eye-tracking experiment, participants’ eye movements are recorded while they attend to written or auditory input, resulting in a rich record of online processing behaviour. Because of its many benefits, eye-tracking is becoming a major research technique in vocabulary research. However, before this emerging trend of eye-tracking based vocabulary research continues to proliferate, it is important to step back and reflect on what current studies have shown about the processing and learning of vocabulary, and the ways in which we can use the technique in future research. To this aim, the present paper provides a comprehensive overview of current eye-tracking research findings, both in terms of the processing and learning of single words and formulaic sequences. Current research gaps and potential avenues for future research are also discussed

Short- and long-term effects of rote rehearsal on ESL learners’ processing of L2 collocations

Worldwide there is thought to be around 750 million people who speak English as a foreign language (Crystal, 2003, p. 69). For these speakers the difference between make a picture and take a picture may seem arbitrary. However, use of the former is likely to influence how their second language (L2) performance is perceived (Boers, Eyckmans, Kappel, Stengers, & Demecheleer, 2006). Consequently, L2 speakers' use of collocations (“fixed, identifiable, non-idiomatic phrases and constructions”; Benson, Benson, & Ilson, 1997, p. xv) and other formulaic sequences is an important aspect of L2 competence (Wray, 2002). Several factors appear to influence the acquisition and use of L2 collocations. One of them is L1–L2 collocational congruency. Research has demonstrated that word-for-word translation equivalents (congruent collocations) are processed more efficiently than incongruent collocations (Wolter & Gyllstad, 2011; Yamashita & Jiang, 2010). Moreover, research has demonstrated that collocational frequency, and the frequency of formulaic sequences more generally, influences processing, with more frequent combinations being processed more quickly (Siyanova-Chanturia, Conklin, & van Heuven, 2011; Wolter & Gyllstad, 2013). Researchers have also explored the role of different L2 input conditions on the processing of collocations. Sonbul and Schmitt (2013) compared the effects of three treatments (enriched, enhanced, and decontextualized input) on the collocational competence of learners of English as a second language (ESL). For explicit knowledge, they observed an improvement in both receptive and productive tests for all treatment conditions, but for implicit knowledge no gains were found. Peters (2012) examined L2-German learners' acquisition of words and formulaic sequences as dependent on an instructional method (directing learners' attention through instructions) and input enhancement (bolding and underlining). In a form recall test, input enhancement led to gains in learners' knowledge, whereas the instructional method did not seem to affect their results. The present study brings together a number of questions that have been prominent in the literature by examining the short- and long-term effects of two different input conditions on ESL learners' processing of L2 collocations, as well as exploring the influence of frequency and collocational congruency