Effects of Verb Semantics and Proficiency in Second Language Use of Constructional Knowledge

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of the semantic heaviness of verbs (i.e., heavy or light verbs) and language proficiency on second language (L2) learners’ use of constructional information in a sentence‐sorting task and a corpus analysis. Previous studies employing a sentence‐sorting task demonstrated that advanced L2 learners sorted English sentences according to argument structure constructions rather than lexical verbs. However, these studies collapsed both heavy (e.g., cut, throw) and light (e.g., get, take) verbs into a single variable, blurring the effects of the semantic heaviness of the verbs. The present study designed a sentence‐sorting task involving heavy and light verbs as separate variables and administered it with advanced and intermediate adult learners of English (Experiment 1). Results showed that while advanced learners showed construction‐dominant sortings regardless of the heaviness of a verb, intermediate learners produced construction‐based sortings only in the light verb condition. A corpus analysis of learner essays (Experiment 2) revealed that intermediate learners relied on light verbs in producing constructions more strongly than advanced learners and native speakers. These findings suggest that L2 proficiency modulates the degree to which the semantic heaviness of a verb affects learners’ use of constructional knowledge in sorting and producing English sentences.

Constructional Processing in a Second Language: The Role of Constructional Knowledge in Verb‐Construction Integration

“…Among 67 participants, 26 sorted the sentences entirely by construction, 11 sorted the sentences entirely by verb, and the remaining 30 produced mixed sorts. The observed strong construction‐based sorting aligns with the previous findings that L2 learners generally rely more on construction cues than on verb semantics in sorting sentences (e.g., Gries & Wulff, ; Kim & Rah, ; Lee & Kim, ; Liang, ; Valenzuela & Rojo, ).…”

“…Before we present the current study, we first review some previous findings of how L2 learners rely on constructional information in a sentence sorting task. Numerous studies have shown that advanced L2 learners can make use of constructional cues in English sentence comprehension (Gries & Wulff, ; Kim & Rah, ; Lee & Kim, ; Liang, ; Valenzuela & Rojo, ). These studies adopt the sentence sorting paradigm (Bencini & Goldberg, ) to test the degree of language users’ reliance on constructional information based on the assumption that learners who can use constructional knowledge will sort sentences according to constructional commonalities.…”

“…However, the hypothesized role of constructional knowledge in sentence comprehension and production has hardly been tested in second language (L2) contexts. Although several studies have shown that L2 learners can draw upon constructional information to cluster sentences by meaning (e.g., Gries & Wulff, ; Kim & Rah, ; Lee & Kim, ; Liang, ; Valenzuela & Rojo, ), little is known about the role of one's knowledge of constructional information in sentence comprehension.…”

Integration of Verbal and Constructional Information in the Second Language Processing of English Dative Constructions

“…These studies corroborate that L2 learners evince an increased ability to capitalize on constructional information for constructing sentence meaning as their target language proficiency increases. Increasing proficiency also allows learners to employ verbs that are less strongly associated with target constructions in production (Ellis & Ferreira-Junior, 2009;Kim et al, 2017;Kim & Rah, 2016;Kyle & Crossley, 2017). More proficient learners tend to employ various types of verbs in the same constructions, including those that are less likely to appear in the target constructions (e.g., a ditransitive use of drop as in John dropped me a letter).…”

Applied Cognitive Construction Grammar: A usage-based approach to the teaching of phrasal verbs (and other constructions)

“…Conversely, beginner-level students are more prone to utilize verbal meanings as predictors of sentence semantics (cf. Kim and Rah 2016). This suggests the need for a type of instruction that helps learners gain access to constructions (instead of vocabulary) earlier than it is the case in traditional L2 teaching.…”