Prototype effects in first and second language learners: The case of English transitive semantics

Abstract

According to usage-based approaches to language acquisition, linguistic constructions should display prototype effects, or graded category membership (e.g., Bybee, 2010). Using the prototype-plus-distortion methodology (Franks & Bransford, 1971), Ibbotson, Theakston, Lieven, and Tomasello (2012) have provided evidence for prototype effects in adult native English speakers, who had false-positive recognition of sentences with prototypical transitive semantics as having been previously encountered after being exposed to non-prototypical transitive semantics. In the current study, I adopted this methodology and investigated whether the effects can be replicated and additionally observed from English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners. Results from two groups of adult native English speakers (N=20 and N=21), each exposed to a different stimuli set, suggested some, but not strong, effects and revealed the complexity of the use of this methodology with linguistic materials. Moreover, no effects were observed from advanced adult ESL learners (N=22), suggesting possible differences between first and second transitive semantic representations.

Frequency effects on first and second language compositional phrase comprehension and production

“…Recent years have seen an increase in usage-based L2 research (e.g., Ellis, 2019;Ellis, Römer, & O'Donnell, 2016;Ortega, 2013;Supasiraprapa, 2018) due to the proposal that, as in L1 acquisition, L2 acquisition is driven by accumulation of statistical probabilities of previously encountered input (e.g., Ellis, 2011Ellis, , 2013. However, the L2 literature has also documented various L1-L2 acquisition differences, which may lead to different frequency effects between adult NSs and adult non-native English speakers (NNSs).…”

Asociaciones prototípicas en la producción y disponibilidad léxica de adolescentes españoles y eslovenos en español y en inglés como lenguas extranjeras

“…En este caso, aproximadamente ocho de las investigaciones revisadas se centran en lenguas diferentes como: inglés, español, chino, suajili (Tanzania), esloveno, polaco, alemán, cantonés, turco y finlandés. Centrándonos en el inglés como LE, en los estudios de Ibbotson y Tomasello ( 2009) así como Supasiraprapa (2017), los prototipos fueron presentados a través de construcciones en la adquisición temprana de una lengua y los efectos prototípicos en aprendientes de una primera y una segunda lengua en la adultez. El primer estudio con niños alemanes, polacos, cantoneses e ingleses, el segundo con adultos chinos e ingleses arrojaron resultados de prototipicidad en cuanto al tipo de producciones orales y escritas emitidas por cada uno de los grupos tanto en inglés como lengua nativa como en lengua extranjera a través del uso de oraciones transitivas del patrón de (SVO) sujeto-verbo-objeto.…”