Advanced learners' comprehension of discourse connectives: The role of L1 transfer across on-line and off-line tasks. (July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zufferey, Sandrine; Mak, Willem; Degand, Liesbeth; Sanders, Ted
• Is Part Of: Second language research. Volume 31:Number 3(2015)
• Page Start: 389
• Page End: 411
• Publication Date: 2015-07
• Subjects: discourse connectives -- eye-tracking -- English as a foreign language -- grammaticality judgments -- transfer; Second language acquisition -- Periodicals; Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 401.93
• DOI: 10.1177/0267658315573349
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0267-6583

Abstract

Discourse connectives are important indicators of textual coherence, and mastering them is an essential part of acquiring a language. In this article, we compare advanced learners' sensitivity to the meaning conveyed by connectives in an off-line grammaticality judgment task and an on-line reading experiment using eye-tracking. We also assess the influence of first language (L1) transfer by comparing learners' comprehension of two non-native-like semantic uses of connectives in English, often produced by learners due to transfer from French and Dutch. Our results indicate that in an off-line task transfer is an important factor accounting for French- and Dutch-speaking learners' non-native-like comprehension of connectives. During on-line processing, however, learners are as sensitive as native speakers to the meaning conveyed by connectives. These results raise intriguing questions regarding explicit vs. implicit knowledge in language learners.