Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution and Task Influence by Korean Learners of English

Abstract

The present study investigates the questions of (a) how Korean speakers of learning English process locally ambiguous reduced relative clause during on-line comprehension and (b) whether/how task at hands changes second language (L2) processing patterns in ambiguity resolution. Participants read the locally ambiguous sentences that contain reduced relative clauses on a self-paced reading task. The stimuli sentences were manipulated with verb morphology, post-ambiguity cue, and different types of comprehension questions. The results showed that the L2 speakers were able to make use of both verb morphology and post-ambiguity cue information and that the sensitivity was influenced by the question types. The study suggests that the L2 learners are influenced by both verb morphology and cue information when resolving the ambiguity, and that reading goals significantly affects the process of ambiguity resolution. The findings are discussed in light of the good-enough (GE) language processing.