Past Tense Verb Processing by Native Speakers and L2 Learners of English: Evidence from Masked Priming Experiment

Abstract

The current study investigated (i) how past tense verb morphology is processed online, and (ii) whether mechanism employed during morphology processing is fundamentally the same between native speakers and L2 learners. Twelve native speakers of English and 12 Korean learners of English (6 intermediate (L2-I); 6 highly proficient (L2-H)) were recruited for the experiment. An adapted version of masked priming paradigm was used, and thirty regular/irregular past tense verb pairs served as critical items (15 regular; 15 irregular). The prime words were presented in three conditions: (a) Identical, (b) Related, (c) Unrelated. Measured RTs were analyzed by using multiple linear regression models. There was full priming effect (a=b<c) in the native control group, supporting a dual-mechanism model for morphology processing. While the L2-I showed partial priming effect (a<b<c), L2-H demonstrated full priming effect, the same tendency observed in the L1 group, substantiating the argument that native speakers and L2 learners have the same language processing mechanism with regard to morphology in past tense verbs.