Where does the processing advantage of collocations come from? Evidence from L1 and L2 speakers’ eye movements on adjacent and non-adjacent collocations

IF 4.9 1区文学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

System Pub Date : 2025-05-20 DOI:10.1016/j.system.2025.103724

Wei Hong, Le Ma

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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that collocations exhibit a processing advantage over novel word combinations, yet the underlying mechanisms still require further investigation. Using eye-tracking paradigm, we examined how native speakers of Chinese (Experiment 1) and L2 learners (Experiment 2) process adjacent and non-adjacent collocations, aiming to clarify the mechanisms of collocation processing. The results showed that both groups showed processing advantages for adjacent collocations, but differed for non-adjacent ones: native speakers extended the advantage to non-adjacent forms, regardless of insertion length, whereas L2 learners did not. Since the non-adjacent collocations used in this study are rare in corpora, but native speakers still exhibited advantages, this suggests their advantage does not simply stem from holistic storage, but is due to faster mapping of components or abstractions-made-of-exemplars. For L2 learners, the processing advantage disappeared with non-adjacent collocations, indicating that even intermediate-to-advanced learners struggle to develop robust representations of collocations like native speakers.

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搭配的加工优势从何而来？来自母语和第二语言使用者对相邻和非相邻搭配的眼球运动的证据

先前的研究表明，搭配比新单词组合表现出加工优势，但潜在的机制仍需要进一步研究。本研究采用眼动追踪范式，考察了汉语母语者（实验1）和二语学习者（实验2）对相邻搭配和非相邻搭配的加工过程，旨在阐明搭配加工的机制。结果表明，两组人在相邻搭配上都表现出加工优势，但在非相邻搭配上则有所不同：母语人士将这种优势扩展到非相邻形式，无论插入长度如何，而二语学习者则没有。由于本研究中使用的非相邻搭配在语料库中很少见，但母语人士仍然表现出优势，这表明他们的优势不仅仅源于整体存储，而是由于更快地映射组件或由范例组成的抽象。对于二语学习者来说，非相邻搭配的加工优势消失了，这表明即使是中高级学习者也很难像母语人士那样发展出对搭配的稳健表征。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

System Multiple-

CiteScore

8.80

自引率

8.30%

发文量

202

审稿时长

64 days

期刊介绍： This international journal is devoted to the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning. Attention is paid to all languages and to problems associated with the study and teaching of English as a second or foreign language. The journal serves as a vehicle of expression for colleagues in developing countries. System prefers its contributors to provide articles which have a sound theoretical base with a visible practical application which can be generalized. The review section may take up works of a more theoretical nature to broaden the background.