L2 online anaphora processing by Tunisian Arabic speakers

Abstract

This second language study explores anaphora resolution by Tunisian Arabic learners of ESL. The aim of the study was to investigate if there are any intrusion effects and if second language proficiency has a direct effect on the time and accuracy of anaphora resolution. Therefore, an online anaphora interpretation task in different experimental conditions was performed. These conditions include manipulating the gender information of the antecedent or an NP distractor, where the anaphora might be temporarily distanced from the antecedent. The study results confirmed the intrusion effects of the multiple NPs in the test sentences. The Tunisian participants were distracted by the competing NP before ultimately selecting the right antecedent. Constructions where the inaccessible antecedent mismatched the reflexive did not constitute a problematic case of anaphora resolution. However, when the inaccessible antecedent gender matched the reflexive, the accuracy rates diminished. The proficiency of the participants showed a significant correlation with their accuracy of anaphora resolution. In addition, there was a negative correlation between the proficiency of the participants and the time of response. Based on these results, it is postulated that anaphora interpretation in the second language setting can be characterized by the intrusion effect, unlike the L1 context. The proficiency results are taken as a confirmation that L2 competence can directly affect the accuracy and the time needed to interpret anaphora by English second language speakers. Accordingly, teachers of ESL may consider the integration of pragmatic gender-related information in their syntactic curricula and train learners to handle gender cues in syntactically complex structures. Addressing the pragmatics-syntax interface in ESL curricula can be equally beneficial to intermediate and advanced learners.