日本人英語学習者のL2ワーキングメモリ容量がFiller-Gap文処理に与える影響について

概要

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By using filler-gap sentences, the present study aimed to explore how sentence-internal structural factors (i.e., syntactic features of the filler and the length of the filler-gap distance) induce L2 working memory (WM) cost. We used six types of experimental sentences: sentences with three types of syntactic features (i.e., subject and object WH-questions and whether questions) and two versions of the filler-gap distance (i.e., long and short versions). The results showed that Japanese EFL learners as well as L1 readers find object-relative sentences more difficult to process than they do other syntactic types of sentences. On the other hand, the short distance between the filler and its gap does not improve language processing performance, which is not in line with the results of the L1 studies. It was also found that the participants with a large WM capacity performed better than those with a small WM capacity. This suggests that for Japanese EFL learners, in the processing of filler-gap sentences, syntactic information maintained in WM is a more important factor than the distance over which syntactic information is held in WM.