The Difference of Lemma Activation Between Native Speakers of English and L2 Speakers of English With L1 Chinese:Evidence From the Semantic and Phonological Priming Effects on L2 Speech Planning

This study examined the influence of semantic and phonological priming on L2 speech planning,as well as the difference between native and non-native speakers of English in terms of lemma activation.Two potential explanations for the contrast between the performance of L2 speakers and native controls were considered.The first of which was that L2 speakers’ phonological forms are activated before selection of syntactic frame occurred,whereas the reverse is true for native speakers.The second explanation posits that the organisation of the speech production procedure is fundamentally similar in native and L2 speakers,and the disparity in performance arises from difference in the levels of activation of stored items.The results of the present experiment suggest that lemma selection is indeed what drives syntactic frame selection.However,lemmas in L2 speakers can be primed through a chain of connections demonstrated as:L2 phonological form →L1 phonological form → L1 lemma.

A Synthesis Paper on Factors Influencing Past-tense Marking of Regular Verbs in English by L2 Learners

Among the acquisition of morphemes,the lately acquired regular past morpheme“-ed”always poses a problem for L2 learners.L2 learners tend to use this morpheme inconsistently and sometimes they just omit the morphological structures of the verbs in English.Some related research work proposed that the irregular past tense verbs(such as in“bring/brought”)are used more consistently than the regular past tense forms(such as in“talk/talked”)by L2 learners(Bayley,1994),indicating the regular past tense forms lay a big problem for L2 learners.Although some theoretical frameworks tried to explain L2 learners’morphologi⁃cal variability,it is also wildly accepted that L2 learners perform differently in various situations.Based on the previous studies and theories,this paper aims at discussing some possible factors influencing regular verbs in English by L2 learners from China,taking account for two primary factors—“aspectual effect”and“phonological effect”.