An ERP Study On The Processing Of English Subjunctive Mood By Chinese EFL Learners

Sentence processing is the core of language understanding.In researches on sentence processing,there are two significant components: syntactic processing and semantic processing,based on which,scholars put forward two influential modals on sentence processing: the syntactic-centered theory(Friederici,2002;Hahne,2002;Isel,2007)and the semantic-centered theory(Kim & Osterhout,2005;Bornkessed & Schlesewsky,2006 & 2008).The former argues that sentence processing is composed of syntactic processing and semantic processing.Both are independent and syntactic processing is prior to semantic processing.The latter,however,proposes that there is no priority between both processing.Syntactic processing and semantic processing interact with each other at the very early period to facilitate the whole sentence processing.In traditional studies,reaction time,as one single dimension,is employed to probe and demonstrate the psychological process,which is hard to present the complex and continuous features of sentence processing.Then,ERP technology,which can measure the whole process of language comprehension,is applied to language processing.It features that studies on sentence processing have been transformed from behavioral sphere to neuro-psychological sphere.At present,many studies have concentrated on Indo-European languages including English,French,German,Dutch,etc.,and the subjects are mostly native speakers,the purpose of which is to probe the psychological mechanism of L1 sentence processing.Hence,studies on sentence processing mechanism of Chinese,the EFL learners in particular,have not been fully explored.And whether the theories based on L1 studies can be fully adopted to explain L2 processing needs abundant dada support.Therefore,this thesis attempts to explore the neural mechanism of Chinese EFL learners on the subjunctive mood via ERP technology.This study will provide data support for present researches on L2 processing and tentatively shed light on theories of language teaching.The subjunctive mood that begins with “If” is selected as the experimental materials.It consists of 160 sentences,which are divided into four types based on critical words including correct sentences,sentences with syntactic anomalies,sentences with semantic anomalies and sentences with combined anomalies.Hence,this study probes the interactive relationship between syntactic and semantic processing and the neural mechanism of EFL learners on the subjunctive mood.And 40 Chinese EFL learners are divided into two groups to explore the influence that language proficiency has on language processing.According to the behavioral data and EEG statistics,the results are as follows:1.With respect to the syntactic anomaly,an ELAN-like/LAN-P600 effect is evoked in both group H and Group L,indicating that both groups possess a similar processing mechanism.However,the mean amplitude evoked by group H is greatly more significant than that elicited by group L,which demonstrates that learners with high language proficiency are more expert in syntactic processing.2.With regards to the semantic anomaly,N400-P600 effects are elicited by both groups.The mean amplitude elicited by group H is relatively more negative,which states that group H is more sensitive to semantic processing.Meanwhile,a P600 effect is elicited by group H as well,and in terms of its scale distribution,the P600 is defined as semantic P600,which is not detected in group L.3.Under the condition of the combined anomaly,there exists an interaction between syntactic processing and semantic processing.Compared with the semantic anomaly,the mean amplitude elicited by combined anomaly is smaller,indicating that syntactic processing facilitates semantic processing.For group H,syntactic processing plays the main role in language processing.Semantic processing facilitates whole language processing.On the contrary,for group L,they rely on semantic processing mostly in language processing.4.The Three-Phase Sentence Model or the e ADM cannot explain the appearance of semantic P600 effect.In consequence,this thesis tentatively proposes a language processing model for Chinese EFL learners,on the basis of both models mentioned.