A Preliminary Study on Why Second Language Learners Accept Ungrammatical Sentences: Its Theoretical Implications

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Abstract

Departmental Bulletin Paper

Why do second language learners sometimes accept ungrammatical sentences in the target language? In the\npresent study, we focus on Japanese-speaking learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and investigate\nwhether such “grammatical illusion” effect would be observed in them and whether the effect could be\ndependent on their proficiency.　The results of one acceptability judgment questionnaire experiment and of\none preliminary self-paced reading experiment are reported.　The results of the questionnaire experiment\nshowed that the lower-proficiency Japanese EFL learners were more likely to accept ungrammatical sentences\nin English compared to the higher-proficiency learners.　The results of the self-paced reading experiment\nindicated that the reading time difference between ungrammatical sentences and their grammatical\ncounterparts was significant for one native English speaker but not for two Japanese EFL learners.　It is\nsuggested that the “grammatical illusion” effect (i.e., erroneous acceptance of ungrammatical sentences) in\nsecond language learners is more likely to be observed when their proficiency is lower, and possibly that\nsecond language learners can accept ungrammatical sentences during their real-time processing.　We discuss\na new approach to second language acquisition from the perspective of the grammatical illusion\nphenomenon.

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