Mapping Pitch Accents to Memory Representations in Spoken Discourse Among Chinese Learners of English: Effects of L2 Proficiency and Working Memory

dc.contributor.authorGuan, Connie Qun
dc.contributor.authorMeng, Wanjin
dc.contributor.authorMorett, Laura M.
dc.contributor.authorFraundorf, Scott H.
dc.contributor.otherBeijing Language & Culture University
dc.contributor.otherCarnegie Mellon University
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Pittsburgh
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T20:59:42Z
dc.date.available2023-09-28T20:59:42Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractWe examined L2 learners' interpretation of pitch accent cues in discourse memory and how these effects vary with proficiency and working memory (WM). One hundred sixty-eight L1-Chinese participants learning L2-English listened to recorded discourses containing pairs of contrastive alternatives and then took a later recognition memory test. Their language proficiency and WM were measured through standard tests and the participants were categorized into low, medium, advanced, and high advanced language proficiency groups. We analyzed recognition memory task performance using signal detection theory to tease apart response bias (an overall tendency to affirm memory probes) from sensitivity (the ability to discern whether a specific probe statement is true). The results showed a benefit of contrastive L + H* pitch accents in rejecting probes referring to items unmentioned in a discourse, but not contrastive alternatives themselves. More proficient participants also showed more accurate memory for the discourses overall, as well as a reduced overall bias to affirm the presented statements as true. Meanwhile, that the benefit of L + H* accents in rejecting either contrast probes or unmentioned probes was modulated for people with greater working memory. Participants with higher WM were quite sure that it did not exist in the memory trace as this part of discourse wasn't mentioned. The results support a contrast-uncertainty hypothesis, in which comprehenders recall the contrast set but fail to distinguish which is the correct item. Further, these effects were influenced by proficiency and by working memory, suggesting they reflect incomplete mapping between pitch accent and discourse representation.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationGuan, C. Q., Meng, W., Morett, L. M., & Fraundorf, S. H. (2022). Mapping Pitch Accents to Memory Representations in Spoken Discourse Among Chinese Learners of English: Effects of L2 Proficiency and Working Memory. In Frontiers in Psychology (Vol. 13). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870152
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fpsyg.2022.870152
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1251-7213
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/11958
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers
dc.rights.licenseAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectL2 processing
dc.subjectpitch accent
dc.subjectdiscourse
dc.subjectmemory
dc.subjectworking memory
dc.subjectINDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES
dc.subjectONLINE INTERPRETATION
dc.subjectNONNATIVE SPEAKERS
dc.subjectNATIVE-LIKE
dc.subjectLANGUAGE
dc.subjectCOMPREHENSION
dc.subject2ND-LANGUAGE
dc.subjectPROSODY
dc.subjectCAPACITY
dc.subjectFOCUS
dc.subjectPsychology, Multidisciplinary
dc.titleMapping Pitch Accents to Memory Representations in Spoken Discourse Among Chinese Learners of English: Effects of L2 Proficiency and Working Memoryen_US
dc.typeArticle
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