Doctoral Dissertation Research: Online and offline investigations of the effects of prosodic and morphosyntactic cues on acquisition in L2 German

第二语言习得通常被认为依赖于语言形式(线索)的处理以及这些线索与其意义之间的联系的发展。因此，了解学习者在句子理解过程中处理线索的策略以及对这些线索的注意是否会阻碍或促进习得是很重要的。以往的研究主要集中在对词汇语义线索的依赖和对现实世界知识的使用如何阻碍语法线索的习得和使用。然而，重音、口音和语调等韵律线索却鲜有人关注。尽管韵律线索常常是语法形式和句法结构的重要线索，但很少有人研究韵律线索与韵律线索之间有意义的互动是否能促进语法线索的习得。本文通过三种不同的训练类型比较了训练对德语宾格和宾语优先语序的习得和使用的影响：(1)单纯的语法线索；(2)伴随韵律线索的语法线索；(3)没有明确操纵语言线索的训练。培训结束后，参与者将完成理解和产出测试，以衡量他们在理解和产生德语格标记方面的准确性，并将跟踪他们如何逐个时刻处理句子。综上所述，这些测试将确定培训是否会增加学习者在句子理解过程中对句法线索的关注。这项研究除了对第二语言句子加工和韵律的研究做出贡献外，还有几个更广泛的意义。特别是，这项研究可以为课堂教材和教学模式的发展提供参考，以及当韵律和语法线索紧密一致时，韵律训练是否应该伴随着语法教学来促进语法形式的习得。该项目还将加强对研究生的培训。

Second language acquisition is often assumed to depend on the processing of linguistic forms (cues) and the development of connections between these cues and their meanings. Consequently, it is important to understand the strategies that learners use to process cues during sentence comprehension and if attention to these cues hinders or promotes acquisition. Previous research has focused on how reliance on lexical-semantic cues and the use of real-world knowledge may impede the acquisition and use of grammatical cues. Yet little attention has been paid to prosodic cues, such as stress, accent, and intonation. Despite the fact that they often function as important cues to grammatical forms and syntactic structure, few studies have investigated if meaningful interaction with prosodic cues could promote the acquisition of grammatical cues. This dissertation compares the effects of training on the acquisition and use of the German accusative case and object-first word order using three different training types: (1) grammatical cues only; (2) grammatical cues accompanied by prosodic cues, or (3) no explicit manipulation of linguistic cues. After training, participants will complete comprehension and production tests to measure if their accuracy in comprehending and producing German case markings, and that will also track how they process sentences moment-by-moment. Together, these tests will determine if training increases the attention learners devote to syntactic cues during sentence comprehension.This research has several broader implications beyond contributing to the research on second language sentence processing and prosody. Particularly, this research could inform the development of classroom teaching materials and pedagogical models, and whether prosodic training should accompany grammatical instruction to promote the acquisition of grammatical forms, whenever prosodic and grammatical cues are closely aligned. The project will also enhance the training of a graduate student.