The Processing of English Homonym by EFL Learners

• Main Authors: Yan-Rong Chen, 陳沿融
• Other Authors: Shu-Ping Gong
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/55405171219056312503

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 外國語言學系研究所 === 103 === This thesis studied the lexical access when EFL learners process English homonyms. Little research concerns L2 in homonyms and the previous studies of homonym processing by non-native speakers with behavior and ERP methods revealed contradicting results which endorsed four different models by native speakers: the multiple access, the selective access, the ordered access model, and the context sensitive model. The multiple access model assumes that contextual information does not enter the early stage of homonym processing. In contrast, the selective access model holds that sentential contexts do constrain the activation of contextually inappropriate meanings at an early stage in lexical access. The ordered access model suggests that initial activation of words is influenced by the relative frequency of the word meaning. Furthermore, the context sensitive model, assumes that both context and meaning frequency affect access but the effect was constrained by the degree of contextual relatedness. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether SOA, word category and context affect the processing of English homonym. In the thesis, two lexical decision tasks were utilized to investigate homonym processing. Two experiments were conducted to provide evidence on the role of word category and contexts in SOA 200ms and 500ms. The purpose of Experiment 1 is to attest whether word-category and contexts play a role in early homonym processing. The aim of Experiment 2 is to attest whether word category and contexts play a role in later homonym processing. The findings support the multiple access model in which contexts only constrain the activation in later stage of processing. In addition, word category plays a role in both early and later homonyms processing due to the part of speech influence.