Haerim Hwang

Grounded in usage-based accounts of language acquisition, which hold that syntactic development is driven by cumulative exposure to verbs and argument structure constructions in authentic communicative use, this study investigated how absolute-complexity indices and construction-based syntactic sophistication indices differ in their sensitivity to EFL–ESL group contrasts in spoken and written production. Spoken and written production data from 800 intermediate Asian learners were analyzed using separate linear mixed-effects models fitted for six absolute complexity and four syntactic sophistication indices. The clearest group-related effects were observed for the frequency-based indices, with significant differences occurring in the spoken dataset, where ESL learners produced constructions and verb–construction combinations with lower frequency values than EFL learners. Because the spoken and written data came from different learner samples and task conditions, this pattern should be interpreted as a dataset-level difference in the EFL–ESL contrast, not as a modality effect. Within these limits, these findings suggest that syntactic sophistication measures can capture context-related differences in L2 syntactic production that are not fully reflected in absolute-complexity measures.

This study introduces K-text, a website designed to measure Korean language proficiency from second language writing and speech data through 20 complexity, accuracy, and fluency indices using natural language processing. A key advantage of K-text is its ability to measure accuracy and fluency in addition to complexity. To test the 20 indices’ preliminary validity, this study investigates whether they can predict overall criterion-based Korean proficiency from 1 to 6 (equivalent to A1 to C2) when they are used to analyze 45,855 second language learners’ essays from the Korean Learner Corpus. The findings show that all of the individual K-text indices are significant predictors of overall Korean proficiency. Together, the 20 indices accounted for 44.50% of the variation observed in proficiency scores. These results suggest that K-text is a valuable resource for analyzing Korean language production data in relation to overall proficiency.

L2 learners’ difficulty with English third-person singular (3SG) -s has been attributed either to processing limitations or to representational deficits, but evidence bearing directly on this distinction in real-time comprehension remains limited. Sundara et al. (2011, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research , 54(1), 55–71) showed that 3SG -s is harder for L1-English children to perceive in sentence-medial than in sentence-final position, a pattern suggesting greater phonetic prominence of the morpheme sentence-finally, but comparable L2 evidence is lacking. The present study examined sentence-position effects and online – offline dissociation in L2 English 3SG -s by combining a visual-world eye-tracking task and an offline fill-in-the-blank task. Eye-tracking data from 24 L1-English controls and 23 L1-Korean L2-English learners revealed that, in the singular conditions, both groups processed 3SG -s more slowly in sentence-medial than in sentence-final position. Relative to native speakers, L2 learners also showed delayed target fixations and lower picture-selection accuracy. Crucially, the same learners performed at near-ceiling levels in the fill-in-the-blank task, revealing a clear online – offline dissociation. These results suggest that sensitivity to 3SG -s is less stable under real-time auditory processing demands than in offline written tasks. Overall, the findings are more consistent with processing-based accounts than with strong representational-deficit accounts.

This study examines whether prosody affects how people process and interpret two types of sentences that both have missing material but differ in ambiguity. Stripping sentences (e.g., Grandma hugged the kid at home and Grandpa too ) are ambiguous because the argument after and can be read as either the subject of the missing verb or the second object of the audible/visible verb. In contrast, verb phrase (VP) ellipsis sentences (e.g., Grandma hugged the kid at home and Grandpa did too ) are unambiguous, only allowing a subject reading. In a visual-world eye-tracking experiment, 43 English speakers heard VP ellipsis and Stripping sentences, with either the subject or object in the first conjunct made more prominent through prosody. The analysis of their mouse-click responses shows that prosody did not change their final interpretations: They always preferred the subject reading for VP ellipsis sentences and exhibited no preference for Stripping sentences, no matter which argument was prosodically prominent. The eye-movement data for VP ellipsis sentences also display a consistent pattern of early looks to the subject-reading image. However, the eye-movement data for Stripping sentences reveal a prosody effect: After sentence offset, listeners briefly showed divergent looks toward either the subject- or object-reading image, depending on whether the subject or object carried prosodic prominence. These findings suggest that prosody can influence temporary interpretations during real-time processing but has little impact on final interpretations.

The disciplinary background of second language (L2) writers can shape their writing style, including their lexical choices. This study examines lexical differences in nonacademic argumentative essays on the same topic by L2‐English graduate students with humanities‐related or science‐related majors. Using natural language processing (NLP) techniques, the study extracts nouns from these writers’ essays and classifies them into 21 semantic categories of the English UCREL Semantic Analysis System. Regression analyses show no significant difference in the distribution of the semantic categories between the two groups. However, a follow‐up keyness analysis reveals that their specific noun choices do differ significantly: The humanities students’ writing includes more nouns related to psychological and social ideas, while the science students’ writing utilizes more nouns referring to concrete objects. These findings suggest that even when L2 writers address a topic outside of their field, their disciplinary background plays a role in their noun choices, influencing how they express their ideas. The study's results also demonstrate the benefits of combining different analytical methods to examine the same data, with important implications for teaching and learning practices.

This chapter investigates morphosyntactic complexity in child second language (L2) learners of Korean, examining the roles of internal and external factors. Korean’s rich morphology provides an ideal context for exploring how bilingual children develop grammatical skills. Sixty-eight bilingual children (L1 Chinese or Russian) completed an oral picture-narration task. Two complexity indices — morpheme diversity and particle types per sentence — were analyzed. Regression analyses revealed distinct predictors for each index. Morpheme diversity was significantly associated with length of Korean exposure and working memory, with L2 use with parents emerging as the strongest environmental predictor. In contrast, particle types per sentence were primarily predicted by L2 interaction in social contexts beyond home and school. These findings highlight the combined impact of cognitive capacities and diverse interactional experiences on L2 morphosyntactic development in Korean-learning bilingual children, underscoring the need to consider both individual and contextual factors in understanding L2 grammatical growth.

Aims and Objectives: Adopting an individual differences approach to second language (L2) processing, the present study examines the roles of internal (L2 proficiency, age of L2 onset) and external (length of L2 immersion) factors in two types of L2 processing—specifically, retrieval and prediction. Methodology: This study focuses on honorifics in Korean, where the use of the honorific verbal suffix is conditioned upon whether the subject refers to an honorable person. Forty-four L1-Cantonese/Mandarin Chinese L2-Korean speakers, whose L1s lack honorifics, alongside 46 L1-Korean speakers, completed a language background questionnaire, a fill-in-the-blank form-retrieval task, and a visual-world eye-tracking prediction task. Data and Analysis: A logistic/linear mixed-effects regression model was constructed on the target acceptance/reaction times obtained from the fill-in-the-blank task, and a growth curve analysis model was built on the target advantage scores obtained from the eye-tracking task. Findings: The results revealed L1-L2 group differences in all analyses. However, L2 proficiency and age of L2 onset significantly predicted target acceptance and reaction times in the fill-in-the-blank task. Furthermore, length of immersion, as well as L2 proficiency and age of L2 onset, significantly predicted target advantage scores in the eye-tracking task. Originality: This research is the first to investigate individual differences in both retrieval and prediction processes, using the measures of target acceptance, reaction times, and eye fixations. Significance: Theoretically, the findings demonstrate the importance of both internal and external factors in L2 processing, showing that different factors are involved in distinct processing types. Methodologically, the use of webcam-based eye-tracking contributes to a more equitable research culture due to its accessibility.

It is important for learners to be able to ask wh ‐questions in interaction. However, making wh ‐questions can be difficult for beginning‐level EFL leaners, particularly for those learners whose L1 and L2 differ in the way wh ‐questions are formed. Based on this point, we investigated the grammar searches of such EFL learners for wh ‐questions in interaction, using both conversation analysis (CA) and phonetic analysis. Sixty‐four beginning‐level child L1‐Korean EFL learners completed a paired conversation task in which they discussed the topic “birthdays.” The CA showed that grammar searches for wh ‐questions were initiated and resolved mostly by the speaker himself/herself, but less frequently with the help of the conversation partner. The phonetic analysis revealed that wh ‐words occurring in grammar searches were longer in duration, followed by longer pauses, and were generally associated with rise‐fall or rise‐level pitch contours in general. These findings provide useful implications for EFL teaching: the use of formulaic expressions, interactive activities, and corrective feedback can facilitate EFL learners’ development of wh ‐questions.