This study examines when and how second language (L2) learners begin to exhibit sensitivity to key factors influencing the choice between the English double object and prepositional object constructions. While previous research has shown that such choices in native speakers are influenced by such factors as animacy, pronominality and verb bias, little is known about the developmental timing of these effects in L2 production. Using 5,785 dative constructions from a large-scale learner corpus, we analyzed how these variables interact with learners’ proficiency levels across 23 verbs. We found that learners showed systematic sensitivity to all of these factors, including statistical verb bias derived from a native speaker corpus (Corpus of Contemporary American English), at much earlier stages than previously suggested. These results suggest that learners may possess a cognitive bias that maps preexisting conceptual structures onto linguistic constructions, reflecting more than mere statistical learning.
abstract in English
English abstract of the papers.
Singular-plural asymmetry in L2 English number processing: A sentence-picture matching study of Japanese learners of English
Aims and Objectives
This study investigates whether Japanese learners of English automatically map English number morphology onto conceptual number in both directions. Two research questions guide the study:
1) Mismatch costs: Do L2 learners show reaction-time slowdowns when:
a) A singular noun is paired with a plural picture?
b) A plural noun is paired with a singular picture?
L1 speakers serve as a baseline to establish expected mismatch effects.
2) Directional asymmetry: If mismatch costs occur, are they equivalent in both directions, or is there a systematic asymmetry?
Methodology
The study employed a sentence-picture matching task that crossed noun number (singular vs. plural) with picture number (match vs. mismatch), extending previous unidirectional designs to test both directions of number mapping in L2 processing. Reaction times (RTs) served as the primary dependent measure.
Data and Analysis
Thirty-two L1 English speakers and ninety-six Japanese L2 learners (CEFR B1–B2) each completed 200 trials (80 target items and 120 fillers). Incorrect trials were excluded, and extreme RTs were trimmed before the analysis. RTs were analyzed using inverse-Gaussian generalized linear mixed-effects models, with sentence length and trial order included as covariates.
Findings
L1 speakers showed significant RT slowdowns for both mismatch types, confirming automatic singular-plural mapping. In contrast, L2 learners exhibited a slowdown only when a singular noun was paired with a plural picture, and no effect when a plural noun was paired with a singular picture, revealing a processing asymmetry. For Japanese learners, plural nouns did not consistently activate conceptual plurality.
Originality
This is the first study to examine both directions of morphological-conceptual number mismatch in L2 processing, extending Jiang et al. (2017), which tested only the singular-noun/plural-picture mapping.
Significance
These findings refine the Morphological Congruency Hypothesis by showing that incongruent L2 morphemes can lead to direction-specific processing weaknesses in learners’ conceptual mapping.
Tamura, Y. (2026). Singular-plural asymmetry in L2 English number processing: A sentence-picture matching study of Japanese learners of English. International Journal of Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069261422017 [Open Access]
Is cats one word or two? L2 Learners’ processing of number marking in English from the viewpoints of form–meaning mapping.
This study examined number marking comprehension among Japanese learners of L2 English, whose L1 does not have an obligatory number marking system. The study conducted an online sentence comprehension experiment with 96 L1-Japanese learners and 32 native speakers of English, wherein participants engaged in a self-paced reading with Stroop-like number judgment tasks. Participants were required to determine the number of single words in stimuli (e.g., _cat_/_cats_, one word; _the cats_/_the cat_, two-word sets), and their judgment time was measured for singular and plural words. The results indicated that both groups took more time to judge single plural nouns, suggesting that Japanese L2 learners of English automatically activate plurality in online sentence comprehension as native speakers do. In contrast, neither group showed an interference effect of singularity in judging singular two-word noun sets (_the cat_), unless the singularity is explicitly marked by indefinite article (_a cat_). The lack of interference may be because of unmarkedness of singularity.
Tamura, Y. (2023). Is cats one word or two? L2 Learners’ processing of number marking in English from the viewpoints of form–meaning mapping. Second Language Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676583231188933
Learnability of L2 collocations and L1 influence on L2 collocational representations of Japanese learners of English
This study, based on Jiang’s (2000. Lexical representation and development in a second language. Applied Linguistics 21(1). 47–77) bilingual lexicon model, investigates the learnability of collocations among 34 Japanese EFL learners and examines the influence of their L1 on such learning. An acceptability judgment task assessed the knowledge of three different types of collocations: English-only collocations that cannot be directly translated into Japanese (e.g., flat rate); congruent collocations that can be translated into Japanese without changing their meaning (e.g., cold tea); and Japanized collocations that are infelicitous in English, but felicitous in Japanese (e.g., yellow voice). After the task, participants translated the collocations and rated the difficulty on a four-point Likert scale. The relationship between the accuracy of these collocations and the translation difficulty rating scores was analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression modeling to assess L1 influence. The results showed that with increasing L2 proficiency, learners tend to regard congruent and English-only collocations as acceptable, but even highly proficient learners did not fully reject the Japanized collocations. This suggests that as L2 proficiency increased, participants learned to accept felicitous collocations but did not learn to reject Japanized infelicitous ones. In addition, the influence of L1 was evident in English-only and Japanized collocations and could not be avoided by those with increasing proficiency.
Terai, M., Fukuta, J., & Tamura, Y. (2024). Learnability of L2 collocations and L1 influence on L2 collocational representations of Japanese learners of English. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 62(4), 1959–1983. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2022-0234
Investigation of the relationship between animacy and L2 learners’ acquisition of the English plural morpheme
It has been argued that languages differ in the extent to which they allow plural forms of nouns according to the Animacy Hierarchy. Japanese distinguishes between animate and inanimate nouns; the latter are less likely to receive plural markers (e.g., ? hon‐tachi), unlike English. This L1‐L2 difference might cause difficulty in acquiring the plural morpheme. The present study thus investigates the influence of animacy on the processing of the English plural morpheme in online sentence processing. In this study, 34 Japanese university students engaged in a moving window version of a self-paced reading task, during which they also judged whether the number of words presented was one or two when prompted. If animacy matters, Japanese EFL learners might not show an interference effect of this second task for inanimate nouns. However, as no such effect was found, the prediction based on the animacy hierarchy was not confirmed.
Tamura, Y. (2023). Investigation of the relationship between animacy and L2 learners’ acquisition of the English plural morpheme. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 52, 675–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-022-09915-2 [Read Online]
Rule-based or efficiency-driven processing of expletive there in English as a foreign language
Although Native speakers (NSs) of English make plural agreement in preverbal-subject sentences (e.g., A pen and eraser *is/are…), previous studies have demonstrated that they prefer singular – not plural – agreement between verbs and conjoined noun phrases (NPs) in expletive there constructions (e.g., there is/are a pen and an eraser…), showing efficiency-driven processing prioritization of agreement between nearest constituents. This paper assesses whether Japanese L2 learners of English (JLE) show this tendency. The results of two self-paced reading experiments together indicated that even though efficiency-driven processing was available to L2 learners, their use was unstable due to the repeated exposure to there are NPpl– and NPpl-type sentences during the task. It seems possible that repeated exposure triggered learners’ knowledge that that conjoined NPs are always plural. Hence, it could conceivably be hypothesized that a learner’s specific knowledge intervenes the efficiency-driven processing strategy.
Tamura, Y., Fukuta, J., Nishimura, Y., & Kato, D. (2023). Rule-based or efficiency-driven processing of expletive there in English as a foreign language, 61, 1577–1606. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0156 [Author Manuscript]
Pitfalls of production data analysis for investigating L2 cognitive mechanism: An ontological realism perspective
This article addresses the pitfalls of performance analysis in investigating cognitive processing during second language (L2) learning. The problems that we discuss in this paper are twofold: (1) Assuming psychological variables to be ontological entities without meeting the criteria for ontological reality and (2) Inappropriateness of assessing abilities based on learner’s speaking or writing performance to investigate cognitive processes. By addressing these, we argue that some latent variables postulated by observing L2 performance do not exist in reality and emphasize the difficulty of interpreting cognitive mechanisms through performance analysis. We also enumerate some problems that arise from the epistemological perspectives of previous research practice (e.g., the bifurcation of contradictory hypotheses and their indeterminacy). Finally, two alternative approaches treating L2 performance are proposed. The implications of this line of discussion for future research are also discussed.
Fukuta, J., Nishimura, Y., & Tamura. Y. (2023). Pitfalls of production data analysis for investigating L2 cognitive mechanism: An ontological realism perspective. Journal of Second Language Studies, 6, 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1075/jsls.21013.fuk
L2 learners’ number agreement in the expletive there constructions: Conjoined NP always plural?
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether L2 learners of English can employ efficiency-driven number agreement processing with conjoined noun phrases (NPs) in expletive there constructions (ETC). Previous studies reported that native speakers of English prefer singular agreement over plural agreement when conjoined NPs are used in ETCs (e.g., there is a pen and an eraser…), which implies that native speakers (NSs) of English prioritize efficiency over the canonical agreement. The present study examined whether L2 learners can show similar processing tendencies. In Experiment 1, an offline error correction task was administered to Japanese L2 learners of English to see the learners’ explicit knowledge. The results indicated that they tend to make a plural agreement in ETCs. In Experiment 2, L2 learners were compared with NSs in the self-paced reading task, which demonstrated that—unlike the NS group—L2 learner group analyzed conjoined NPs as a plural. The fact that L2 learners preferred plural agreement could be due to their explicit knowledge that conjoined NP should always be plural. This knowledge led to a non-nativelike agreement in ETC in online sentence processing.
Tamura, Y., Fukuta, J., Nishimura, Y., & Kato, D. (2021). L2 learners’ number agreement in the expletive there constructions: Conjoined NP always plural? Reports of 2020 Studies in The Japan Association for Language Education and Technology, Chubu Chapter, Fundamentals of Foreign Language Educational Research Special Interest Group (SIG), 2–23. [PDF] (Password to open the PDF: kisoken202001)
Examining the Validity of the LexTALE Test for Japanese College Students
The question of how vocabulary knowledge of second language (L2) learners can be measured in a valid and reliable way has attracted attention from researchers. One widely used format for assessing vocabulary knowledge is a Yes/No test, where learners are asked to indicate whether they know each vocabulary word on the test. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the LexTALE test, a recently developed Yes/No English vocabulary test, can be an approximate measure of vocabulary knowledge and general proficiency for Japanese learners of English. In this study, 111 Japanese university students majoring in English took the LexTALE, an English to Japanese translation test, and the Vocabulary Size Test (VST). They were further asked to provide self-ratings of their English proficiency. Analysis showed that the LexTALE score correlated more strongly with the translation score and VST score than self-ratings of their proficiency. The results also showed that the LexTALE score correlated significantly with the TOEFL ITP® score, although some self-ratings resulted in a higher correlation. The findings suggest that for Japanese learners of English, LexTALE may be used as an approximate measure of English vocabulary knowledge and, to a lesser extent, general proficiency.
Nakata, T., Tamura, Y., & Aubrey, S. (2020). Examining the validity of the LexTALE test for Japanese college students. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 17, 335–348. doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.2.2.335
Cognitive processes during self correction in L2 oral production: Comparison between tasks with a high and a low cognitive demand
This study investigated how task difficulty affects cognitive processes during self correction in L2 English oral production. Previous studies have explored this issue based on the taxonomy of self correction behavior proposed by Kormos (1999) which classifies self corrections into different-information repair, appropriacy repair, and error repair. This study sought to determine whether learners focus more on concept, lexis, grammar, or phonology when self corrections occur. English learners were given two direction-giving map tasks: one which is cognitively more demanding in generating message (Task High), and the other cognitively less demanding (Task Low). Each task was followed by a stimulated recall interview to determine the learner’s cognitive processes when a self correction was observed. Their comments were categorized into four cognitive stages: conceptualization, lexical encoding, grammatical encoding, and phonological encoding. We hypothesized that Task High would induce more conceptualization than Task Low. The participants focused on the conceptual aspect more frequently than the grammatical aspect during Task High, while no difference in cognitive process was found in Task Low. The results also revealed that, while there was no significant difference in conceptualization between high-proficient and low-proficient learners, the more proficient learners tended to focus more on grammatical aspects than lexical.
Yu Tamura 