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Part of
Developmental Perspectives in Written Language and Literacy: In honor of Ludo Verhoeven
Edited by Eliane Segers and Paul van den Broek
[Not in series 206] 2017
► pp. 257–273

Individual variation in syntactic processing in the second language

Electrophysiological approaches

| | Department of Psychology and Center for Language Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
|

This chapter reviews research on how individual differences in linguistic and cognitive abilities influence syntactic processing in the second language (L2). We briefly discuss individual variability in L2 syntactic processing through the lens of behavioral measurements, followed by a more extensive review of electrophysiological (i.e., Event-Related Potentials, ERP) studies on L2 syntactic processing. Relative to the behavioral literature, fewer ERP studies have examined individual variability in L2 syntactic processing and the large majority of these studies focused on only two factors: Age of Acquisition and L2 proficiency. We also discuss studies that used correlational and regression analyses and oscillatory neural dynamics and complex network analysis. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of studies that examined inter-individual variation in ERP response profiles associated with L2 and L1 syntactic processing in L2 learners, and the application of the Response-Dominance Index to quantify individual variability in ERP response profiles.

Keywords: second language processing, syntactic processing, individual differences, electrophysiology, event-related potentials, neurocognition, psycholinguistics
Article outline
  • 1.Individual differences in second language syntactic processing: Electrophysiological studies
    • 1.1EEG and ERP methodology
    • 1.2Age of acquisition
    • 1.3L2 proficiency
    • 1.4Studies comparing different L2 learner groups who vary on L2 proficiency
    • 1.5Longitudinal studies of L2 learners who develop L2 proficiency over time
    • 1.6Learning of artificial languages to track changes in proficiency within short timeframe
  • 2.Advanced EEG/ERP analyses to study individual differences in syntactic processing
    • 2.1Correlational and regression analyses
    • 2.2Oscillatory neural dynamics and complex network analysis
    • 2.3Inter-individual variation in electrophysiological response profiles
  • 3.Conclusions
  • Authors’ note
  • References
Published online: 21 December 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.206.16van
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