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Linear Distance, Agreement Attraction, and WM Effects on L1 Thai Learners' Processing of L2 English Third-Person Singular Subject-Verb Agreement

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Title: Linear Distance, Agreement Attraction, and WM Effects on L1 Thai Learners' Processing of L2 English Third-Person Singular Subject-Verb Agreement
Language: English
Authors: Montira Berteau, Nattama Pongpairoj
Source: rEFLections. 2025 32(2):1120-1142.
Availability: King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi School of Liberal Arts. 126 Pracha Uthit Road, Bang Mod, Thung Khru, Bangkok, Thailand 10140. Tel: +66-2470-8756; Fax: +66-2428-3375; Web site: https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/reflections/index
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Language Processing, Sentences, Short Term Memory, Form Classes (Languages), Language Proficiency, Reading Rate, Pacing
Geographic Terms: Thailand
ISSN: 1513-5934
2651-1479
Abstract: This study investigated the effects of linear distance, agreement attraction, and working memory (WM) on the processing of English third-person singular subject-verb agreement by second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is Thai. Grounded in the Linear Distance Hypothesis (Gibson, 1998, 2000), the study hypothesized that linear distance, agreement attraction, and WM would affect L1 Thai/L2 English learners' processing of the agreement in question. Thirty Thai-speaking nonnative speakers (NNSs) with advanced L2 proficiency and 30 native speakers (NSs) were included. A word-by-word self-paced reading task was employed to determine the three effects. The results revealed longer reading times (RTs) in the long-distance context (e.g., 'The leaders in the cars meet on a monthly basis.') compared to the short-distance counterpart (e.g., 'The waiter lives in a small town.') in the critical region, i.e., the verb, for both the NNSs and the NSs. The agreement attraction effect was not observed in either the NS or the NNS data as similar RTs were obtained between the matched (e.g., 'The teen on the ladder works on her summer break.') and mismatched (e.g., '*The lawyers on the ship travels from city to city.') conditions. This was speculated to be due to the mismatch asymmetry effect (Barker & Nicol, 2000). WM and its interaction effects with linear distance and agreement attraction were partially observed as the low WM group exhibited shorter RTs in the ungrammatical-mismatched compared to the high WM counterpart. The effect of WM was assumed to be moderated by the NNSs' high proficiency.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1482995
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Linear Distance, Agreement Attraction, and WM Effects on L1 Thai Learners' Processing of L2 English Third-Person Singular Subject-Verb Agreement
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  Data: King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi School of Liberal Arts. 126 Pracha Uthit Road, Bang Mod, Thung Khru, Bangkok, Thailand 10140. Tel: +66-2470-8756; Fax: +66-2428-3375; Web site: https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/reflections/index
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  Data: 1513-5934<br />2651-1479
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  Data: This study investigated the effects of linear distance, agreement attraction, and working memory (WM) on the processing of English third-person singular subject-verb agreement by second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is Thai. Grounded in the Linear Distance Hypothesis (Gibson, 1998, 2000), the study hypothesized that linear distance, agreement attraction, and WM would affect L1 Thai/L2 English learners' processing of the agreement in question. Thirty Thai-speaking nonnative speakers (NNSs) with advanced L2 proficiency and 30 native speakers (NSs) were included. A word-by-word self-paced reading task was employed to determine the three effects. The results revealed longer reading times (RTs) in the long-distance context (e.g., 'The leaders in the cars meet on a monthly basis.') compared to the short-distance counterpart (e.g., 'The waiter lives in a small town.') in the critical region, i.e., the verb, for both the NNSs and the NSs. The agreement attraction effect was not observed in either the NS or the NNS data as similar RTs were obtained between the matched (e.g., 'The teen on the ladder works on her summer break.') and mismatched (e.g., '*The lawyers on the ship travels from city to city.') conditions. This was speculated to be due to the mismatch asymmetry effect (Barker & Nicol, 2000). WM and its interaction effects with linear distance and agreement attraction were partially observed as the low WM group exhibited shorter RTs in the ungrammatical-mismatched compared to the high WM counterpart. The effect of WM was assumed to be moderated by the NNSs' high proficiency.
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  Data: EJ1482995
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      – Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 23
        StartPage: 1120
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
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      – SubjectFull: Language Processing
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      – SubjectFull: Sentences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Short Term Memory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Form Classes (Languages)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Proficiency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reading Rate
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pacing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thailand
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Linear Distance, Agreement Attraction, and WM Effects on L1 Thai Learners' Processing of L2 English Third-Person Singular Subject-Verb Agreement
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            NameFull: Nattama Pongpairoj
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              Y: 2025
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