As Schmidt (2008) states, deeper engagement with new vocabulary as induced by tasks clearly increases the chances of learning those words. This engagement is theoretically clarified by the involvement load hypothesis (ILH, Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001), based on which the involvement index of each task can be measured. The present study was designed to test ILH by evaluating the impact of 4 differ...

We describe a method to semi-automatically generate incorrect choices, or distractors, for cloze (fill-in-the-blank) questions. We generated distractors aimed at revealing what type of misunderstanding a student was having. English as a Second Language learners answered a series of cloze questions that presented distractors generated by our method. We analyzed their answers in order to see how ...

We use vector space models (VSMs) as explicit models of word relations that influence the N400, and use this connection to predict N400 amplitude in an ERP study by Federmeier and Kutas (1999). We find that the VSM-based model is able to capture key elements of the authors’ manipulations and results, accounting for aspects of the results that are unexplained by cloze probability. This demonstra...

Participants read sentences presented one word at a time, half of which ended with a semantically incongruent ending. 1.5T functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 11 participants, showing that the left posterior inferior temporal region, which has previously been termed the Language Formulation Area (LFA), responded to cloze probability. It is suggested, based on anatomic...

The notion of expectancy grammar as a key to understanding the nature of psychologically real processes that underlie language use is introduced by Oller (1979). A central issue in this notion is that expectancy generating systems are constructed and modified in the course of language acquisition. Thus, one of the characteristics of language proficiency is that it consists of such an expectancy...

Aim To determine whether single-word speechreading is sensitive to prior phrase context. Background We used a well-established Event Related Potential (ERP) paradigm to elicit the N400, a negative wave around 400 ms. The N400 reflects activation by lexical semantic features and is modulated by contextual integration. Methods Seventeen adult native English speakers participated. They were shown ...

The idea that comprehenders predict upcoming linguistic content has become core to many theories of language processing. Experimental studies exploiting morphosyntactic and phonotactic constraints on a word form preceding high cloze target have been key underpinning predictive accounts comprehension, but investigating these tight sequential contrasts with traditional behavioral methods is diffi...

More innovative test methods may measure language learners’ test performance more accurately, contributing to much fairer decisions. This study examined Iranian language learners’ performance on cloze-elide test as an innovative, integrative test method. It specifically focused on investigating whether personality types correlated with their performance and whether personality types could predi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The main clinical indication for functional MR imaging (fMRI) has been to preoperatively map the cortex. Motor paradigms to activate the cortex are simple and robust; however, language tasks show greater variability and difficulty. The aim of this study was to develop a language task with an adequate control task to engage the areas of the posterior temporal lobe responsi...