Ambiguous Word Processing among Second Language Learners

Abstract

This study investigated second language learners’ processing of ambiguous words (e.g., bank: [1] a financial institution, [2] an edge of a river/lake) and whether these learners are able to activate the secondary meaning as quickly as they do with the dominant meaning. English L2 and L1 participants used a window paradigm to perform a self-paced reading task, in which all sentences were biased for the secondary meaning (i.e., bank as an edge of a river/lake). The results showed that L1 participants activated both the dominant and the secondary meanings of an ambiguous word even when it is embedded within a secondary-biasing context. However, L2 participants had some difficulty in activating the L2 secondary meaning even when the preceding context was biased for it. The results of the L1 participants were compatible with the autonomous access model in that all meanings of an ambiguous [L1] word are accessed even when the context is biasing for a specific meaning. However, the results of the L2 participants, although they knew both meanings of each ambiguous word in this study based on their post-experiment questionnaire, showed that the more dominant meaning of an L2 ambiguous word is activated first, even when the context is biasing for a secondary meaning.