Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition (Carnegie Mellon University) https://mcl.as.uky.edu/users/ske263 www.sihuike.com Supervisors: Keiko Koda, G. Richard Tucker, and Shui-duen Chan
This study examined the contributions of morphological awareness (MA) to second language (L2) wor... more This study examined the contributions of morphological awareness (MA) to second language (L2) word meaning inferencing in English‐speaking adult learners of Chinese (N = 50). Three research questions were posed: Are L2 learners sensitive to the morphological structure of unknown multi‐character words? Does first language (L1) MA contribute to L2 MA over and above L2 linguistic knowledge? Does L2 MA contribute to L2 word meaning inference over and above L1 MA and L2 linguistic knowledge? These questions were investigated through the use of a set of experimental and paper‐and‐pencil measurements of the aforementioned L1 and L2 reading subskills and L2 linguistic knowledge, as well as working memory. Several significant results were found. The L2 learners were sensitive to the morphological structure of multi‐character words and more successful in guessing the meanings of novel words containing affixoids and familiar bases. L1 MA was found to transfer and facilitate the development of L2 MA over and above L2 linguistic knowledge. Additionally, L2 MA contributed to L2 word meaning inferencing indirectly through L2 linguistic knowledge. The discussion focuses on the intralingual and interlingual relationships among L1 MA, L2 MA, L2 linguistic knowledge, and L2 word meaning inferencing in adult L2 reading development.
This Element aims to address the complexity of metalinguistic awareness to achieve a thorough acc... more This Element aims to address the complexity of metalinguistic awareness to achieve a thorough account of its impacts on second language (L2) reading development and promote an in-depth understanding of the factors regulating the influence of first language (L1) metalinguistic awareness on L2 reading. It is guided by four questions: 1) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness in L2 readers? 2) To what extent do phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with word decoding intralingually in L2 readers? 3) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 word decoding in L2 readers? 4) To what extent do the relations in questions 1–3 vary as a function of linguistic-, learner-, measurement-, and instruction-related factors? This Element is the first to systematically investigate the roles of distinct facets of...
According to the Interface Hypothesis in the field of bilingualism, the interface connecting a li... more According to the Interface Hypothesis in the field of bilingualism, the interface connecting a linguistic module with a language-external domain (e.g., syntax-discourse) will present prolonged difficulties for adult bilingual learners, as compared with the interface connecting language-internal modules (e.g., syntax-semantics). This study tested whether the Interface Hypothesis is applicable to the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese as a heritage language. An internet-based acceptability judgment task (AJT) was administered to 58 advanced and intermediate adult Chinese heritage speakers to collect data in accuracy and reaction time to investigate the adult heritage speakers’ mastery of referential nominal expressions regulated at the syntax-semantics and syntax-discourse interfaces, respectively, in Mandarin Chinese. The target linguistic phenomena involved three nominal expressions (i.e., the bare N(oun), the [Cl(assifier)-N], and the [Num(eral)-Cl-N]) under four interface-regulated r...
This study examined the contributions of morphological awareness (MA) to second language (L2) wor... more This study examined the contributions of morphological awareness (MA) to second language (L2) word meaning inferencing in English‐speaking adult learners of Chinese (N = 50). Three research questions were posed: Are L2 learners sensitive to the morphological structure of unknown multi‐character words? Does first language (L1) MA contribute to L2 MA over and above L2 linguistic knowledge? Does L2 MA contribute to L2 word meaning inference over and above L1 MA and L2 linguistic knowledge? These questions were investigated through the use of a set of experimental and paper‐and‐pencil measurements of the aforementioned L1 and L2 reading subskills and L2 linguistic knowledge, as well as working memory. Several significant results were found. The L2 learners were sensitive to the morphological structure of multi‐character words and more successful in guessing the meanings of novel words containing affixoids and familiar bases. L1 MA was found to transfer and facilitate the development of L2 MA over and above L2 linguistic knowledge. Additionally, L2 MA contributed to L2 word meaning inferencing indirectly through L2 linguistic knowledge. The discussion focuses on the intralingual and interlingual relationships among L1 MA, L2 MA, L2 linguistic knowledge, and L2 word meaning inferencing in adult L2 reading development.
This Element aims to address the complexity of metalinguistic awareness to achieve a thorough acc... more This Element aims to address the complexity of metalinguistic awareness to achieve a thorough account of its impacts on second language (L2) reading development and promote an in-depth understanding of the factors regulating the influence of first language (L1) metalinguistic awareness on L2 reading. It is guided by four questions: 1) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness in L2 readers? 2) To what extent do phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with word decoding intralingually in L2 readers? 3) To what extent do L1 phonological, orthographic, and morphological awareness correlate with L2 word decoding in L2 readers? 4) To what extent do the relations in questions 1–3 vary as a function of linguistic-, learner-, measurement-, and instruction-related factors? This Element is the first to systematically investigate the roles of distinct facets of...
According to the Interface Hypothesis in the field of bilingualism, the interface connecting a li... more According to the Interface Hypothesis in the field of bilingualism, the interface connecting a linguistic module with a language-external domain (e.g., syntax-discourse) will present prolonged difficulties for adult bilingual learners, as compared with the interface connecting language-internal modules (e.g., syntax-semantics). This study tested whether the Interface Hypothesis is applicable to the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese as a heritage language. An internet-based acceptability judgment task (AJT) was administered to 58 advanced and intermediate adult Chinese heritage speakers to collect data in accuracy and reaction time to investigate the adult heritage speakers’ mastery of referential nominal expressions regulated at the syntax-semantics and syntax-discourse interfaces, respectively, in Mandarin Chinese. The target linguistic phenomena involved three nominal expressions (i.e., the bare N(oun), the [Cl(assifier)-N], and the [Num(eral)-Cl-N]) under four interface-regulated r...
This scoping review explores the causal relationship between morphological instruction and readin... more This scoping review explores the causal relationship between morphological instruction and reading development in young L2 learners by synthesizing 12 primary studies published between 2004 and 2019 (N = 1,535). These studies focused on reading English as the target language and involved participants between kindergarten and Grade 12 from four countries (China, Egypt, Singapore, and the USA). Findings suggested that (a) morphological instruction led to consistent and positive gains in L2 children's morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, and the effect sizes (Cohen's ds) ranged from small to large; and (b) the relationship between morphological instruction and other outcomes such as phonological awareness, word reading accuracy, word reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension was inconclusive. Notably, transfer effects of L2 English morphological instruction on novel word learning in English or on reading development in an additional language were only examined and observed in four primary studies. Discussion was provided regarding future instructional and research design.
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