工作记忆对中国英语学习者主谓一致数吸引效应的影响:研究综述与展望
The Impact of Working Memory on the Subject-Verb Agreement Number Attraction Effect among Chinese English Learners: A Review and Prospective Perspective
DOI: 10.12677/ml.2026.146563, PDF,    科研立项经费支持
作者: 蒲 青:西北师范大学外国语学院,甘肃 兰州
关键词: 主谓一致数吸引效应工作记忆二语加工ERPSubject-Verb Agreement Number Attraction Effect Working Memory Second Language Processing ERP
摘要: 主谓一致是英语形态句法加工的重要问题,数吸引效应为探讨一致关系建立及其干扰机制提供了重要视角。本文围绕工作记忆对中国英语学习者主谓一致数吸引效应的影响,梳理母语者与二语学习者相关研究,并结合基于线索的记忆检索模型和浅层结构假说进行分析。研究发现,二语数吸引效应是否稳定存在仍有争议,其差异可能受到二语熟练度、任务类型、母语背景和工作记忆容量等因素的共同影响。工作记忆可能通过影响句法表征维持、干扰抑制和线索权重分配,调节二语主谓一致加工过程。未来研究应聚焦汉语背景英语学习者,结合行为、眼动和ERP方法,以进一步揭示工作记忆、语言经验与二语句法加工之间的交互机制。
Abstract: Subject-verb agreement is a key issue in the morphosyntactic processing of English, and the number attraction effect provides an important perspective for exploring the establishment of agreement relationships and the mechanisms of interference. The paper examines the influence of working memory on the subject-verb agreement number attraction effect among Chinese learners of English, reviews relevant research on native speakers and second-language learners, and analyzes the findings in conjunction with Cue-Based Memory Retrieval Models and the Surface Structure Hypothesis. The findings suggest that the consistent existence of the number attraction effect in second language acquisition remains a matter of debate, with variations likely influenced by factors such as second language proficiency, task type, native language background, and working memory capacity. Working memory may modulate the processing of subject-verb agreement in second language acquisition by influencing the maintenance of syntactic representations, the suppression of interference, and the allocation of cue weights. Future research should focus on English learners with a Chinese background, utilizing behavioral, eye-tracking and ERP methods to further elucidate the interactive mechanisms between working memory, linguistic experience and second-language syntactic processing.
文章引用:蒲青. 工作记忆对中国英语学习者主谓一致数吸引效应的影响:研究综述与展望[J]. 现代语言学, 2026, 14(6): 609-615. https://doi.org/10.12677/ml.2026.146563

参考文献

[1] Jiang, N. (2004) Morphological Insensitivity in Second Language Processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 603-634. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[2] Bock, K. and Cutting, J.C. (1992) Regulating Mental Energy: Performance Units in Language Production. Journal of Memory and Language, 31, 99-127. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[3] Wagers, M.W., Lau, E.F. and Phillips, C. (2009) Agreement Attraction in Comprehension: Representations and Processes. Journal of Memory and Language, 61, 206-237. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[4] Clahsen, H. and Felser, C. (2006) Grammatical Processing in Language Learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 27, 3-42. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[5] Friederici, A.D. (2002) Towards a Neural Basis of Auditory Sentence Processing. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 78-84. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[6] Kaan, E. and Swaab, T.Y. (2003) Repair, Revision, and Complexity in Syntactic Analysis: An Electrophysiological Differentiation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15, 98-110. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[7] Dillon, B., Mishler, A., Sloggett, S. and Phillips, C. (2013) Contrasting Intrusion Profiles for Agreement and Anaphora: Experimental and Modeling Evidence. Journal of Memory and Language, 69, 85-103. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[8] Jegerski, J. (2016) Number Attraction Effects in Near-Native Spanish Sentence Comprehension. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 5-33. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[9] Lim, J.H. and Christianson, K. (2015) Second Language Sensitivity to Agreement Errors: Evidence from Eye Movements during Comprehension and Translation. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36, 1283-1315. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[10] Schlueter, Z., Parker, D. and Lau, E. (2019) Error-Driven Retrieval in Agreement Attraction Rarely Leads to Misinterpretation. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article ID: 1002. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[11] Chen, L., Shu, H., Liu, Y., Zhao, J. and Li, P. (2007) ERP Signatures of Subject-Verb Agreement in L2 Learning. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10, 161-174. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[12] 张少林, 曾鹏, 刘岳军. 数吸引对英语主谓一致影响的实验研究[J]. 外语教学理论与实践, 2011(3): 42-46.
[13] Bian, J., Zhang, H. and Sun, C. (2021) An ERP Study on Attraction Effects in Advanced L2 Learners. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article ID: 616804. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[14] 马拯. 英语学习中的“瓶颈问题”: 中国学生主谓一致结构习得的证据[J]. 外语与外语教学, 2022(4): 122-133.
[15] 卞京, 张辉. 二语主谓一致加工的数吸引效应及其个体差异: 来自中国高水平英语学习者的ERP证据[J]. 外语与外语教学, 2023(1): 60-72, 146.
[16] Tanner, D. (2011) Agreement Mechanisms in Native and Nonnative Language Processing: Electrophysiological Correlates of Interference and Complexity. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Washington.
[17] Osterhout, L., McLaughlin, J., Pitkänen, I., Frenck‐Mestre, C. and Molinaro, N. (2006) Novice Learners, Longitudinal Designs, and Event‐Related Potentials: A Means for Exploring the Neurocognition of Second Language Processing. Language Learning, 56, 199-230. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[18] Tanner, D., Nicol, J., Herschensohn, J. and Osterhout, L. (2012) Electrophysiological Markers of Interference and Structural Facilitation in Native and Nonnative Agreement Processing. In: Biller, A.K., Chung, E.Y. and Kimball, A.E., Eds., Proceedings of the 36th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Cascadilla Press, 594-606.
[19] Baddeley, A., Hitch, G. and Allen, R. (2021) A Multicomponent Model of Working Memory. In: Logie, R.H., Camos, V. and Cowan, N., Eds., Working Memory, Oxford University Press, 10-43. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[20] Nakano, H., Saron, C. and Swaab, T.Y. (2010) Speech and Span: Working Memory Capacity Impacts the Use of Animacy but Not of World Knowledge during Spoken Sentence Comprehension. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22, 2886-2898. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[21] Kim, A.E., Oines, L.D. and Miyake, A. (2018) Individual Differences in Verbal Working Memory Underlie a Tradeoff between Semantic and Structural Processing Difficulty during Language Comprehension: An ERP Investigation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44, 406-420. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[22] Lee, E.K.R. and Phillips, C. (2023) Why Non-Native Speakers Sometimes Outperform Native Speakers in Agreement Processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 26, 152-164. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef
[23] Lewis, R.L. and Vasishth, S. (2005) An Activation‐Based Model of Sentence Processing as Skilled Memory Retrieval. Cognitive Science, 29, 375-419. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
[24] Vasishth, S., Nicenboim, B., Engelmann, F. and Burchert, F. (2019) Computational Models of Retrieval Processes in Sentence Processing. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23, 968-982. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]