Primability as a Predictor of L2 Alignment and Writing Performance: Evidence from a Comparative Continuation Task

Area of Science:

• Second Language Acquisition
• Psycholinguistics
• Individual Differences in L2 Learning

Background:

• Alignment, or language pattern reuse, is a key mechanism in second language (L2) development.
• Research often focuses on task factors, overlooking individual differences in L2 alignment and learning outcomes.
• Understanding learner-specific traits is crucial for effective L2 pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between learners' implicit adaptation capacity and their L2 alignment.
• To determine if implicit adaptation influences L2 writing development.
• To explore the role of individual differences in L2 learning processes.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed writing tasks and implicit priming measures (L1 lexical and syntactic priming).
• LLAMA_D was used to assess implicit phonological sensitivity.
• Correlational and predictive analyses examined relationships between adaptation, alignment, and writing gains.

Main Results:

• Sensitivity to L1 lexical priming correlated with L2 lexical alignment.
• Sensitivity to L1 syntactic priming correlated with L2 syntactic alignment.
• Implicit syntactic priming predicted improvements in L2 writing quality, accuracy, and fluency; lexical priming predicted fluency gains.

Conclusions:

• Implicit capacity for adaptation significantly influences L2 alignment and writing development.
• Individual differences in implicit processing are vital for understanding L2 learning.
• Findings offer new insights into the mechanisms of L2 acquisition and individual variation.