An Analysis of the Effect of Constituent Division of Reading Texts on Students of English as a Second Language Page: 26
v, 105 leavesView a full description of this thesis.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
26
Further click displacement studies have shown that
listeners locate clicks near major constituent boundaries
more easily than around small units such as phonetic seg-
ments and syllables (McNeill and Lindig 1973).
Probe-latency studies have indicated that constituents
are stored verbatim in working (short-term) memory and used
to construct propositions. Subjects found it easier to
provide the next word in a sentence when it belonged to the
same constituent as the probe word than when it belonged to
a different constituent (Ammon 1968).
The reality of constituents in working memory was
further explored by Jarvella (1971), who found that lis-
teners were better able to remember clauses belonging to
the same sentence than clauses belonging to different sen-
tences. This suggests that large constituents (in this
case clauses) are purged from working memory at the ends
of sentences (the ultimate constituent boundaries).
The theory that constituents are processed as con-
ceptual units is strengthened by studies which have shown
that listeners' comprehension slows down immediately after
difficulty in processing the preceding constituent occurs
(Foss and Lynch in Clark and Clark 1977). These studies
have shown, for example, that embedded relative clauses
are more difficult to comprehend than right-branching rela-
tive clauses since constituents are harder to detect in
embedded structures.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This thesis can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Thesis.
Childress, Anita Gaye. An Analysis of the Effect of Constituent Division of Reading Texts on Students of English as a Second Language, thesis, December 1986; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501132/m1/31/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .