Stephen Skalicky

Predicting Text Comprehension, Processing, and Familiarity in Adult Readers: New Approaches to Readability Formulas

ABSTRACT Research has identified a number of linguistic features that influence the reading comprehension of young readers; yet, less is known about whether and how these findings extend to adult readers. This study examines text comprehension, processing, and familiarity judgment provided by adult readers using a number of different approaches (i.e., natural language processing, crowd-sourced ratings, and machine learning). The primary focus is on the identification of the linguistic features that predict adult text readability judgments, and how these features perform when compared to traditional text readability formulas such as the Flesch-Kincaid grade level formula. The results indicate the traditional readability formulas are less predictive than models of text comprehension, processing, and familiarity derived from advanced natural language processing tools.

Examining lexical development in second language learners: An approximate replication of Salsbury, Crossley & McNamara (2011)

This paper reports on an approximate or partial replication of a study by Salsbury, Crossley & McNamara ( 2011 ) that examined the longitudinal developmental of a number of core lexical features related to word imageability, concreteness, familiarity, and meaningfulness in a spoken corpus of English second language (L2) learners. Salsbury et al. found no developmental growth patterns for word familiarity but strong growth patterns for word concreteness, imageability, and meaningfulness as a function of time such that L2 learners began to produce more sophisticated words. Salsbury et al. were the first to formally identify this relation between English proficiency and lexical sophistication, and a large number of studies investigating lexical proficiency have cited this article as a foundational study. There were, however, a number of limitations to the Salsbury et al. ( 2011 ) study that make it appropriate for replication. First, the sample size was relatively small (six learners sampled six times over the course of a year). In addition, the study did not control for a number of factors important in L2 acquisition studies (e.g., age, proficiency level, gender) and used a statistical technique that averaged group means and did not properly account for individual participant variation. This replication study addresses these areas and the findings from the replication reflect those reported by Salsbury et al., providing support for the notion that developing L2 lexicons move from the production of words with stronger links to core lexical items to words with weaker links to core lexical items over time. Implications for language learning and teaching are discussed.

Identifying Creativity During Problem Solving Using Linguistic Features

Creativity is commonly assessed using divergent thinking tasks, which measure the fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of participant output on a variety of different tasks. This study assesses the degree to which creativity can be identified based on linguistic features of participants’ language while completing collaborative divergent thinking tasks. To this end, 78 participants’ conversational dialogs (i.e., 39 dyads) within a chat environment were collected while completing three open-ended problem-solving tasks. Expert raters scored the dialogs in terms of fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality, as well as three types of creative language (metaphor and simile, humor, and word play). Factor analyses indicated that these scores captured two main constructs (creativity and elaboration). The linguistic features of the participants’ language (captured computationally using natural language processing tools) accounted for significant amounts of variation in both the creativity (R2 = .640) and elaboration (R2 = .550) scores within linear mixed effect (LME) models. These results highlight specific linguistic features that can be used to explain large amounts of variance in constructs related to creativity.

Verb-argument constructions in advanced L2 English learner production: Insights from corpora and verbal fluency tasks

Abstract This paper draws on data from learner and native-speaker corpora as well as psycholinguistic data to gain insights into second language speaker knowledge of English verb-argument constructions (VACs). For each of 34 VACs, L1 German and L1 Spanish advanced English learners’ and English native speakers’ dominant verb–VAC associations are examined based on data retrieved from the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE), the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI), their respective Native Speaker (NS) reference corpora, and data collected in verbal fluency tasks in which participants complete VAC frames, such as, ‘she _______ with the…’ with verbs that come to mind. We compare findings from the different data sets and consider the strengths and limitations of each in relation to questions in usage-based second language acquisition and Construction Grammar.

Learner perception of multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication in foreign language classrooms:

Recently, second language (L2) instruction has benefitted from the development of instructional technology such as synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). The present study was conducted to investigate learner perception of the effectiveness of SCMC interactions for L2 learning and building intercultural competence. Students (n = 55) from three different universities in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan participated in a joint online class for one semester. The purpose of the class was to facilitate students’ development of linguistic and intercultural competence by interacting with peers from different cultures online. This study set out to examine the relation between learner perception and interactional features during group discussions. A range of data collection instruments were employed, including a questionnaire to track change in learner perception over time, interviews, and transcripts of interactions during each chat session. Results from linear mixed effect models suggest that among various interactional features, the following two variables were found to be significant predictors of positive attitudes towards SCMC: the amount of students’ attention to language and cultural issues during online discussion. Findings are discussed in light of developing effective SCMC-based language courses.

Making sense of polysemy relations in first and second language speakers of English

The aim of this study is to compare priming effects for polysemous word senses among English first language (L1) and advanced second language (L2) speakers in order to better understand the development of the mental lexicon. Using polysemy values from WordNet, a lexical decision task was designed with three different target word conditions: dominant polysemy (i.e., closely related senses), subordinate polysemy (i.e., distantly related senses), and unrelated words. Participants first saw a prime word and then selected whether a subsequent target word was a valid English word or not. For example, SURVEY was followed by STUDY (dominant polsysemy) or VIEW (subordinate polysemy) or FLASH (unrelated) or SMOO (nonword). Forty-one L1 speakers and 45 advanced L2 speakers each completed 120 decisions. Results from linear mixed effects models suggest dominant senses were responded to significantly faster than unrelated senses (t = −3.119, p = .002, marginal R2 = .066) for L1 participants, but there were no other significant differences among word conditions. No significant priming effects were found for L2 participants. These results suggest that, unlike other lexical relations, advanced L2 speakers do not form similar connections in the bilingual lexicon when compared to L1 speakers.

Examining the Online Processing of Satirical Newspaper Headlines

ABSTRACT Previous investigations of satire posit that satire comprehension is influenced by prior knowledge, satirical strategies, and other demographic features, such as age. However, these claims have not yet been tested using online processing techniques. In this study we investigate satire processing using newspaper headlines from the satirical American newspaper The Onion and nonsatirical headlines from The New York Times. Reading times and humor ratings were gathered from 76 participants using behavioral response data. Results demonstrate that a higher age results in significantly higher reading times for satirical compared with nonsatirical headlines. In addition, levels of prior knowledge significantly interacted with different satirical strategies, influencing both reading times and perceptions of humor. Measures of headline familiarity and sincerity also interacted with perceptions of humor and satirical strategy. These results provide additional evidence for the importance that age, prior knowledge, and satirical strategies have on satire comprehension.

A Corpus-Assisted Investigation of Nonunderstanding in Outsourced Call Center Discourse

This study analyzes a corpus of call center interactions between Filipino call center agents and American callers engaged in a range of communicative tasks during a typical workday. Our primary focus is to contribute to the knowledge base surrounding miscommunication in intercultural interactions in Filipino–American customer service calls. Specifically, our study explores how instances of nonunderstanding are initiated and repaired in interactions supported by Filipino agents. As a corpus-assisted research, we analyze a large number of interactions in order to identify linguistic and communicative patterns and draw conclusions from a variety of examples. Qualitative coding of the interactions works to identify how instances of miscommunication occur, while quantitative analysis of these instances helps to visualize patterns and to provide suggestions as to what may be causing or resolving miscommunication between these interlocutors.