Sentence predictability and lexical factors during L2 reading

Abstract

Theoretical accounts of second language (L2) reading differ in whether sentence context compensates for inefficiencies in L2 lexical processing (Compensatory Processing Hypothesis) or is constrained by them (Lexical Bottleneck Hypothesis). This eye-tracking study tested these competing predictions in 80 Chinese learners of English by examining how contextual predictability interacts with word frequency and orthographic neighbourhood size, and whether these effects are modulated by L2 proficiency. Results showed additive effects of frequency and predictability in early processing measures (first fixation duration and gaze duration). In contrast, total fixation duration and skipping rates revealed significant interactions such that contextual facilitation was strongest for high-frequency words. This pattern challenges the compensatory view and instead suggests that efficient lexical retrieval is a prerequisite for effective context integration. Proficiency also modulated the effect of neighbourhood size in first fixation duration and the interaction between neighbourhood size and predictability in total fixation duration, indicating that the use of lexical and contextual information differs across proficiency levels. Overall, the findings support a lexical bottleneck account of L2 reading, whereby lexical quality shapes both the time course and the effectiveness of context use.