2026-10-06T11:34:48Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34023354 2026-09-29T11:13:25Z category_30373 category_29338 category_29416 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<p dir="ltr"><b>Syntactic Knowledge and Its Influence on Sentence Production and Comprehension in Second Language Acquisition</b></p> Zhao Wan (25075663) Cognition English as a second language Linguistic structures (incl. phonology, morphology and syntax) Syntactic Complexity cognitive processing abilities Input Quality Combinatorial Properties Second Language Acquisition Information Processing Theory Usage-Based Perspective <p dir="ltr">Although syntactic complexity is a crucial factor in second language acquisition (SLA), questionnaire-based outcomes were interpreted cautiously, with reported perceptions of syntactic complexity by learners separated from objectively measured syntactic performance. This study explores the relationships between syntactic complexity, cognitive processing abilities (COG), input quality, combinatorial properties, and SLA based on learners' self-reported answers. A quantitative design was employed with a structured questionnaire used to collect data from 455 college students, analyzed via PLS-SEM. Results indicate that syntactic complexity and COG are significantly positively related (β = 0.488, p < .001) and that COG and SLA are also significantly positively related (β = 0.352, p < .001). COG also significantly mediated the association between syntactic complexity and SLA (indirect β = 0.172, p < .001). Input quality (β = 0.266, p < .001) and combinatorial properties (β = 0.183, p < .001) were also positively associated with SLA. Experiences of SLA are related to COG, syntactic complexity, input quality, and the perceived role of recurrent language combinations. This offers a perception-based view of SLA and shows the importance of cognitive processing abilities and language input, and acknowledges that the cross-sectional self-report design does not establish causal relationships or provide objective evidence of syntactic development.</p> 2026-09-29T11:13:25Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34023354.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_p_dir_ltr_b_Syntactic_Knowledge_and_Its_Influence_on_Sentence_Production_and_Comprehension_in_Second_Language_Acquisition_b_p_/34023354 CC BY 4.0