Results • Different result patterns between L2 learners and native speakers of Chinese in terms of the Stroop facilitation effect were found. • Critically, Stroop facilitation effect was found in native speakers, but not in L2 Chinese learners in the S-T+ condition. Research questions 1) Can L2 learners of Chinese automatically process tonal information in a similar manner as native speakers during visual word recognition? 2) Does the involvement of the production system impact the processing of tonal information in different ways in L1 and L2 visual word recognition? Chinese tones • Four common lexical tones marked as in ā á ǎ à • Tones serve as a critical part of Chinese phonology • Tones are necessary if learners want to master Chinese as an L2 Automaticity • According to some researchers, if a linguistic feature has been acquired implicitly, it should be processed automatically (e.g., Jiang, 2004). -> This study, thus, explores automatic tonal processing in L2 and L1 during visual word recognition. Automatic tonal processing in L1 Chinese • Li, Lin, Wang, & Jiang (2013) • Native Chinese speakers were tested in a naming Stroop task. • Tonal information is automatically processed in L1 Chinese visual word recognition, so is segmental information (which is similar to vowels and consonants in English). Automatic tonal processing in L2 Chinese • It is understudied. • Li, Wang, Davis, & Guan (2019) reported that L2 learners do not represent and access tones in a comparable manner as the native speakers. However -- • Li et al. (2019) may be insufficient to reflect how L2 tones are represented and accessed because they used the homophone judgement task. • It replies on metalinguistic knowledge to complete the task. • It allows strategic processing. • It is hard even for native speakers of Chinese (Taft & Chen, 1992). Studying L2 tonal processing visual word recognition will reveal -- • How phonological information is represented and/or processed in L2. • The similarities and/or differences in how phonological information is represented and/or processed in L1 and L2. Rongchao Tang1, Naoko Witzel1, Xiaomei Qiao2, & Jia Chen2 1University of Texas at Arlington 2Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Automatic tonal processing in L2 Chinese learners during silent reading Introduction Experiments 1 & 2, Naming Stroop Task Discussion Selected References Acknowledgements Summary of results Contact: rongchao.tang@mavs.uta.edu Design • A button-pushing Stroop task, i.e., press button to indicate the ink color of Chinese characters • A Pinyin identification task • Confirmed that participants have the explicit knowledge of the stimuli • Same six conditions following Exps. 1 & 2 Participants • Experiment 1: 18 native Chinese speakers • Same as Li et al. (2013) • Experiment 2: 27 L2 leaners of Chinese • Passed HSK5 (high proficient L2 Chinese learners) • None of them reported having deficiencies in identifying color. Materials for Experiments 1 & 2 • 20 Chinese monomorphemic characters This study was supported in part by the CoLA Dean’s Award for Research, University of Texas at Arlington,, awarded to first author, Rongchao Tang. • Robust Stroop facilitation effects in the S-T+ conditions for native speakers, but not for L2 learners -> L2 learners cannot automatically process tonal information, while native speakers can. Results Experiments 3 & 4, Button-pushing Stroop Task • Li, C., Lin, C. Y., Wang, M., & Jiang, N. (2013). The activation of segmental and tonal information in visual word recognition. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 20, 773-779. • Li, C., Wang, M., Davis, J., & Guan, C.Q. (2019). The role of segmental and tonal information in visual word recognition with learners of Chinese. Journal of Research in Reading, 42, 213-238. • Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643-662. • Taft, M., & Chen, H. C. (1992). Judging homophony in Chinese: The influence