Semantic versus Syntactic Cues in Listening Comprehension

Studies have shown that less fluent non-native readers cannot make full use of semantic-level cues. Non-natives direct proportionately more attention than natives to syntactic and graphophonic information. This study asked whether a similar difference would be found between native and non-native listeners. Three groups were tested: native English-speakers and advanced and intermediate non-natives. After hearing a text, subjects were given a 55-item cloze test. It was hypothesized that with a subject's increased proficiency in the language, processing would show progressively greater attention to semantic than to syntactic or phonological cues. The cloze test was scored using a diagnostic scoring procedure developed by Clarke and Burdell (1977). Results confirmed the hypothesis. Semantically acceptable responses increased progressively for intermediate, advanced, and native groups, while responses based on syntactic structure decreased.