Working Memory Effects in the L2 Processing of Ambiguous Relative Clauses

This article investigates whether and how L2 sentence processing is affected by memory constraints that force serial parsing. Monitoring eye movements, we test effects of working memory on L2 relative-clause attachment preferences in a sample of 75 late-adult German learners of English and 25 native English controls. Mixed linear regression analyses find effects of reading span on attachment preferences across tasks in the L2 group. In addition, relative-clause attachment was modulated by slowdowns in lexical processing, which indicates that difficulties in word-level processing affect L2 parsing behavior. Nonnatives who were matched in capacity to native speakers showed target-like syntactic processing. In terms of the interaction of capacity and structural parsing preferences, L2ers pattern similarly to natives, which supports continuity approaches to L2 processing.