The sentence-level processing of case markings and word order by native and non-native speakers of German

This longitudinal study tracked how American university students of German at intermediate and advanced levels comprehended and rated the acceptability of German sentences in two different tasks. A timed sentence-comprehension task examined whether learners used case markings, word order, and semantic information when reading German sentences. The second task explored whether or not learners were sensitive to these three variables when rating the acceptability of target sentences. For comparative purposes, German native speakers also completed both tasks.; Both intermediate and advanced learners had greater difficulty comprehending object-before-subject sentences than subject-before-object sentences. Advanced learners outperformed intermediate learners, indicating that they paid more attention to case marking information during comprehension. In later testing rounds, comprehension improved in both learner groups, demonstrating that participants became more adept at utilizing case markings over time.; Reading times on accurately comprehended sentences provided evidence that intermediate and advanced learners used different processing strategies when reading the target sentences. Reading times for intermediate learners did not differ significantly between sentences. In contrast, advanced learners' reading times increased on the same sentences that were most difficult for them to comprehend. Advanced learners' reading times also differed from native speaker reading times, supporting the presence of an interlanguage grammar. Over time, advanced learners' reading times came to more closely mirror native speaker reading times.; Acceptability ratings of target sentences also revealed differences between native speakers and both learner groups. For native speakers, sentences exhibiting lower comprehension rates and longer reading times on the comprehension task were rated as less acceptable. Acceptability ratings by both intermediate and advanced learners, however, did not necessarily correlate with performance on the comprehension task.; This experiment went beyond assessing comprehension in the target language to examine what strategies adult learners use during sentence comprehension. The data from this study provide evidence from real-time reading situations that support current theories about the relationship between case markings, word order, and semantics in German syntax. The results also point German teachers in the direction of more effective approaches to grammar instruction.