Language and Translation Studies (LTS)

From Neural Responses to Proficiency: Exploring Syntactic Priming through ERPs

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Zahra Zohoorian 1
Nazanin Baradaran 2
Mahdi Azarnoosh 3

1 Department of English, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran University of Nizwa, Oman

2 Department of English, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

3 Department of Medical Engineering, MaC, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.2026.99014.1441
Abstract
The present experimental study employed Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to explore syntactic priming among 23 participants who had high and low levels of language proficiency. To do so, the participants were exposed to a pair of sentences including a prime and a target. The findings suggested no significant differences between the two groups in terms of their behavioral responses as well as reaction times. However, there were notable variations in ERP data as the participants of the low proficiency group showed higher positivity in trials including Relative clauses (RRC1 and RRC2). Moreover, the high proficiency group exhibited amplified positivity in trials including the main clauses (MC) and the additional Relative clause (RRC3). It can be implied that learners having varying proficiency levels engage in syntactic priming through diverse cognitive processes. These findings imply that proficiency shapes the neural efficiency of syntactic processing and may inform proficiency-sensitive approaches to second-language instruction.

Keywords

Proficiency levels
Syntactic priming
Reaction Time
Reduced relative clause
Main clause
Subjects
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Language and Translation Studies (LTS)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 September 2026

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