The Impact of Syntactic Priming on English Language Learners' Production: A Transfer Study of Indirect Questions/Requests

Abstract

This study examines the impact of syntactic priming on production of indirect questions/requests by Persian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Eighty learners participated in two experiments investigating the impact of syntactic priming on oral production and the possibility of transfer of the priming effects to a different modality. A Production experiment showed that priming resulted in increased production of the target structure by the Experimental groups as compared with production by the Control groups. A Transfer experiment showed the gains accrued by participants in the Experimental groups could also be observed in a different modality, i.e., written production.