Sara Beck

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Sonderforschungsbereich 833, Graduate Student

Lawrence University, Linguistics, Alumna

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I am conducting research at the University of Tübingen (Collaborative Research Center 833) and I am interested in the processing of figurative meaning, particularly in language learners and non-native speakers.

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Simone Graetzer

University of Salford

Kelly M Miles

Macquarie University

Valeriy Shafiro

Rush University Medical Center

Erika Levy

Monica A Wagner

Radboud University Nijmegen

Aude Noiray

École Normale Supérieure

Ohio University

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Papers by Sara Beck

The impact of face masks on the recall of spoken sentences

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Phrasal Learning Is a Horse Apiece: No Recognition Memory Advantages for Idioms in L1 and L2 Adult Learners

Frontiers in Psychology

Native (L1) and to some extent non-native (L2) speakers have shown processing advantages for idio... more Native (L1) and to some extent non-native (L2) speakers have shown processing advantages for idioms compared to novel literal phrases, and there is limited evidence that this advantage also extends to memory in L1 children. This study investigated whether these advantages generalize to recognition memory in adults. It employed a learning paradigm to test whether there is a recognition memory advantage for idioms compared to literal phrases in adult L1 and L2 learners considering both form and meaning recognition. Additionally, we asked whether the presence of unfamiliar vocabulary interferes with phrasal learning by looking at recall of such unfamiliar words. When encountering new idioms, L2 learners often must cope with both figurative meaning and unfamiliar vocabulary. While single word meaning need not interfere with idiomatic meaning, it is a building block for the meaning of literal phrases. In Experiment 1, L2 learners showed equal recall for the form and meaning of literal an...

Context and Literality in Idiom Processing: Evidence from Self-Paced Reading

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 2020

In a self-paced reading study, we investigated how effects of biasing contexts in idiom processin... more In a self-paced reading study, we investigated how effects of biasing contexts in idiom processing interact with effects of idiom literality. Specifically, we tested if idioms with a high potential for literal interpretation (e.g., break the ice) are processed differently in figuratively and literally biasing contexts than idioms with a low potential (e.g., lose one's cool). Participants read sentences that biased towards a figurative or literal reading of idioms and continued with resolutions that were congruent or incongruent with these biases (e.g., [The new schoolboy/the chilly Eskimo] just wanted to break the ice [with his peers/ on the lake]…). While interpretations of high-literality idioms were strengthened by supporting contexts and showed costs for incongruent resolutions, low-literality idioms did not show this effect. Rather, interpreting low-literality idioms in a literal manner showed a cost regardless of context. We conclude that biasing contexts are used in a flexible process of real-time idiom processing and meaning constitution, but this effect is mediated by idiom literality.

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Context matters, figuratively, for L2 readers: Evidence from self-paced reading

Proceedings from The 11th International Conference on the Mental Lexicon 2018, 2019

In a self-paced reading study, we investigated the extent to which non-native speakers use biasin... more In a self-paced reading study, we investigated the extent to which non-native speakers use biasing context in idiom processing, and whether idiom literality limits these effects as it does in native speakers. Idioms with a high potential for literal interpretations (e.g., break the ice) and a low potential for literal interpretations (e.g., lose one’s cool) were embedded into sentences biasing literal or figurative readings and followed by resolutions that were either congruent or incongruent with these expectations. Context significantly impacted figurative interpretations, but not literal ones. While the reading time patterns replicate those of native speakers, literality did not significantly interact with contextual effects as in L1 readers, particularly in how it impacts literal readings. The results highlight differences between L1 and L2 competencies.

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L2 Idiom Processing: Figurative Attunement in Highly Idiomatic Contexts

Using cross-modal priming, we investigated the processing of idioms in non-native listeners in va... more Using cross-modal priming, we investigated the processing of idioms in non-native listeners in varying experimental contexts. As idiomatic processing models have presented evidence for an idiomatic mode of processing that can be activated for non-native speakers in highly figurative contexts (Bobrow & Bell, 1973), this experiment revisits those claims while also examining access to figurative meaning in addition to the literal meaning of individual words within an idiom. This experiment showed increased priming for visual targets related to the figurative meaning of an idiom when the experimental list contained a large proportion of idiomatic sentences compared to when the list contained only a small proportion of idiomatic sentences. Non-native speakers not only showed online access to figurative meaning but were also sensitive to highly idiomatic contexts; though, responses to the targets related to literal meaning of the final word of the idiom were faster in all instances than figuratively-related targets.

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Bilingual and Monolingual Idiom Processing Is Cut from the Same Cloth: The Role of the L1 in Literal and Figurative Meaning Activation

The present study examines non-native (L2) and native (L1) listeners' access to figurative idioma... more The present study examines non-native (L2) and native (L1) listeners' access to figurative idiomatic meaning and literal constituent meaning in two cross-modal priming experiments. Proficient German learners of English (L2) and native speakers of American English (L1) responded to English target words preceded by English idioms embedded in non-biasing prime sentences in a lexical decision task. English idioms differed in levels of translatability: Lexical level idioms had word-for-word translation equivalents in German, while post-lexical level idioms had matching idiomatic concepts in German but could not be translated word for word. Target words either related to the figurative meaning of the idiom or related to the literal meaning of the final constituent word of the idiom (e.g., to pull someone's leg, literal target: walk, figurative target: joke). Both L1 and L2 listeners showed facilitatory priming for literally-and figuratively-related target words compared to unrelated control target words, with only marginal differences between the listener groups. No effect of translatability was found; that is, the existence of word-for-word translation equivalents in German neither facilitated nor hindered meaning activation for German L2 listeners. The results are interpreted in the context of L1 and L2 models of idiom processing as well as further relevant translation studies.

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The impact of face masks on the recall of spoken sentences

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Phrasal Learning Is a Horse Apiece: No Recognition Memory Advantages for Idioms in L1 and L2 Adult Learners

Frontiers in Psychology