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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 26, No. 0, pp.1053-1080
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Aug 2026
Received 05 Apr 2026 Revised 11 Jul 2026 Accepted 13 Aug 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.26..202608.1053

Processing Syntactic Islands in L2 English and Working Memory: Evidence from Vietnamese Learners

Thi Quyen Nguyen
Lecturer, School of Languages International University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City VNU Township, Quarter 33, Linh Xuan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tel: +84-28-372-44-270 (ext: 3234) ntquyen@hcmiu.edu.vn


© 2026 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This article examines island effects in L2 grammar, focusing on Vietnamese learners of English whose L1 is a wh-in-situ language with few island restrictions. Two questions are addressed: (a) Are these learners sensitive to English island constraints that are not instantiated in Vietnamese, and (b) can island effects in L2 English be reduced to sole processing demands? Two acceptability judgment experiments were conducted with Vietnamese EFL learners at three proficiency levels and a native English control group, using factorial designs and difference-in-differences (DD) measures following Sprouse et al. (2012). Study 1 manipulated the island structure, dependency length and D-linking across four island types (Wh-, Complex NP, Subject and Adjunct islands). Study 2 reduced the processing load and added an operation span task to assess working memory. Across both studies, island-violating sentences received substantially lower ratings and DD scores increased with proficiency. Processing factors modulated acceptability, especially for weaker islands, but did not eliminate island effects, and working memory did not reliably predict island sensitivity. These findings indicate that processing factors modulate, but do not determine, island effects, which are better explained as reflecting UG-constrained grammatical representations in interlanguage. The developmental trajectory observed across proficiency levels is therefore more consistent with the predictions of the Full Transfer/Full Access hypothesis than with the Fundamental Difference Hypothesis, providing evidence that adult L2 learners can acquire fine-grained island constraints despite limited support from the first language.

Keywords:

island effects, interlanguage grammar, Vietnamese learners, wh-movement, working memory, Universal Grammar

Acknowledgments

This research is funded by Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under grant number C2025-28-05. Part of this work was developed from the author’s doctoral dissertation.

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