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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.460-485
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Mar 2026
Received 03 Feb 2026 Revised 25 Feb 2026 Accepted 09 Mar 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.26..202603.460

Noisy Representations in Korean and Chinese EFL Learners’ Interpretation of English Caused-Motion Constructions: The Role of L1 Typology

Rakhun Kim
Lecturer, Department of English Education Hongik University 94, Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu Seoul, Korea, Tel: +82-2-320-1180 kimrhee02@hongik.ac.kr


© 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 study examines how Korean and Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners interpret English caused-motion constructions, focusing on the influence of L1 typology and limited L2 exposure within a usage-based framework. Although typological differences between L1 and L2 introduce significant conceptual and linguistic challenges, prior research has often overlooked such typological effects. Addressing this gap, the study investigates how Korean and Chinese EFL learners interpret English caused-motion constructions with manner-denoting intransitive verbs, using the acceptability judgment test (AJT) and the paraphrasing test. Findings indicate that, consistent with prior research, both groups of participants tended to accept ungrammatical formulations, highlighting the inconsistency and instability of their L2 grammatical representations, often referred to as noisy L2 representations. Notably, Korean learners, influenced by their verb-framed L1 typology, favored bi-clausal structures and showed stronger resistance to English mono-clausal caused-motion constructions. These findings underscore the role of L1 typology in shaping L2 interpretation, contributing to greater representational variability among Korean EFL learners.

Keywords:

construction grammar, noisy representation, language typology, caused-motion construction, EFL, Korean, Chinese

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