1. Introduction

Syntactic priming plays an important role in the Chinese language teaching and learning process. It refers to the tendency of individuals to reproduce syntactic structures they have previously encountered or processed when producing sentences, also known as syntactic maintenance or structural priming [1, 2]. Investigating the syntactic priming effect can deepen our understanding of the acquisition process of Chinese as a second language and the underlying mechanisms of language production, thus guiding the practice of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

This phenomenon has received widespread attention in both psychology and linguistics. Scholars from both domestic and international contexts have conducted research on the priming effect in sentence production across native languages, cross-linguistic contexts, and second language acquisition. These studies have focused on factors such as word order, subject-object order, vocabulary repetition, and the proficiency level of the learner's second language [3]. However, most existing studies have focused on the processing of similar Indo-European languages such as English and German, with less attention paid to Chinese as a second language. Furthermore, the factors influencing the syntactic priming effect in second language learners are intertwined and complex, necessitating further systematic and in-depth research.

This study utilized keywords such as “syntactic priming effect” and “Chinese second language learners” in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database to compile previous empirical studies on syntactic priming in Chinese as a second language. After manual selection, 15 relevant studies were retained, which served as the research content of this paper and were discussed.

2. Learner Factors Affecting Syntactic Priming

The language proficiency level of learners is one of the key factors affecting syntactic priming effects. Liu and Zhang found that learners with high language proficiency can extract and apply syntactic structures from the previous context more quickly and accurately in syntactic priming tasks, while learners with low language proficiency show a weaker syntactic priming effect [4]. This result indicates that learners with different levels of Chinese proficiency exhibit significant differences in their sensitivity to and response to syntactic priming. Further research shows that syntactic priming effects play different corrective roles among learners with varying language proficiency levels. Li points out that in the priming context, the number of correct sentence patterns produced by subjects significantly increases, and learners at the elementary level are more susceptible to syntactic priming compared to those at the intermediate and advanced levels, showing a stronger corrective effect [5]. This indicates that learners with lower language proficiency rely more on previous linguistic input in constructing syntactic structures, thus exhibiting a more significant corrective role in the syntactic priming effect.

From the perspective of the developmental stages of language proficiency, learners' language proficiency can be divided into three stages: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Learners at the elementary stage are not yet proficient in mastering Chinese syntactic structures, so they rely more on previous input to construct sentences, making their response to syntactic priming effects more pronounced. Learners at the intermediate stage have mastered certain syntactic structures, but may not be flexible enough in applying complex syntactic structures, and their response to syntactic priming effects lies between those of learners at the elementary and advanced stages. Learners at the advanced stage are more flexible and proficient in applying syntactic structures, able to choose structures more flexibly according to context; therefore, their response to syntactic priming effects is relatively weak.

Additionally, the impact of language proficiency on syntactic priming effects is also reflected in learners' sensitivity to different syntactic structures. Learners at the elementary level may be more sensitive to simple syntactic structures, while learners at the advanced level can handle more complex syntactic structures [5]. This difference may lead to varying syntactic priming effects among learners at different levels when faced with different syntactic structures.

3. Linguistic Factors Affecting Syntactic Priming

The syntactic priming effect is influenced by several linguistic factors, including the syntactic structure of the prime sentence and its position in the discourse, both of which jointly affect the syntactic selection and processing in language learners.

3.1. Priming Sentence Structures

The syntactic structure of the prime sentence is a key factor influencing the syntactic priming effect. Lv and Yan found that both native Chinese speakers and second language learners are affected by the syntactic priming effect when producing Chinese sentences [6]. After subjects are exposed to a prime sentence with a particular type of complex sentence structure, they tend to use similar syntactic structures in subsequent productions. These findings suggest that the structure of the prime sentence significantly impacts the syntactic priming effect.

Studies reveal that, under different contextual conditions, variations in syntactic structures have a significant impact on the syntactic priming effect for second language learners. In the study of the impact of active and passive voice on syntactic priming effects, it was observed that the active voice may be more easily activated and selected during syntactic priming, resulting in a stronger response from second language learners to the syntactic priming effect of the active voice. In contrast, the effect is relatively weak for the passive voice [7]. This may be because the active voice is closer to the natural word order of Chinese, whereas the passive voice requires more language processing. Regarding affirmative and negative sentences, it was found that second language learners are more easily influenced by syntactic priming in affirmative sentences [8]. The processing of negative sentences involves not only the adjustment of syntactic structure but also additional semantic processing, which increases the complexity of language processing. Therefore, learners must allocate more cognitive resources to process the additional semantic information involved in negative structures. In the context of simple and complex sentences, complex sentences require more working memory and language processing resources, which may weaken the syntactic priming effect. Simple sentences, on the other hand, have a more direct structure and require fewer cognitive resources, thus making the syntactic priming effect more pronounced.

3.2. Discourse Position of the Prime Sentence

The impact of discourse position on syntactic priming effects cannot be overlooked. Discourse position can be divided into three parts: the beginning, the middle, and the end of a text. A study by Feng and Gao found that the syntactic priming effect for second language learners is relatively weak at the beginning of a text [9]. This can be attributed to the fact that sentences at the beginning of a text require more cognitive resources to understand, and learners have limited attentional resources when processing information. In the middle of the text, the syntactic priming effect among second language learners was found to be the most significant. The study suggests that because the sentences in the middle of a text are central to the reading process, they attract the peak of learners' attention. As for the syntactic priming effects at the end of the text, since these sentences require a review and integration of previous information, they increase the complexity of language processing. Therefore, the results show that the syntactic priming effect experienced by second language learners in this section is also relatively weak. These results provide evidence for the central effect in discourse processing under natural reading conditions. This indicates that discourse position has a significant impact on syntactic priming effects, and different discourse positions may lead to different syntactic priming outcomes.

4. Experimental Task Factors Affecting Priming

4.1. Input Mode

The input mode has a significant impact on syntactic priming effects. Feng and Gao pointed out in their study that for Chinese second language learners, both sentence frequency and input mode work together to affect the priming effect [9]. When discussing the impact of visual input on syntactic priming effects, the study indicated that since visual input provides learners with more time to process and remember syntactic structures, second language learners are more sensitive to syntactic priming during reading. In contrast, when exploring the syntactic priming effects triggered by auditory input, researchers found that second language learners exhibit less pronounced syntactic priming effects when processing low-frequency sentence patterns. This phenomenon may be due to the greater time pressure associated with auditory input, which prevents learners from having sufficient time to process and remember syntactic structures. This suggests that second language learners extract different sentence information in discourse depending on the input mode, which in turn affects the syntactic priming effect in oral production. For example, differences in visual and auditory input modes may lead to varying syntactic priming effects in learners' sentence comprehension and production.

4.2. Input Frequency

Moreover, the frequency and repetitiveness of input also affect the syntactic priming effect in second language learners. The overlap of words can be seen as the high frequency of specific words in the input. Kyle Mahowald analyzed 73 peer-reviewed journal articles and extracted effect sizes under experimental conditions, discovering that the frequency of lexical input significantly affects syntactic priming effects [10]. A meta-analysis revealed that when there is no lexical overlap, the frequency of the primed structure occurring is 1.67 times higher than when it is not primed; when lexical overlap exists, this frequency increases to 3.26 times. This indicates that when a certain syntactic structure appears more frequently in the input, the probability of its subsequent use in language production also increases, which is consistent with the impact of input frequency on language use.

In summary, many factors affect the syntactic priming effects in Chinese second language learners, including learners' language proficiency, linguistic factors, and experimental tasks. These factors interact with each other and jointly affect the language processing and acquisition of Chinese by second language learners. Future research should further explore how these factors influence syntactic priming effects and how they can be utilized to optimize Chinese second language teaching.

5. Conclusion

This article systematically explores the factors affecting the syntactic priming effect in Chinese as a second language learners. Through a comprehensive analysis of related factors, it reveals how these factors interact and collectively influence the language processing and acquisition processes of Chinese as a second language learners. The study found that learners' language proficiency, the complexity of syntactic structures, discourse position, input mode, and input frequency are all important factors affecting the syntactic priming effect. These findings not only deepen our theoretical understanding of the syntactic priming effect but also provide a solid theoretical foundation for the practice of teaching Chinese as a second language.

This review provides valuable practical insights for teaching Chinese as a second language. First, teachers should design teaching content and activities based on learners' language proficiency, ensuring that the difficulty of the content matches their language ability. Second, teachers should carefully combine input mode and input frequency during the teaching process. For example, language materials can be presented in various formats, such as visual and auditory inputs, to enhance learners' perception and memory of syntactic structures. At the same time, teachers can appropriately increase the input frequency of low-frequency sentence patterns to help learners better internalize and apply these syntactic structures. In addition, teachers can design diverse teaching tasks based on the characteristics of discourse positions. For example, at the beginning of a text, teachers should guide learners to focus on the structure and meaning of sentences; in the middle of a text, teachers should encourage learners to actively engage in language communication to improve their expressive language skills; at the end of a text, teachers can guide learners to review and summarize what they have learned to consolidate their understanding and memory of language knowledge.

However, previous studies still have certain limitations. First, most research has been based on laboratory experiments and quantitative analysis, with relatively limited examination of the syntactic priming effect in the natural language environment of learners. Future research could expand the research scenarios by incorporating natural language use situations to more comprehensively reveal the performance of the syntactic priming effect in actual language communication. Second, although various influencing factors have been considered, the interaction between these factors has not been thoroughly investigated. For example, the interaction between learners' language proficiency and input frequency, as well as the synergistic effect between discourse position and syntactic structure complexity, still require further research. Additionally, the diversity of research samples needs to be improved. Future studies could incorporate learners from different cultural backgrounds and age groups to enhance the universality and representativeness of the research findings.

In summary, research on syntactic priming effects is of great significance for understanding the language processing mechanisms of Chinese second language learners and optimizing the teaching of Chinese as a second language. Future research should deepen the exploration of factors affecting syntactic priming effects and their interactions, while integrating new research methods and technological advancements to continuously push forward research in this field. At the same time, teachers should flexibly apply teaching strategies based on the findings of this study to improve the effectiveness and quality of Chinese second language teaching, thus creating a more efficient language learning environment for learners.