1 Introduction

This section introduces the theory of Construction Grammar, pointing out that language acquisition is essentially construction acquisition, influenced by language input and the form-meaning characteristics of constructions. Second language acquisition is similar to first language acquisition, following a sequence from formulaic utterances to abstract constructions. Current research on the acquisition of Chinese constructions by second language learners has made progress but remains insufficiently in-depth and systematic overall. Multi-slot frame constructions are semi-schematic constructions, and the impact of their form-meaning characteristics on second language acquisition warrants further investigation. This study will employ experimental methods, manipulating components of constructions, to examine the acquisition of form-meaning knowledge of multi-slot constructions by advanced-level second language learners.

2 Research Design

This section elaborates on the research design for investigating the acquisition of form-meaning knowledge of Chinese multi-slot frame constructions by advanced-level learners. The participants included 40 native Chinese speakers and 68 advanced-stage Chinese second language learners, with age distribution and Chinese proficiency meeting advanced standards. The experimental materials consisted of 12 Chinese complex-sentence frame constructions, around which 48 sentences were constructed, including both correct and incorrect sentences. The incorrect sentences involved alterations in the constant elements of the constructions, changes in variable components, and semantic-logical inconsistencies. The experimental task was judgment and correction, requiring participants to determine whether sentences were correct and make necessary modifications. The materials were balanced using a Latin square design into 4 groups, each containing 12 sentences (3 sentences per condition, with different constructions across conditions). The experiment was conducted both online and offline, with specified response times and rules. The aim was to analyze the level of acquisition of construction form-meaning knowledge among second language learners by comparing their results with those of native speakers.

3 Results and Analysis

This section provides a detailed analysis of the construction knowledge mastery of native Chinese speakers and second language learners. A scoring method was used to evaluate the correctness of produced sentences, with correct sentences categorized into two types: those using the pre-investigated construction and those using construction variants. The results showed that the accuracy rate of native speakers was significantly higher than that of second language learners, and the accuracy rates of second language learners varied across different sentence conditions. T-test analysis revealed that second language learners had a significantly higher accuracy rate on sentences with altered final constant elements compared to those with altered middle constant elements. However, there was no difference in accuracy between the two types of semantic error sentences involving changes in variable components, and no overall difference in accuracy between sentences with altered constant elements and those with altered variable components. Furthermore, analysis of answer types from second language learners found that correct answers included cases of fully using the pre-investigated construction, using construction variants, and rewriting based on personal understanding. Incorrect answers indicated a lack of mastery of the form-meaning knowledge of the constructions.

4 Discussion

This section discusses the acquisition of form-meaning knowledge of complex frame constructions by Chinese second language learners. The study compared the accuracy rates of Chinese second language learners and native speakers by altering the constant and variable components of constructions. The results indicated that second language learners had a significantly higher accuracy rate on sentences with altered final constant elements compared to those with altered middle constant elements. For sentences with altered variable components, there was no significant difference in accuracy between the two difficulty levels, and both were lower than the accuracy rates of native speakers. This suggests significant differences in the acquisition of construction form-meaning knowledge between advanced-level second language learners and native speakers. The degree of entrenchment of construction form representations is not high, and the entrenchment levels differ for different constant components, affecting the overall quality of representation. Additionally, second language learners show poorer acquisition of frame construction meanings, with low form-meaning dependency. However, once acquired, the construction meaning can be extracted and applied relatively stably.

5 Conclusion

This section summarizes the reasons for the low representation quality of frame constructions among Chinese second language learners, pointing out that the entrenchment levels of construction constant representations vary, form-meaning dependency is low, and this is related to the flexibility in using construction constants. Meanwhile, second language learners can master and stably apply construction meanings, but due to insufficient exposure, the form-meaning connection is weak. It is recommended that teachers promote the acquisition and improve the representation quality of second language learners by varying construction forms and increasing input quantity.