Publications

Journal Articles


Task-sensitive semantic-visual alignment of motion schema during incremental Mandarin sentence comprehension

Published in Language and Cognition, 2026

This study examined semantic-visual alignment of motion schema during incremental processing of Mandarin motion sentences, focusing on whether congruency effects are modulated by task demands and visual probe regions.

Recommended citation: Wang, M., & Zhao, H. (2026). Task-sensitive semantic-visual alignment of motion schema during incremental Mandarin sentence comprehension. Language and Cognition, 18(e71), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2026.10120
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Listenership always matters: Active listening ability in L2 business English paired speaking tasks

Published in International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2025

This study probes the influence of active listening on BEC speaking test outcomes.

Recommended citation: Gao, W., & Wang, M. (2025). Listenership always matters: Active listening ability in L2 business English paired speaking tasks. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching,63(4), 2777-2806. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-0258
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Perceptual representations in L1 and L2 spatial and abstract language processing: applying an innovative sentence-diagram verification paradigm

Published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2024

The study used an innovative sentence-diagram verification task to test Chinese-English bilinguals’ mental imagery in motion sentence comprehension and proposed a simulation-based L2 comprehension model.

Recommended citation: Wang, M., & Zhao, H. (2024b). Perceptual representations in L1 and L2 spatial and abstract language processing: Applying an innovative sentence-diagram verification paradigm. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 18(1425576), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1425576
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Are schematic diagrams valid visual representations of concepts? Evidence from mental imagery in online processing of English prepositions

Published in Language and Cognition, 2024

The study used schematic diagrams to examine whether mental imagery effect is modulated by target preposition (over, in), the abstractness of meaning (spatial, extended), and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA; 1,040 ms, 2,040 ms) in English NSs and L2 learners.

Recommended citation: Wang, M., & Zhao, H. (2024a). Are schematic diagrams valid visual representations of concepts? Evidence from mental imagery in online processing of English prepositions. Language and Cognition, 16(4), 1564–1587. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2024.18
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Conference Papers


Mental simulation in L2 processing of English prepositional phrases

Published in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 2023

The study used schematic diagrams to examine whether mental imagery effect is modulated by target preposition (over, in), the abstractness of meaning (spatial, extended), and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA; 1,040 ms, 2,040 ms) in adolescent L2 learners.

Recommended citation: Wang, M., & Zhao, H. (2023). Mental simulation in L2 processing of English prepositional phrases. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 45, 595–602. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8sr0h4bp
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