Raw Data File and Processed Data File

Parsing is thought to aid sentence comprehension and thus precede sentence comprehension. However, in understanding English sentences for Chinese English learners, sentence comprehension is often the prerequisite for parsing and consequently precedes syntactic processing. These processes represent an intriguing circular logic: parsing utilized to aid sentence comprehension operates after sentence comprehension. This shifts our interest from the conventional topic of the relative time course of syntactic and semantic processing in sentence comprehension to a related but rarely directly discussed topic of the relative time course of syntactic processing and sentence comprehension. By elucidating this circular logic, we reveal and subsequently confirm through empirical experimental and statistical analysis from three perspectives that syntactic processing often ensues after sentence comprehension in Chinese English learners when understanding English sentences. This suggests that parsing often provides limited assistance in sentence understanding. This pattern arises due to the heavy reliance of the parsing method on trial and error, leading to trial-caused lag. This study not only fills the theoretical gaps regarding the time course between syntactic processing and sentence comprehension among Chinese English learners but also lays a practical foundation for creating a novel parsing method that operates without prior sentence comprehension, with the potential of rendering syntactic processing meaningful in sentence comprehension for Chinese English learners.