Psychology of language
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Transcript of Psychology of language
Chapter 4: The psychology of Second Language Acquisition
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1. Language and the brain
2. Learning process: SLA
3. Differences among learners
Language and the brain
Left hemisphere Right hemisphere
Phonology Nonverbal (as babies’ cries)
Morphology Visuospatial information
Syntax Intonation
Function words and inflections Nonliteral meaning and ambiguity
Tone systems Many pragmatic abilities
Much lexical knowledge Some lexical knowledge
Principal hemispheric specializations (p69) also see Brown (2007):p125
Language and the brain
1. lateralization(側化現象 ) 2-puberty 2. Critical period hypothesis 3.Broca’s area/ Wernicke’s area- B&W 4. language activity /core linguistic processes 5. SLA-right hemisphere involvement L2-learnt by many means; use more
memorization /L1-learnt by single means
* Multilingual speakers
Coordinate bilingualism Compound bilingualism Subordinate bilingualism
Q1:When there is differential impairment or recovery in the brain, which language loses first and recovers first?
Learning processes
1. Information processing (IP) (訊息處理 )
(1) Attention-processing(2) Skill Learning Theory
(3)Restructuring
2. connectionism (聯結論 ) --PDP
Information Processing(訊息處理 ) Cognitive psychologists
language acquisition →storing, integrating, and retrieving information.
do not think that humans have a language-specific module (i.e. LAD) in the brain.
do not assume that ‘acquisition’ and ‘learning’ are distinct mental processes.
L2 acquisition→ the building up of knowledge → automatically
Stages of information ProcessingInput Central processing Output
Perception Controlled-automatic processing
Production
Declarative –procedural knowledge
Restructuring
noticed input→pay attention to it →intake (frequency, perceptual saliency…p75)
practice Fluency in speech and writing
McLaughlin’s Attention-Processing Model 注意力處理模式 (Brown. P299) Input: notice, pay attention→intake
Brown (2007):p300, 302 - Controlled processes - Automatic processes
McLaughlin’s Attention-Processing Modelalso see Brown (2007):p300,302
Attention controlled automatic
Focal(intentional attention)
Performance based on formal rule learning
Performance in a test situation
Peripheral Performance based on implicit learning or analogic learning
Performance in communication situations
From Brown (2007), p300
Anderson’s Skill Learning Theory
Declarative knowledge Procedural knowledge Three stages: (1) information is stored. (drowned-
drown+ed) (2) associative stage: (past tense…+ed) (3) autonomous stage
Question 2:
Anderson thinks that L2 learners do not reach full autonomy as L1 learners. What factors may influence the process of achieving autonomy in L2 acquisition?
Restructuring
L2 knowledge as continua of controlled-automatic and explicit-implicit
將訊息自動化需要重組的過程 from exemplar-based to rule-based Restructuring :because L is complex,
hierarchical, not (necessarily) linearly Restructuring doesn’t necessarily happen all
at once, but over time
Restructuring
U-shaped behavior is often evidenced during restructuring
Stage 1 Stage 3
Stage 2
correct utterances
incorrect utterances
feet feet
foots
Three psychological approaches
Multidimensional Model
Processability Theory
Competition Model
Multidimensional model 2 principal axes: developmental & variational grammatical structures (organized hierarchically) Individual variation Focus on the relationship between implicit knowledge
and output hierarchy: (1) Canonical order strategy (COS) (2) initialization /finalization strategy (IFS) (3) subordinate clause strategy (SCS)
Processability
Reorientation of Multidimensional model Hierarchy of processing skills (1) lemma/word access (ex:apple) (2) category procedure (ex: three apples) (3) phrasal procedure(ex: three big apples) (4) S-procedure (ex: There is an apple./ There are three apples) (5) Clause boundary
Competition model Functional approach: L1 form-function
mapping→SLA Competition among cues that signal functions Cue strength: task frequency/ contrastive
availability/ conflict reliability Language process involves “competition”
among the various cues Reminder to teachers that Ss do not only
depend on L2 formal linguistic features as their only tools for deciphering the target language L2 –(Brown 2007, p.255)
Competition model (form-function mapping) 1. horse -form: sounds [hors] -function: 4 legs/ hay eating animal 2. Horses eat hay. - Word order-form: horses + V + hay - Function: “horses” is S.; “hay” is O. - inflection- _s: form; function: more than one
horse (p79)
Connectionist approaches Focus on the increasing strength of associations between
stimuli and responses (IP: focus on the inferred abstraction of “ rules” or restructuring.)
Learning is change in the strength of these connections; learning is not dependent on UG or rule-formation.
Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP): a network of nodes (units)→ repeated patterns of units (input)→ extract regularities→ probabilistic association (connection strengths/patterns of activation)
Frequency influences learning
IP PDP
Attention is available for controlled processing vs. automatic processing
Not serial in nature
Attention is distributed in local pattern
Processing is parallel pattern
Knowledge is not stored in memory or retrieved as patterns
Connection strengths /Patterns being recreated
Question 3:
Why are some L2 learners more successful than others?
Differences in learners Age Sex Aptitude Motivation Cognitive style Personality Learning strategies (the last three are closely related to and interact
with each other.)
Difference in learners: age
Children are more successful L2 learners? 1. initial rate learning (success) / older
learners have an advantage (popular belief)/ learners who are introduced to the L2 in childhood (ultimate achievement)
Critical period hypothesis(Lenneberg hypothesis):Genie
Age difference in SLAYounger advantage Older advantage
Brain plasticity Learning capacity
Not analytical Analytic ability
Fewer inhibitions(usually) Pragmatic skills
Weaker group identity Greater knowledge of L1
Simplified input more likely Real-world knowledge
Differences in learners: sex
Female are better L2 learners? --verbal fluency --women’s brain may be less asymmetrically
organized than men’s for speech (Kimura 1992).
--women: better at memorizing complex forms/ men: better at computing compositional rules (Halpern 2000)
--differences related to hormonal variables
Differences in learners: aptitudes (1/2)• Phonemic coding ability: the capacity to
process auditory input into segments which can be stored and retrieved. If the hearer cannot analyze the incoming stream of speech into phonemes in order to recognize morphemes, input may not result in intake.
• Inductive language learning ability and grammatical sensitivity concerned with central processing.
Differences in learners: aptitudes (2/2)• Associative memory capacity: how linguistic
items are stored and with how they are recalled and used in output (speaker fluency).
• Skehan (1998 )concludes that language learning aptitude “is not completely distinct from general cognitive abilities.”
Differences in learners: motivation(1/2)• Significant goal or need/desire to attain the goal/
perception that learning L2 is relevant to fulfilling the goal or meeting the need/belief in the likely success or failure if learning L2/value of potential outcomes or rewards
Differences in learners: motivation (2/2)• 2 type of motivation(Brown 2007, p175)• --integrative motivation: based on interest in
learning L2; emotional or affective factors are dominant (learning by a member of the dominant group in a society)
• --instrumental motivation: involves perception of purely practical value in learning L2 (learning by a subordinate group member)
Differences in learners: cognitive style
Refers to individual’s preferred way of processing: (perceiving, conceptualizing, organizing and recalling information.)
Brown (2007):p120
Cognitive stylesField-dependent Field-independent
Global - Particular
Holistic - Analytic
Deductive (top-down)
- Inductive(bottom-up)
Focus on meaning - Focus on form
Differences in learners: personality Anxiety :most attention in SLA research. Low anxiety facilitates language learning. Instructional context or task influences
anxiety and reporting. (oral performance) Systematic cultural differences are found
between groups of learners. (face concept) Low anxiety and high self-confidence
increase Ss motivation to learn.
Personality traitsAnxious - Self-confident
Risk-avoiding - Risk-taking
Shy - Adventuresome
introverted - Extroverted
Inner-directed - Other-directed
Reflective - Impulsive
Imaginative - Uninquisitive
Creative - Uncreative
Empathetic - Insensitive to others
Tolerant of ambiguity - Closure-oriented
Boldface print means positive correlation with success in L2 learning.
Differences in learners: learning strategies (1/2)• Metacognitive : preview a concept/ decide
specific aspects of input in advance/ rehearse linguistic components/ self-monitoring of progress and knowledge states
• Cognitive: repeat or translate/ remember words by L1’s sounds/ create vivid images/ guess meanings through inferencing.
Differences in learners: learning strategies (2/2) Social/affective: seek chances to interact with
native speakers/ work cooperatively with peers/ ask Qs/ request repetition, explanation, or examples
Good learners traits (Ellis 1994):
Concern for language form (but also attention to meaning)
Concern for communication Active task approach Awareness of the learning process Capacity to use strategies flexibly in
accordance with task requirements
Question 4:
How do you feel about multilingualism so far?
The effects of multilingualism (1/2)
Positive effects: 1. foreign language study is good for “training the
mind.” 2. an essential characteristic of “educated” and
“cultured” members of society 3. on intellectual function based on “measures of
conceptual development, creativity, metalinguistic awareness, semantic development, and analytic skills” (p93)
The effects of multilingualism (2/2)
Negative effects: 1. negative impact on general intelligence
2. capacity limitations for language acquisition and maintenance, that simultaneous bilingualism in childhood may result in a narrower range of lexical development in either language and that intensive and continued use of L2 many reduce accessibility of L1
Thank you for your attention!!