The hidden similarities across languages: some good news (and bad news) for language teachers
Michael Hoey
University of Liverpool
Eaquals International Conference,
Malaga
April 17th 2015
A problem with what grammar describes (or at least a gap in knowledge)
A new way of looking at language, supported by psycholinguistic experiments and corpus evidence
New similarities across different languages (and new dissimilarities)
A few thoughts about language teaching implications
A problem with what grammar describes (or at least a gap in knowledge)
A new way of looking at language, supported by psycholinguistic experiments and corpus evidence
New similarities across different languages (and new dissimilarities)
A few thoughts about language teaching implications
A problem with what grammar describes (or at least a gap in knowledge)
A new way of looking at language, supported by psycholinguistic experiments and corpus evidence
New similarities across different languages (and new dissimilarities)
A few thoughts about language teaching implications
A problem with what grammar describes (or at least a gap in knowledge)
A new way of looking at language, supported by psycholinguistic experiments and corpus evidence
New similarities across different languages (and new dissimilarities)
A few thoughts about language teaching implications
A grammatical analysis…
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
Pron (S) VP (Pred) NP (O)
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
Pron (S) VP (Pred) NP (O)
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
Pron (S) VP (Pred) NP (O)
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
Pron (S) VP (Pred) NP (O) PreP (A)
so I won’t hear a word against them.
OK, but it doesn’t explain why we can’t say…
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I didn’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
but I will hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t remember a word against them.
So the grammar is not very informative, is it?
Another grammatical analysis…
Always wanting to produce something
NP (S) VP (Pred)(Intrans)
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
NP (S) VP (Pred)(Intrans)
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
But it doesn’t explain why we don’t say…
Always wanting to produce something
new began to dry up his resources
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his inhibitions began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his instruments began to dry up
So the grammar is not very informative, is it?
A Spanish grammatical analysis…
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
VP [Pred]
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
VP [Pred] NP [O]
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
VP [Pred] NP [O]
estómago por favor?
[Disjunct]
But the grammar doesn’t explain why we cannot say…
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Posee alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina por el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
though we can say…
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
4500 hits on Google of medicina para artritis
So the grammar is not very informative, is it?
Problems with existing theories of grammar:
1. They don’t provide us with a convincing explanation of fluency
2. They don’t provide us with a systematic and comprehensive model of variation
3. They don’t explain how we know which meaning is intended when a polysemous word is used (cf. dry, last week’s lecture)
4. They don’t account for collocation (the partly arbitrary tendency of words to co-occur, e.g. growing fears, developing conflict)
Problems with existing theories of grammar:
1. They don’t provide us with a convincing explanation of fluency
2. They don’t provide us with a systematic and comprehensive model of variation
3. They don’t explain how we know which meaning is intended when a polysemous word is used (cf. dry, last week’s lecture)
4. They don’t account for collocation (the partly arbitrary tendency of words to co-occur, e.g. growing fears, developing conflict)
Problems with existing theories of grammar:
1. They don’t provide us with a convincing explanation of fluency
2. They don’t provide us with a systematic and comprehensive model of variation
3. They don’t explain how we know which meaning is intended when a polysemous word is used (cf. dry, last week’s lecture)
4. They don’t account for collocation (the partly arbitrary tendency of words to co-occur, e.g. growing fears, developing conflict)
Problems with existing theories of grammar:
1. They don’t provide us with a convincing explanation of fluency
2. They don’t provide us with a systematic and comprehensive model of variation
3. They don’t explain how we know which meaning is intended when a word with a number of meanings is used.
4. They don’t account for collocation (the partly arbitrary tendency of words to co-occur, e.g. growing fears, developing conflict)
Problems with existing theories of grammar:
1. They don’t provide us with a convincing explanation of fluency
2. They don’t provide us with a systematic and comprehensive model of variation
3. They don’t explain how we know which meaning is intended when a word with a number of meanings is used.
4. They don’t account for collocation (the partly arbitrary tendency of words to co-occur, e.g. growing fears, developing conflict)
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
Corpus linguistic research has had an iconoclastic effect on traditional linguistic theories and descriptions.
Intuitions have been found to be untrustworthy
(e.g. Sinclair, Stubbs)
Corpus linguistic research has focussed on what is characteristically done by speakers rather than on what might be done,
and so linguistic attention has moved from linguistic competence to linguistic performance.
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
Corpus linguistic research has had an iconoclastic effect on traditional linguistic theories and descriptions.
Intuitions have been found to be untrustworthy
(e.g. Sinclair, Stubbs)
Corpus linguistic research has focussed on what is characteristically done by speakers rather than on what might be done,
and so linguistic attention has moved from linguistic competence to linguistic performance.
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
Corpus linguistic research has had an iconoclastic effect on traditional linguistic theories and descriptions.
Intuitions have been found to be untrustworthy
(e.g. Sinclair, Stubbs)
Corpus linguistic research has focussed on what is characteristically done by speakers rather than on what might be done,
and so linguistic attention has moved from linguistic competence to linguistic performance.
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
Understanding linguistic performance means understanding linguistic fluency, which is REAL competence
(e.g. Sinclair’s idiom principle, Hunston & Francis’ pattern grammar).
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
BUT
the energy with which traditional ideas have been knocked down has not been matched by equivalent energy for rebuilding theories.
Where theories have been proposed, they have often been incomplete or unconvincing
(e.g. Sinclair’s idiom principle).
A crossroad for corpus linguistics
BUT
the energy with which traditional ideas have been knocked down has not been matched by equivalent energy for rebuilding theories.
Where theories have been proposed, they have often been incomplete or unconvincing
(e.g. Sinclair’s idiom principle).
A theory for corpus linguistics
A theory that has been developed in response to the insights derived from corpus linguistics, and in particular the work of John Sinclair, is that of Lexical Priming.
If (as is likely) the theory proves in time to be inadequate, it is hoped that it still represents a better picture of language and therefore offers a better model for language teachers than what went before.
A theory for corpus linguistics
Lexical Priming is unusual as a (corpus-driven) theory in that it builds
both upon corpus study
AND upon long-standing, widely accepted and apparently (amongst corpus linguists) little-known psycholinguistic research into the ways word recognition may be accelerated or retarded by previous exposure to other words.
Cf. Stubbs’ criticisms (but the fault is mine)
A theory for corpus linguistics
Lexical Priming is unusual as a (corpus-driven) theory in that it builds
both upon corpus study
AND upon long-standing, widely accepted and apparently (amongst corpus linguists) little-known psycholinguistic research into the ways word recognition may be accelerated or retarded by previous exposure to other words.
Cf. Stubbs’ criticisms (but the fault is mine)
The Lexical Priming claims
The first claim is that
whenever listeners or readers encounter a word
(or a syllable or a combination of words), they
note subconsciously the linguistic context in
which it occurs and, as they repeatedly encounter
it, they begin to identify the features of the
context that are also being repeated.
The Lexical Priming claims
The second claim is that
all the pieces of language we encounter prime us so
that when we come to use the piece of language
ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to
use it in the same kinds of way as it was used in
those encounters.
The Lexical Priming claims
The third claim is that
grammar and semantics are OUTPUTS from our
primings, not INPUTS, and differ from person to
person. Simplifying slightly, the claim is that every
word has its own local grammar and semantics and
what we think of as the grammatical/semantic
systems are the products of all these local grammars
and local semantics.
The Lexical Priming claims
The fourth claim is that
when we are primed by a piece of language, we note
the genres, domains, styles, co-text and context in
which it occurs. The effect is that we do not have a
single language but a large number of hugely
overlapping language varieties.
The Lexical Priming claims
The fifth claim is that
everybody’s linguistic experience is unique and
therefore everybody’s primings will be slightly
different from everybody else’s. In lexical priming
theory, the idiolect is central.
So what evidence is there to support these claims?
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological.
But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological.
But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological.
But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
(with thanks to Michael Pace-Sigge)
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological.
But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
Semantic priming In semantic priming experiments, informants are shown a word or image (referred to as the prime) and then shown a second word or image (known as the target word).
The speed with which the target word is recognized is measured.
Some primes appear to
•retard informants’ recognition of the target
and others appear to
•accelerate informants’ recognition of the target
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological. But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
Some key psycholinguistic experiments
Most of the psycholinguistic literature used by linguists is more linguistic than psychological. But there are two research developments from the psycholinguistic tradition that may be of relevance:
semantic priming
repetition priming
Repetition priming
Repetition priming is rather different from semantic priming, in that the prime and the target are identical.
Experiments with repetition priming centre around exposing informants to word combinations and then, sometimes after a considerable amount of time and after they’ve seen or heard lots of other material, measuring how quickly or accurately the informants recognize the combination when they finally see/hear it again.
Repetition priming
For example, a listener may be shown the word ALARMING followed by the word SUNSHINE.
A day later, if s/he is shown the word ALARMING again, s/he will recognise SUNSHINE more quickly than other words.
The assumption must be that s/he remembers the combination from the first time, since the words tortoise smile have never occurred before (as far as I know).
Repetition priming
For example, a listener may be shown the word ALARMING followed by the word SUNSHINE.
A day later, if s/he is shown the word ALARMING again, s/he will recognise SUNSHINE more quickly than other words.
The assumption must be that s/he remembers the combination from the first time, since the words ALARMING SUNSHINE will only rarely have occurred before and are therefore unlikely to comprise a learnt expression.
Repetition priming
Key papers on these facets of repetition priming are those of Jacoby and Dallas (1981), who observed greater accuracy in the identification of the target, and Scarborough, Cortese, and Scarborough
(1977), who noted a faster response time.
Forster and Davis (1984) observed that these
effects of repetition priming were more noticeable when the words in question were of low frequency in the language.
Repetition priming
Key papers on these facets of repetition priming are those of Jacoby and Dallas (1981), who observed greater accuracy in the identification of the target, and Scarborough, Cortese, and Scarborough
(1977), who noted a faster response time.
Forster and Davis (1984) observed that these
effects of repetition priming were more noticeable when the words in question were of low frequency in the language.
Repetition priming
Repetition priming potentially provides an explanation of both semantic priming and collocation.
If a listener or reader encounters two words in combination, and stores them as a combination,
then the ability of one of the words to accelerate recognition of the other is explained.
If the listener or reader then draws upon this combination in his or her own utterance, then the reproduction of collocation is also explained.
Repetition priming
Repetition priming potentially provides an explanation of both semantic priming and collocation.
If a listener or reader encounters two words in combination, and stores them as a combination,
then the ability of one of the words to accelerate recognition of the other is explained.
If the listener or reader then draws upon this combination in his or her own utterance, then the reproduction of collocation is also explained.
Repetition priming
Repetition priming potentially provides an explanation of both semantic priming and collocation.
If a listener or reader encounters two words in combination, and stores them as a combination,
then the ability of one of the words to accelerate recognition of the other is explained.
If the listener or reader then draws upon this combination in his or her own utterance, then the reproduction of collocation is also explained.
A theory for corpus linguistics: Lexical Priming
I use this psycholinguistic experimentation (well described in Pace-Sigge, 2014) as a way of accounting for the phenomena of
• collocation,
• colligation
• semantic preference (rechristened semantic association in the theory)
as described in Sinclair’s work.
The existence of these (and other) features of language needs explanation. There is so far no other explanation of why these phenomena should exist in English.
I am open to the possibility that Lexical Priming is not the right explanation (though it is not yet refuted) but we cannot return to the old grammar-centred theories.
The existence of these (and other) features of language needs explanation. There is so far no other explanation of why these phenomena should exist in English.
I am open to the possibility that Lexical Priming is not the right explanation (though it is not yet refuted) but we cannot return to the old grammar-centred theories.
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we note subconsciously
• the words, syllables and combinations of words it occurs with (its collocations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• e meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we note subconsciously
• the words, syllables and combinations of words it occurs with (its collocations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• e meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
ears 2256
and 845 37%
his 401 18%
with 274 12%
eyes 225 10%
deaf 159 7%
music 104 5%
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we note subconsciously
• the words, syllables and combinations of words it occurs with (its collocations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• e meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
ears 2294
eyes 225 10%
but also
face and ears
hands and ears
feet and ears
fingers and ears
lips and ears
mouth and ears
nose and ears
etc
ears 2294
has a semantic association with
PARTS OF BODY
at least 525 cases 23% of my data set
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we note subconsciously
• the words, syllables and combinations of words it occurs with (its collocations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• the grammatical patterns it is associated with (its colligations),
• associations),
ears
ears 2256
occurs with a preposition 1272 times
e.g. his fair hair flapping around his ears
i.e. 56% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a preposition 1272 times
e.g. his fair hair flapping around his ears
i.e. 56% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a preposition 1272 times
e.g. his fair hair flapping around his ears
i.e. 56% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a preposition 1272 times
e.g. his fair hair flapping around his ears
i.e. 56% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a possessive 1119 times
e.g. He opened my ears to Indian music
i.e. 50% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a possessive 1119 times
e.g. He opened my ears to Indian music
i.e. 50% of the time
ears 2256
occurs with a possessive 1119 times
e.g. He opened my ears to Indian music
i.e. 50% of the time
Colligation
combines with
collocation
and
semantic association/preference
word collocates with against and a
a word against has a semantic association with sending & receiving communication
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
word collocates with against and a
a word against with sending & receiving communication
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
word collocates with against and a
a word against has a semantic association with sending & receiving communication
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
word collocates with against and a
a word against has a semantic association with sending & receiving communication
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
NOT
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t remember a word against them.
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
denial + send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with hypotheticality
(e.g. wasn’t prepared to say a word against)
send/receive a word against colligates with NEGATIVE + modal verbs
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
denial + send/receive a word against also colligates with human subjects and human prepositional objects
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
NOT
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
but I will hear a word against them.
send/receive a word against colligates with negated modal verbs
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
send/receive a word against also colligates with human subjects and human prepositional objects
send/receive a word against colligates with negated modal verbs
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
send/receive a word against also has association with HYPOTHETICALITY
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I won’t hear a word against them.
NOT
Well, most of them are quite fond of me,
so I didn’t hear a word against them.
high collocates with tide
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
high tide collocates with at
(at high tide)
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
high tide collocates with mark
(high tide mark)
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
high tide collocates with the and of
(the high tide of)
In my corpus, this combination occurs 26 times and accounts for one in five of the instances of high tide.
high tide collocates with the and of
(the high tide of)
In my corpus, this combination occurs 26 times and accounts for one in five of the instances of high tide.
the high tide of collocates with –ism !
Of the 26 instances of the high tide of in my corpus, 12 (46%) are followed by a nominal group whose Head ends –ism
(federalism, Thatcherism, idealism, interventionism, etc.).
(e.g. hear a word (e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
the high tide of collocates with –ism !
Of the 26 instances of the high tide of in my corpus, 12 (46%) are followed by a nominal group whose Head ends –ism
(federalism, Thatcherism, idealism, interventionism, etc.).
(e.g. hear a word (e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
dry collocates with wine
wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
(e.g. hear a word against)
send/receive a word against has a pragmatic association with denial
(e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
dry collocates with wine wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
(e.g. hear a word against) send/receive a word against has a pragmatic
association with denial (e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
dry collocates with wine wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
(e.g. hear a word against) send/receive a word against has a pragmatic
association with denial (e.g. wouldn’t hear a word against)
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we also note subconsciously
• the pragmatics it is associated with (its pragmatic associations),
• the genre and/or style and/or social situation it is used in,
• whether it is used in a context we are likely to want to emulate or not
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we also note subconsciously
• the pragmatics it is associated with (its pragmatic associations),
• the genre and/or style and/or social situation it is used in,
• whether it is used in a context we are likely to want to emulate or not
dry collocates with wine
wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
dry white wine has a pragmatic association with ORDERING IN A BAR/PUB
word against)
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we also note subconsciously
• the pragmatics it is associated with (its pragmatic associations),
• the genre and/or style and/or social situation it is used in,
• whether it is used in a context we are likely to want to emulate or not
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we also note subconsciously
• the pragmatics it is associated with (its pragmatic associations),
• the genre and/or style and/or social situation it is used in,
• whether it is used in a context we are likely to want to emulate or not
dry collocates with wine
wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
dry white wine has a pragmatic association with ORDERING IN A BAR/PUB
dry white wine occurs in bars, pubs, restaurants and wine merchants
dry collocates with wine
wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
dry white wine has a pragmatic association with ORDERING IN A BAR/PUB
dry white wine occurs in bars, pubs, restaurants and wine merchants
dry collocates with wine
wine has a semantic association with FLAVOUR
dry colligates with pre-head position, when used with wine
dry white wine has a pragmatic association with ORDERING IN A BAR/PUB
dry white wine occurs in bars, pubs, restaurants and wine merchants
dry white wine occurred in
recipe 36
advice on wine choice 34 (2 doubtful cases)
encyclopedia/dictionary 15 (2 doubtful cases)
vineyards 10
OTHER 5
So it would appear that dry white wine is used in RECIPES (i.e. INSTRUCTION) and in ADVICE
and of course in REQUESTS in bars and restaurants (!)
The Lexical Priming claim
Whenever we encounter a word or syllable or combination of words, we also note subconsciously
• the pragmatics it is associated with (its pragmatic associations),
• the genre and/or style and/or social situation it is used in,
• whether it is used in a context we are likely to want to emulate or not
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context (producing collocations), with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar (producing colligations), in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context (producing semantic associations, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways.
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice when we hear or read a piece of language prime us so that when we come to use the piece of language ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways. (This will have to wait for another time.)
The Lexical Priming claim
All the features we notice prime us so that when we come to use the word ourselves, we are likely (in speech, particularly) to use it in the same lexical context, with the same grammar, in the same semantic context, as part of the same genre/style, in the same kind of social and physical context, with a similar pragmatics and in similar textual ways (This will have to wait for another time.).
The Lexical Priming claim
• Our ability to do this is what it means to know a word.
• We are ALL learners, since we never stop being primed.
• The only difference between the native speaker and the non-native speaker is the way that they are typically primed.
• Fluency is the result of conformity to one’s primings.
The Lexical Priming claim
• Our ability to do this is what it means to know a word.
• We never stop being primed.
• The only difference between the native speaker and the non-native speaker is the way that they are typically primed.
• Fluency is the result of conformity to one’s primings.
So to return to one of the original examples
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (lines 2, 7, 10, 11, 14, 31, 32 and 40) (semantic association).
• In the remaining 33 lines, dry up is primed to occur
with began (7 times) (lines 18-24) (21% of the relevant data set) (collocation)
• In the above 33 lines, dry up is primed to be used
ergatively (28 times) (85%) (colligation)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • In the remaining 33 lines, dry up is primed to occur
with began (7 times) (lines 18-24) (21% of the relevant data set) (collocation)
• In the above 33 lines, dry up is primed to be used
ergatively (28 times) (85%) (colligation)
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • In the remaining 33 lines, dry up is primed to occur
with began (7 times) (lines 18-24) (21% of the relevant data set) (collocation)
• In the above 33 lines, dry up is primed to be used
ergatively (28 times) (85%) (colligation)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
DOESN’T APPLY
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • dry up is also primed to occur with began
(collocation) • In the above 33 lines, dry up is primed to be used
ergatively (28 times) (85%) (colligation)
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • dry up is also primed to occur with began
(collocation) • In the above 33 lines, dry up is primed to be used
ergatively (28 times) (85%) (colligation)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • dry up is also primed to occur with began
(collocation) • dry up is primed to be used intransitively
(colligation)
• dry is primed to collocate with up (collocation). • dry up is primed to occur with LIQUIDS in Subject or
Object function, (semantic association). • dry up is also primed to occur with began
(collocation) • dry up is primed to be used intransitively
(colligation)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
NOT
Always wanting to produce something
new began to dry up his resources
• intransitive dry up (excluding LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with abstract Subjects (colligation)
• ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with a ‘good’ Subject (semantic association + colligation)
• So most users are primed to see dry up in the above combination as something negative that happens. (Pragmatic association)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
NOT
Always wanting to produce something
new, his instruments began to dry up
• intransitive dry up (excluding LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with abstract Subjects (colligation)
• ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with a ‘good’ Subject (semantic association + colligation)
• So most users are primed to see dry up in the above combination as something negative that happens. (Pragmatic association)
• intransitive dry up (excluding LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with abstract Subjects (colligation)
• ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with a ‘good’ Subject (semantic association + colligation)
• So most users are primed to see dry up in the above combination as something negative that happens. (Pragmatic association)
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
Always wanting to produce something
new, his resources began to dry up
NOT
Always wanting to produce something
new, his inhibitions began to dry up
• intransitive dry up (excluding LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with abstract Subjects (colligation)
• ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with a ‘good’ Subject (semantic association + colligation)
• So most users are primed to see dry up in the above combination as something negative that happens. (Pragmatic association)
• intransitive dry up (excluding LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with abstract Subjects (colligation)
• ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur with a ‘good’ Subject (semantic association + colligation)
• So most users are primed to see dry up in the above combination as something negative that happens. (Pragmatic association)
GOOD ABSTRACT SUBJECT + intransitive dry up (- LIQUIDS) is primed to occur as a description of a problem (16 times) (80%) and in 10 cases (50%) this is followed by a Response in a Problem-Solution pattern (textual semantic
association).
The Lexical Priming claims are based on psycholinguistic research that is not language-specific, and are themselves couched in terms that make no assumptions about the language being spoken.
Put another way, the theory would be unbelievable if it suggested that English was learnt in a different way from other languages!
It doesn’t automatically follow that what we are primed for in English will be exactly the same in every language, but it would be a challenge to the theory if they were wholly different.
SPANISH:
collocation
SPANISH:
collocation
dolor de 100
cabeza 35
espalda 14
garganta 9
estómago 7
muelas 6
SPANISH:
collocation
dolor de 100
cabeza 35
espalda 14
garganta 9
estómago 7
muelas 6
SPANISH:
collocation
dolor de 100
cabeza 35
espalda 14
garganta 9
estómago 7
muelas 6
para 9 (22.5% of preps)
SPANISH:
collocation
dolor de 100
cabeza 35
espalda 14
garganta 9
estómago 7
muelas 6
para 9 (22.5% of preps)
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
152,000 hits on Google of medicina para el dolor
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
152,000 hits on Google of medicina para el dolor
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
8190 hits on Google of medicina para el dolor de
estómago
¿Tiene alguna medicina por el dolor de
estómago por favor?
6 hits on Google of medicina por dolor
¿Tiene alguna medicina por el dolor de
estómago por favor?
6 hits on Google (and one of those was from a book of ‘Simple Spanish Phrases’ for nurses!)
¿Tiene alguna medicina para la incomidad
de estómago por favor?
NO hits on Google of medicina para la incomidad
de estómago
The reason is that incomodidad does not collocate
with para
¿para la incomodidad de estómago por favor
NO hits on Google of para la incomodidad
de estómago
The reason is that incomodidad does not collocate
with para
¿para la incomodidad de estómago por favor
NO hits on Google of para la incomodidad
de estómago
EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE
¿para la incomodidad de estómago por favor
43,600 hits on Google of la incomodidad de estómago
SPANISH:
colligation
dolor colligates with DEFINITE ARTICLE (59%)
and NO ARTICLE (33%)
SPANISH:
colligation
dolor colligates with DEFINITE ARTICLE (59%)
and NO ARTICLE (33%)
SPANISH:
colligation
dolor colligates with DEFINITE ARTICLE (59%)
and NO ARTICLE (33%)
dolor colligates with PREPOSITIONAL OBJECT (40%)
SPANISH:
semantic association
SPANISH:
semantic association with PARTS OF BODY
dolor de estómago
cabeza
espalda
cuello
garganta
ovarios
riñones
oído
ETC.
SPANISH:
semantic association with PARTS OF BODY
dolor de rodillas
vientre
lumbar
pezones
dientes
talón
pecho
senos
ETC.
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
8190 hits on Google of medicina para el dolor de
estómago
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
1 hit on Google of medicina para el dolor de
artritis
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
1 hit on Google of medicina para el dolor de
artritis
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
1 hit on Google of medicina para el dolor de
artritis
Artritis IS NOT A PART OF THE BODY
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
artritis por favor?
4500 hits on Google of medicina para artritis
Artritis IS HOWEVER A TYPE OF dolor.
ANOTHER SEMANTIC ASSOCIATION…
¿Tiene alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
627,000 hits on Google for tiene alguna medicina
¿Posee alguna medicina para el dolor de
estómago por favor?
1 hit on Google for posee alguna medicina
posee 100
mas 10
mayor 6
riquezas 5
POSITIVE EVALUATION (e.g. enorme, gran) 20
QUANTIFICATION 30
posee 100
mas 10
mayor 6
riquezas 5
POSITIVE EVALUATION (e.g. enorme, gran) 20
QUANTIFICATION 30
posee 100
SOME KIND OF MEASUREMENT 52
SOME MARK OF BEING EXCEPTIONAL 66
MEASUREMENT
posee…
un imagen positiva de más de 40%
local por más de 40 años
una residencia em La Planicie… que está valorizada en cerca de 2 millones y medio de soles
gran fortuna
31 asesores
activos por $41 millones
EXCEPTIONAL
posee…
un imagen positiva de más de 40%
local por más de 40 años
una residencia em La Planicie… que está valorizada en cerca de 2 millones y medio de soles
gran fortuna
31 asesores
activos por $41 millones
EXCEPTIONAL
posee…
propriedades millonarias en EU
cerca de la mitad de los depósitos de desechos mineros del pais
riquezas mayores a toda Venezuela
el celebro más grande
compañias peligrosas
humedales importantes para la humanidad
la sexta mayor fortuna de España
EXCEPTIONAL (REAL WORLD KNOWLEDGE)
posee…
capacidad de espiar a espectadores
propriedades antiinflamatorias
sistema tecnológico para emitir alerta temprano por lluvias
un potencial anti-diabetes
armas químicas
un océano subsuperficial
ocho caratas
The Lexical Priming claims
The same kind of claims can be made for other European languages
cheio (PORTUGUESE)
Of 50 instances,
collocation with de 29 (58%)
saco 7 (14%)
semantic association with HOLINESS (graça, espiritu santo, Tua Gloria etc) 8 (16%)
cheio de has pragmatic association with METAPHOR (histórias, personalidade. etc.)
26 (out of 29) (90%)
morphologique (FRENCH)
Of 50 instances,
collocation with analyse 10 (20%)
echographie 6 (12%)
Domain of MEDICAL SCIENCE 27 (54%)
colligation with NOUN (49 out of 50) (e.g. filtrage morphologique)
NOT with VERB e.g. est morphologique
The Lexical Priming claims
Again, because the psycholinguistic claims are not culture- or language-specific, the theory generates hypotheses about all languages, not only Indo-European ones. I will therefore conclude by offering tentative and preliminary observations on the applicability of Lexical Priming theory to Chinese.
The Lexical Priming claims
Again, because the psycholinguistic claims are not culture- or language-specific, the theory generates hypotheses about all languages, not only Indo-European ones. I will therefore conclude by offering tentative and preliminary observations on the applicability of Lexical Priming theory to Chinese.
Hoey & Shao (in press)
The Lexical Priming claims As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claims
How about Chinese?
The Lexical Priming claims
How about Chinese? Work of Xiao & McEnery
好 (hǎo)(good) collocates with 法 (fǎ)
zuò fă 4739
bàn fă 5699
fāng fă 6910
fă 51
all meaning ‘way, method’
The Lexical Priming claim As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claim As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claims
How about Chinese?
好 (hǎo) is associated with 法 (fǎ) in the particular structure of
好 (hǎo) + X +法 (fǎ),
where X can be realized by 减肥 (jiǎnféi), 教学 (jiàoxué), 方(fang), 办(bàn) or 做(zuò). This structure dominates the data.
The Lexical Priming claims As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claims As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claims
How about Chinese?
hăo fă 51
has a semantic association with LOSING WEIGHT
27 out of 51 instances (53%) of the collocation concerned methods (法 fǎ) of LOSING WEIGHT,
of which 26 occurred in combination with either 减肥 (jiǎnféi) (lose weight) or 瘦身 (shòushēn) (go on a diet) or both. (car) accident
The Lexical Priming claim As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claim As we have more and more encounters with the word, syllable, or word combination, we come to identify
• the word or words that characteristically accompany it (its collocations),
• the grammatical patterns with which it is associated (its colligations),
• the meanings with which it is associated (its semantic associations),
• and the pragmatics with which it is associated (its pragmatic associations).
The Lexical Priming claims
How about Chinese?
hăo fă
12 of the 51 occurrences occurred in the domain of EDUCATION, with words such as
教学 (jiàoxué) (teaching),
写 (xiě) (writing),
算(suàn) (calculating) and
破解 (pòjiě) (solving)
appearing before 法 (fǎ).
Corpus-linguistic/psycholinguistic approaches account for phenomena that grammars don’t want to.
And they suggest that languages are more alike than they seem.
Corpus-linguistic/psycholinguistic approaches account for phenomena that grammars don’t want to.
And they suggest that languages are more alike than they seem.
SO WHAT ARE THE LANGUAGE LEARNING IMPLICATIONS?
Applied Linguistic Implications
• Learning a word or phrase includes learning its characteristic primings, or else a learner’s language will sound (or read) awkward(ly)
• Fabricated texts are unlikely to preserve the natural primings of the language if the intention of these texts is to illustrate other features
• Colligation is where grammatical analysis and the lexicon meet in all languages.
Applied Linguistic Implications
• Learning a word or phrase includes learning its characteristic primings, or else a learner’s language will sound (or read) awkward
• Fabricated texts are unlikely to preserve the natural primings of the language if the intention of these texts is to illustrate other features
• Colligation is where grammatical analysis and the lexicon meet in all languages.
Applied Linguistic Implications
• Learning a word or phrase includes learning its characteristic primings, or else a learner’s language will sound (or read) awkwardly
• Fabricated texts are unlikely to preserve the natural primings of the language if the intention of these texts is to illustrate other features
• Colligation is where grammatical analysis and the lexicon meet in all languages.
Applied Linguistic Implications
• Learning a word or phrase includes learning its characteristic primings, or else a learner’s language will sound (or read) awkward(ly)
• Fabricated texts are unlikely to preserve the natural primings of the language if the intention of these texts is to illustrate linguistic features
• Colligation is where grammatical analysis and the lexicon meet in all languages.
Applied Linguistic Implications
• Learning a word or phrase includes learning its characteristic primings, or else a learner’s language will sound (or read) awkward(ly)
• Fabricated texts are unlikely to preserve the natural primings of the language if the intention of these texts is to illustrate linguistic features
• Colligation is where grammatical analysis and the lexicon meet in all languages.
Language Learning Implications: some positive thoughts
To learn a language is to be primed to use its words the way others use them
Teaching is a way of priming
Good priming leads to natural English
All speakers are learners because we never stop being primed – the difference lies in how we are primed
Language Learning Implications: some positive thoughts
To learn a language is to be primed to use its words the way others use them
Teaching is a way of priming
Good priming leads to natural English
All speakers are learners because we never stop being primed – the difference lies in how we are primed
Language Learning Implications: some positive thoughts
To learn a language is to be primed to use its words the way others use them
Teaching is a way of priming
Good priming leads to natural English
All speakers are learners because we never stop being primed – the difference lies in how we are primed
Language Learning Implications: some positive thoughts
To learn a language is to be primed to use its words the way others use them
Teaching is a way of priming
Good priming leads to natural language
All speakers are learners because we never stop being primed – the difference lies in how we are primed
Language Learning Implications: some positive thoughts
To learn a language is to be primed to use its words the way others use them
Teaching is a way of priming
Good priming leads to natural language
All speakers are learners because we never stop being primed – the difference lies in how we are primed
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Wray argues that “native speakers start with fully formulaic pairings and gradually ‘loosen them’ as they develop their first language whereas language learners begin with separate items and then learn to pair them together” (taken from Hadikin, 2006)
Wray argues that “native speakers start with fully formulaic pairings and gradually ‘loosen them’ as they develop their first language whereas language learners begin with separate items and then learn to pair them together” (taken from Hadikin, 2006)
Our task is to start them pairing immediately
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Why drills and formulae may not work
Lexical priming is:
psychological
social
so language learning has to be both.
We are primed when we seek to understand someone, learn about something, achieve some goal, bring ourselves into harmony (or conflict) with someone
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Teaching vocabulary in lists isn’t going to work
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Teaching vocabulary in lists isn’t going to work
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Drilling doesn’t seem to work
Formulae that are taught for communicative purposes don’t seem to work
Teaching vocabulary in lists isn’t going to work
Teaching grammar using any old words is definitely not going to work
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Language Learning Implications: some promising alleys (?)
Turn learners into investigators
Language Learning Implications: some blind alleys
Turn learners into investigators
Language Learning Implications: some blind avenues (?)
Turn learners into investigators
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Make reading purposeful
Turn reading into speech and writing as soon as you can
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Make reading purposeful
Turn reading into speech and writing as soon as you can
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Make reading purposeful
Turn reading into speech and writing as soon as you can
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Make reading purposeful
Turn reading into speech and writing as soon as you can
Talk in the language as much as possible
Language Learning Implications: some promising avenues
Turn learners into investigators
Use the cohesion of a text to prime the learner
Make reading purposeful
Turn reading into speech and writing as soon as you can
Talk in the language as much as possible
Build on the similarities between languages
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Bad priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Inauthentic priming can damage fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
Authentic input is essential – approximately nine encounters with a word (etc) will have a priming effect
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
SO IT MAY BE VERY HELPFUL IF THE LEARNER STARTS WITH AN AWARENESS THAT SOME OF THOSE PRIMINGS PARALLEL THOSE IN THE LANGUAGE THEY ARE LEARNING
Language Learning Implications: a final scary thought
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
AN INADEQUATE THEORY OF THE L1 MAY LEAD TO BAD LEARNING OF THE L2
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
Authentic input is essential – repetition occurs naturally in texts
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
Authentic input is essential – it doesn’t have to be too difficult– Stephen Krashen seems to be right about I+1
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur cf. Holly Wilson’s featured talk
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
Authentic input is essential – ZPD (‘Provide relevant challenge’ – Diane England)
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur cf. Holly Wilson’s featured talk
Language Learning Implications: some scary thoughts revisited
Any authentic priming will help fluency
L2 learners have to begin by transposing the primings of the L1 to the L2. This is good.
Authentic input is essential – it doesn’t have to be too difficult– Stephen Krashen seems to be right about I+1
Attention seems necessary for priming to occur (see Holly Wilson’s ''What Can We Still Believe About
Krashen's Monitor Theory?”)
AS I SAID EARLIER
Lexical priming is:
psychological
social
so language learning has to be both.
We are primed when we seek to understand someone, learn about something, achieve some goal, bring ourselves into harmony (or conflict) with someone.
AS I SAID EARLIER
Lexical priming is:
psychological
social
so language learning has to be both.
We are primed when we seek to understand someone, learn about something, achieve some goal, bring ourselves into harmony (or conflict) with someone. ALL REQUIRE ATTENTION
Research Implications
Above all, since an inadequate theory of languages
and, even more importantly,
BAD LEARNING
leads to discouragement,
WE NEED TO BUILD UPON WHAT IS SHARED AND BUILD UP THE CONFIDENCE OF OUR LEARNERS.
(after all, who knew that Spanish and Chinese were really quite alike?) BEGIN TODAY.
Research Implications
Above all, since an inadequate theory of languages
and, even more importantly,
BAD LEARNING
leads to discouragement,
WE NEED TO BUILD UPON WHAT IS SHARED AND BUILD UP THE CONFIDENCE OF OUR LEARNERS.
(after all, who knew that Spanish and Chinese were really quite alike?) BEGIN TODAY.
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