EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ATTENTIONAL MANIPULATIONS ON SECOND LANGUAGE GRAMMAR DEVELOPMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard I. Issa ◽  
Kara Morgan-Short
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Input Enhancement ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Chance Performance ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

AbstractThe role of attention has been central to theoretical and empirical inquiries in second language (L2) acquisition. The current eye-tracking study examined how external and internal attentional manipulations (Chun, Golomb, &Turk-Browne, 2011) promote L2 grammatical development. Participants (n= 55) were exposed to Spanish direct-object pronouns under external or internal attentional manipulations, which were implemented through textual input enhancement or structured input practice, respectively. Results for both manipulations indicated that (a) learner attentional allocation to the form was affected; (b) L2 gains were evidenced, although only the internal manipulation led to above-chance performance; and (c) L2 gains were related to attention allocated to the form under the external manipulation and to a lesser extent the internal manipulation. Overall, findings may inform theoretical perspectives on attention and elucidate cognitive processes related to L2 instruction.

Second language acquisition: Theoretical and experimental issues in contemporary research

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel David Epstein ◽  
Suzanne Flynn ◽  
Gita Martohardjono
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Psycholinguistic Research ◽  
Explanatory Theory ◽  
Parameter Values ◽  
Theoretical Issues

AbstractTo what extent, if any, does Universal Grammar (UG) constrain second language (L2) acquisition? This is not only an empirical question, but one which is currently investigable. In this context, L2 acquisition is emerging as an important new domain of psycholinguistic research. Three logical possibilities have been articulated regarding the role of UG in L2 acquisition: The first is the “no access” hypothesis that claims that no aspect of UG is available to the L2 learner. The second is the “partial access” hypothesis that claims that only LI instantiated principles and LI instantiated parameter-values of UG are available to the learner. The third, called the “full access” hypothesis, asserts that UG in its entirety constrains L2 acquisition.In this paper we argue that there is no compelling evidence to support either of the first two hypotheses. Moreover, we provide evidence concerning functional categories in L2 acquisition consistent with the claim that UG is fully available to the L2 learner (see also Flynn 1987; Li 1993; Martohardjono 1992; Schwartz & Sprouse 1991; Thomas 1991; White 1989). In addition, we will attempt to clarify some of currently unclear theoretical issues that arise with respect to positing UG as an explanatory theory of L2 acquisition. We will also investigate in some detail certain crucial methodological questions involved in experimentally testing the role of UG in L2 acquisition and finally, we will present a set of experimental results of our own supporting the “Full Access” hypothesis.

scholarly journals The Effect of Instruction on Learners' Pragmatic Awareness: a Focus on Refusals

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Alcón Soler ◽  
Josep Guzmán Pitarch
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Instructional Contexts

The benefits of instruction on learners’ production and awareness of speech acts is well documented (see Alcón and Martínez-Flor, 2008, for a review of pragmatics in instructional contexts). However, few studies examine the influence that instruction may have on the cognitive processes involved in speech act production (Félix- Brasdefer, 2008). In order to address this research gap, and taking into account the discussion in research on the concept of attention and related terms such as awareness (see Al-Hejin, 2004, for a review of the role of attention and awareness in second language acquisition research) this paper reports on the benefits of instruction on learners’ attention and awareness during the performance of refusals. Thus, based on a pedagogical proposal for teaching refusals at the discourse level, we focus on the benefits that this pedagogical proposal can have on the information attended to during the planning and execution of refusals. Secondly, we explore whether instruction makes a difference in learners’ awareness of refusals.

scholarly journals The Influence of Frequency on the Acquisition and Textbooks Design of Second Language Vocabulary

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Anwar Saad Aljadani
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Teaching Objectives ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Selection Of

This paper provides an overview of the role of vocabulary frequency in second language (L2) acquisition as vocabulary is a dominant feature of language acquisition and vitally important to language learners. It reported the vocabulary frequency’s significant role in both the earlier acquisition and the easier remembering comparing to infrequent vocabulary in L2 acquisition. It also seeks to discuss the influence of frequency on the selection of vocabulary in L2 textbooks as they are sometime the only source of L2 vocabulary in the classroom. It presents discussions of what vocabulary should be selected, how selective vocabulary are organised in the textbooks to reach determined teaching objectives as well as the teaching rate pre lesson. 

scholarly journals Age of acquisition and proficiency in a second language independently influence the perception of non-native speech

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
PILAR ARCHILA-SUERTE ◽  
JASON ZEVIN ◽  
FERENC BUNTA ◽  
ARTURO E. HERNANDEZ
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Sensorimotor Processing ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Native Speech

Sensorimotor processing in children and higher-cognitive processing in adults could determine how non-native phonemes are acquired. This study investigates how age-of-acquisition (AOA) and proficiency-level (PL) predict native-like perception of statistically dissociated L2 categories, i.e., within-category and between-category. In a similarity task, participants rated the level of similarity between pairs of English syllables from 1 (similar) to 4 (dissimilar). Early L2 acquisition predicts accurate within-categorization and high proficiency in late L2 acquisition predicts improved between-categorization. Our results suggest that the manner in which bilinguals learn to categorize non-native sounds depends on the cognitive processes available at the age of L2 exposure.

The L2 Basic Variety as an I-language

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen M. Meisel
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Faculty ◽  
Essential Properties ◽  
Language Capacity

The Basic Variety, as defined by Klein and Perdue (this volume), is understood as an instantiation of the essential properties of the human language capacity, and although, as the ‘initial fossilization point’ of adult second language acquisition, it lacks crucial features of fully fledged languages, the claim is that the BV is a natural language in the sense that it is constrained by principles of Universal Grammar (UG). In this discussion I raise a few points which may cast some doubt on the claim that the BV is an I-language. At the core of this debate, as far as (morpho)syntactic issues are concerned, one finds the problem of determining the role of functional categories in BV grammar. Crucially, in L2 acquisition in general and in the BV in particular, one does not find the same kind of developmental relation between the acquisition of overt inflectional morphology and word order patterns as is evidenced in L1 development. I conclude that neither UG nor the universal component of the language faculty, as envisaged by Klein and Perdue, can account adequately for the essential properties of L2 interlanguages, including the BV. One important reason is that, rather than relying on structure-dependent operations, as in L1 development, L2 learners resort to strategies referring to sequential ordering of surface strings. If this is correct, L2 varieties are a mix of both UG-constrained and non-grammatical cognitive processes.

scholarly journals Sensemaking in and around Organizations

Management ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Watkiss ◽  
Jungsoo Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Organizational Theory ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social

Sensemaking is one of the main theoretical perspectives that is used to understand both social cognition within organizational theory and the social construction of organizational behavior. Initial scholarship focused on the cognitive processes of sensemaking; discursive approaches followed in order to understand how actors come together to coordinate action. In recent years, the scope of the sensemaking perspective has expanded to account for the role of affect as well as to consider the political nature of sensemaking. Although sensemaking is most closely informed by ideas in social psychology and management, it also draws from cognitive psychology, symbolic interactionism, and ethnomethodology. The first section provides an introduction to sensemaking, including introductory works, overviews, and reviews. Next, the journals where sensemaking research is published are highlighted. This is followed by a review of the primary and emerging approaches to sensemaking. We conclude with a discussion about sensegiving, a related construct, and how a sensemaking perspective informs other areas of organizational theory, including strategic change, organizing, and symbolic approaches to organizational life.

scholarly journals The Interpretability of Features in Second Language Acquisition: Evidence from Null and Postverbal Subjects in L2 English

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Prentza ◽  
Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Parameter Resetting ◽  
L1 English

We examine the microparameters of null and postverbal subjects in the Greek L1/English L2 interlanguage, exploring the role of interpretability in interlanguage representations. Our results suggest that while uninterpretable features are inaccessible in L2 acquisition, interpretable features are available and play a compensatory role. Although the abstract L1 properties of subject-verb agreement seem to transfer to the L2 representation, the effects appear scattered and transfer is not direct. We thus suggest that Greek-learner L2 English grammar exhibits non-random optionality in the properties of null and postverbal subjects, regulated by parameter-resetting (feature re-valuation) which is, however, neither the L1 (Greek) nor the target L2 (English) option.

scholarly journals Input-output relation in second language acquisition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyu-Ho Shin ◽  
Boo Kyung Jung
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Input Output ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Form Function ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract Studies on the role of input in L2 acquisition often estimate L2 input properties through L1 corpora and focus on L2-English. This study probes the initial stage of L2-Korean learning for adult English-speaking beginners of Korean to investigate input-output relations in the acquisition of L2 that is typologically different from English in a more direct manner. We specifically ask how L2 beginner input affects L2 beginner production with respect to Korean postpositions. For this purpose, we investigate how the beginners receive input regarding Korean postpositions from a textbook and to what extent the input characteristics are manifested in learner writing. We found that, whereas the presentation of certain postpositions in the textbook was generally reflected in learner writing, individual postpositions showed disparity in their use between the textbook and the writing. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of L1-L2 differences and how the textbook presents form-function pairings of these postpositions.

scholarly journals The Development of Scientific Reasoning in Medical Education: A Psychological Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Luminita Barz ◽  
Andrei Achimaș-Cadariu
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Problem Solving Process

Scientific reasoning has been studied from a variety of theoretical perspectives, which have tried to identify the underlying mechanisms responsible for the development of this particular cognitive process. Scientific reasoning has been defined as a problem-solving process that involves critical thinking in relation to content, procedural, and epistemic knowledge. The development of scientific reasoning in medical education was influenced by current paradigmatic trends, it could be traced along educational curriculum and followed cognitive processes. The purpose of the present review is to discuss the role of scientific reasoning in medical education and outline educational methods for its development.Current evidence suggests that medical education should foster a new ways of development of scientific reasoning, which include exploration of the complexity of scientific inquiry, and also take into consideration the heterogeneity of clinical cases found in practice.

scholarly journals The Role of Working Memory in Attentional Allocation and Grammatical Development under Textually-enhanced, Unenhanced and No Captioning Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-25
Author(s):  
Minjin Lee ◽  
Andrea Révész
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Written Production ◽  
L2 Development

This study investigated the extent to which individual differences in working memory (WM) mediate the effects of captions with or without textual enhancement on attentional allocation and L2 grammatical development, and whether L2 development is influenced by WM memory in the absence of captions. We employed a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design, with 72 Korean learners of English randomly assigned to three groups. The groups differed as to whether they were exposed to news clips without captions, with textually-enhanced captions, or with unenhanced captions during the treatment. We measured attentional allocation with eye-tracking methodology, and assessed development with an oral production, a written production and a fill-in-the-blank test. To assess various aspects of WM, we employed measures of phonological and visual short-term memory (PSTM, VSTM) and the executive functions of updating, task-switching, and inhibitory control. We found that, in both captions groups, higher PSTM was associated with higher oral production gains. For the enhanced captions group, PSTM was also positively related to gains on the written production test. Participants in the no-captions group, however, showed a positive link between VSTM and oral production gains. Attentional location only correlated positively with updating ability and PSTM under the enhanced captions condition. These results, overall, indicate that WM can moderate the effects of captions on attention and L2 development, and various WM components may play a differential role under various captioning conditions.

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