scholarly journals PREDICTION AND ERROR-BASED LEARNING IN L2 PROCESSING AND ACQUISITION

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Giulia Bovolenta ◽  
Emma Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Computational Modeling ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract There is currently much interest in the role of prediction in language processing, both in L1 and L2. For language acquisition researchers, this has prompted debate on the role that predictive processing may play in both L1 and L2 language learning, if any. In this conceptual review, we explore the role of prediction and prediction error as a potential learning aid. We examine different proposed prediction mechanisms and the empirical evidence for them, alongside the factors constraining prediction for both L1 and L2 speakers. We then review the evidence on the role of prediction in learning languages. We report computational modeling that underpins a number of proposals on the role of prediction in L1 and L2 learning, then lay out the empirical evidence supporting the predictions made by modeling, from research into priming and adaptation. Finally, we point out the limitations of these mechanisms in both L1 and L2 speakers.

Language Loss and Language Learning in Internationally Adopted Children

2019 ◽  
pp. 469-480
Author(s):  
Lara J. Pierce ◽  
Fred Genesee ◽  
Denise Klein
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Adopted Children ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 Attrition ◽  
Internationally Adopted Children ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Internationally Adopted

Internationally adopted (IA) children begin acquiring one language from birth (L1), but typically discontinue it in favour of their adoption language (L2). Language attrition occurs quickly with IA children unable to speak/understand their L1 within months of adoption. However, as adults IA test participants show certain advantages in this language compared to monolingual speakers never exposed to it, suggesting that certain elements of the L1 may be retained. Neuroimaging studies have found that IA participants exhibit brain activation patterns reflecting the retention of L1 representations and their influence on L2 processing. This chapter reviews research on L1 attrition in IA children, discussing whether/how elements of the L1 may be retained. It discusses how L1 attrition versus retention might influence subsequent language processing in the L1 and L2. Implications of language attrition versus retention patterns observed in IA participants for neuroplasticity and language acquisition are also discussed beyond this specific group.

Language Ideology and Second Language Learning

2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa McGarry
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Ideology ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Explanatory Power

AbstractThe increasing recognition of the concept language ideology and the corresponding increasing use of the term have not yet been matched by applications in the field of second language acquisition. However, applications of the concept in analysis of actual classroom practices have shown it to have considerable explanatory power. Greater consideration of language ideology in SLA is necessary not only to achieve greater understanding of the role of ideology in various areas but also to show connections between these areas that may yield important generalizations and to impel the application of the concept in areas where it has been neglected by highlighting its uneven treatment.

scholarly journals USING PROSODY TO PREDICT UPCOMING REFERENTS IN THE L1 AND THE L2

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Anouschka Foltz
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Resource Deficit ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Pitch Accents

Abstract While monolingual speakers can use contrastive pitch accents to predict upcoming referents, bilingual speakers do not always use this cue predictively in their L2. The current study examines the role of recent exposure for predictive processing in native German (L1) second language learners of English (L2). In Experiment 1, participants followed instructions to click on two successive objects, for example, Click on the red carrot/duck. Click on the green/GREEN carrot (where CAPS indicate a contrastive L + H* accent). Participants predicted a repeated noun following a L + H* accent in the L1, but not in the L2, where processing was delayed. Experiment 2 shows that after an exposure period with highly consistent prosodic cues, bilinguals engaged in predictive processing in both their L1 and L2. However, inconsistent prosodic cues showed different effects on bilinguals’ L1 and L2 predictive processing. The results are discussed in terms of exposure-based and resource-deficit models of processing.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

The Embodiment of Concepts

2018 ◽  
pp. 640-660
Author(s):  
Michiel Van Elk ◽  
Harold Bekkering
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Error ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Recurrent Processing ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Prior Models ◽  
Processing Framework

We characterize theories of conceptual representation as embodied, disembodied, or hybrid according to their stance on a number of different dimensions: the nature of concepts, the relation between language and concepts, the function of concepts, the acquisition of concepts, the representation of concepts, and the role of context. We propose to extend an embodied view of concepts, by taking into account the importance of multimodal associations and predictive processing. We argue that concepts are dynamically acquired and updated, based on recurrent processing of prediction error signals in a hierarchically structured network. Concepts are thus used as prior models to generate multimodal expectations, thereby reducing surprise and enabling greater precision in the perception of exemplars. This view places embodied theories of concepts in a novel predictive processing framework, by highlighting the importance of concepts for prediction, learning and shaping categories on the basis of prediction errors.

scholarly journals Similarity-based interference and relative clauses in second language processing

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110635
Author(s):  
Ian Cunnings ◽  
Hiroki Fujita
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Relative Disadvantage ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Object Relative

Relative clauses have long been examined in research on first (L1) and second (L2) language acquisition and processing, and a large body of research has shown that object relative clauses (e.g. ‘The boy that the girl saw’) are more difficult to process than subject relative clauses (e.g. ‘The boy that saw the girl’). Although there are different accounts of this finding, memory-based factors have been argued to play a role in explaining the object relative disadvantage. Evidence of memory-based factors in relative clause processing comes from studies indicating that representational similarity influences the difficulty associated with object relatives as a result of a phenomenon known as similarity-based interference. Although similarity-based interference has been well studied in L1 processing, less is known about how it influences L2 processing. We report two studies – an eye-tracking experiment and a comprehension task – investigating interference in the comprehension of relative clauses in L1 and L2 readers. Our results indicated similarity-based interference in the processing of object relative clauses in both L1 and L2 readers, with no significant differences in the size of interference effects between the two groups. These results highlight the importance of considering memory-based factors when examining L2 processing.

scholarly journals Circadian rhythms and second language performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
Kees De Bot ◽  
Fang Fang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Intraindividual Variation ◽  
The Hours ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Language Performance

Human behavior is not constant over the hours of the day, and there are considerable individual differences. Some people raise early and go to bed early and have their peek performance early in the day (“larks”) while others tend to go to bed late and get up late and have their best performance later in the day (“owls”). In this contribution we report on three projects on the role of chronotype (CT) in language processing and learning. The first study (de Bot, 2013) reports on the impact of CT on language learning aptitude and word learning. The second project was reported in Fang (2015) and looks at CT and executive functions, in particular inhibition as measured by variants of the Stroop test. The third project aimed at assessing lexical access in L1 and L2 at preferred and non-preferred times of the day. The data suggest that there are effects of CT on language learning and processing. There is a small effect of CT on language aptitude and a stronger effect of CT on lexical access in the first and second language. The lack of significance for other tasks is mainly caused by the large interindividual and intraindividual variation.

Language processing and language acquisition through the lens of Relational Morphology

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-232
Author(s):  
Ray Jackendoff ◽  
Jenny Audring
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Spreading Activation ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
Memory Network ◽  
Complex Words

This chapter asks what is happening to linguistic representations during language use, and how representations are formed in the course of language acquisition. It is shown how Relational Morphology’s theory of representations can be directly embedded into models of processing and acquisition. Central is that the lexicon, complete with schemas and relational links, constitutes the long-term memory network that supports language production and comprehension. The chapter first discusses processing: the nature of working memory; promiscuous (opportunistic) processing; spreading activation; priming; probabilistic parsing; the balance between storage and computation in recognizing morphologically complex words; and the role of relational links and schemas in word retrieval. It then turns to acquisition, which is to be thought of as adding nodes and relational links to the lexical network. The general approach is based on the Propose but Verify procedure of Trueswell et al. (2013), plus conservative generalization, as in usage-based approaches.

The role of cognitive development and linguistic input in language acquisition

1976 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Schlesinger
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Mere Exposure ◽  
Sufficient Condition ◽  
Artificial Languages ◽  
Passive Learning ◽  
Linguistic Input

Recent years have witnessed a cognitivist reaction against previous views of language learning. It had been held that mere exposure to language is a sufficient condition for language acquisition, whether by hypothesis testing (Katz 1966) or through passive learning (Braine 1971). Symptomatic of this approach were experiments investigating the learning of grammar in which subjects were taught artificial miniature languages without meaning, either through making guesses and receiving feedback from the experimenter (e.g. Hunt 1965) or passively, just by listening (Braine 1971). Although no such claim was explicitly made, language learning was actually treated as if it occurred independently of cognitive development. This one-sided approach has since been corrected by the cognitivists as represented in particular by the Geneva school (Sinclair 1971), who stress the importance of general cognitive development in language acquisition. Experiments with artificial languages bear the imprint of this approach and now involve semantic referents of the linguistic symbols (e.g. Moeser & Bregman 1972, 1973).

FUNDAMENTAL AND GRADIENT DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Herschensohn
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
First Language ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Faculty ◽  
Generative Theory ◽  
The Difference

This article reexamines Bley-Vroman’s original (1990) and evolved (this issue) fundamental difference hypothesis that argues that differences in path and endstate of first language acquisition and adult foreign language learning result from differences in the acquisition procedure (i.e., language faculty and cognitive strategies, respectively). The evolved assessment of the theoretical and empirical developments of the past 20 years is taken into account with respect to Universal Grammar and parameters in generative theory and with respect to cognition and acquisition in data processing. This article supports the spirit of Bley-Vroman’s proposals in light of the discussion of three topics: pathway of acquisition, endstate age of acquisition effects, and language processing by monolinguals and bilinguals. I argue that the difference between child and adult language acquisition is, above all, quantitative not qualitative, a gradient continuum rather than a precipitous break.

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