scholarly journals What is special about L3 processing?

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEES DE BOT ◽  
CAROL JAENSCH
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Third Language ◽  
The Core ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Core Issue ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

While research on third language (L3) and multilingualism has recently shown remarkable growth, the fundamental question of what makes trilingualism special compared to bilingualism, and indeed monolingualism, continues to be evaded. In this contribution we consider whether there is such a thing as a true monolingual, and if there is a difference between dialects, styles, registers and languages. While linguistic and psycholinguistic studies suggest differences in the processing of a third, compared to the first or second language, neurolinguistic research has shown that generally the same areas of the brain are activated during language use in proficient multilinguals. It is concluded that while from traditional linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives there are grounds to differentiate monolingual, bilingual and multilingual processing, a more dynamic perspective on language processing in which development over time is the core issue, leads to a questioning of the notion of languages as separate entities in the brain.

Parameters or cues?

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRIAN MACWHINNEY
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Hebbian Learning ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Back Propagation ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
The Core ◽  
Over Time

Truscott and Sharwood Smith (henceforth T&SS) attempt to show how second language acquisition can occur without any learning. In their APT model, change depends only on the tuning of innate principles through the normal course of processing of L2. There are some features of their model that I find attractive. Specifically, their acceptance of the concepts of competition and activation strength brings them in line with standard processing accounts like the Competition Model (Bates and MacWhinney, 1982; MacWhinney, 1987, in press). At the same time, their reliance on parameters as the core constructs guiding learning leaves this model squarely within the framework of Chomsky's theory of Principles and Parameters (P&P). As such, it stipulates that the specific functional categories of Universal Grammar serve as the fundamental guide to both first and second language acquisition. Like other accounts in the P&P framework, this model attempts to view second language acquisition as involving no real learning beyond the deductive process of parameter-setting based on the detection of certain triggers. The specific innovation of the APT model is that changes in activation strength during processing function as the trigger to the setting of parameters. Unlike other P&P models, APT does not set parameters in an absolute fashion, allowing their activation weight to change by the processing of new input over time. The use of the concept of activation in APT is far more restricted than its use in connectionist models that allow for Hebbian learning, self-organizing features maps, or back-propagation.

scholarly journals Language Use Across International Contexts: Shaping the Minds of L2 Speakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F. Kroll ◽  
Paola E. Dussias ◽  
María Teresa Bajo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Context Of Learning

ABSTRACTBilingualism is a complex life experience. Second language (L2) learning and bilingualism take place in many different contexts. To develop a comprehensive account of dual-language experience requires research that examines individuals who are learning and using two languages in both the first language (L1) and second language (L2) environments. In this article, we review studies that exploit the presence of an international research network on bilingualism to investigate the role of the environment and some the unique characteristics of L2 learning and bilingual language usage in different locations. We ask how the context of learning affects the acquisition of the L2 and the ability to control the use of each language, how language processing is changed by the patterns of language usage in different places (e.g., whether bilinguals have been immersed in the L2 environment for an extended period of time or whether they code-switch), and how the bilingualism of the community itself influences learning and language use.

Susceptibility to interference affects the second and the first language

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 681-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAOLA E. DUSSIAS ◽  
ANNE L. BEATTY-MARTÍNEZ ◽  
LAUREN PERROTTI
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Core ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
How People Learn

Memory is an integral part of language processing. Given this, a better understanding of how people learn, represent and process language requires considerations of the principles of memory that support language comprehension. Cunnings’ paper (Cunnings, 2016) does just this. The core of his proposal is that second language (L2) processing that is non-target like can be explained in terms of memory operations rather than by invoking a shallow processor (cf. Clahsen & Felser, 2006).

scholarly journals FREQUENCY EFFECTS AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass ◽  
Alison Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Processing Language

In this response to Ellis's target article on frequency in language processing, language use, and language acquisition, we argue in favor of a role for frequency in several areas of second language acquisition, including interactional input and output and speech processing. We also discuss areas where second language acquisition appears to proceed along its own route and at its own pace regardless of the frequency of the input, as well as areas where input is infrequent but acquisition appears to be unimpeded. Our response is intended to highlight the complexity of the task of deciphering the role and importance of frequency.

scholarly journals Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to examine brain structural plasticity and language experience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gigi Luk ◽  
Christos Pliatsikas
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Brain Correlates ◽  
The Brain

Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have led to a renewed interest in the brain correlates of language processing. Most intriguing is how experiences of language use relates to variation in brain structure and how brain structure predicts language acquisition. These two lines of inquiry have important implications on considering language use as an experience-dependent mechanism that induces brain plasticity. This paper focuses on the structural connectivity of the brain, as delivered by white matter, i.e. the collections of the axons of the brain neurons that provide connectivity between brain regions. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS), a method commonly used in the field, will be presented in detail. Readers will be introduced to procedures for the extraction of indices of variation in WM structure such as fractional anisotropy. Furthermore, the role of individual differences in WM and changes in WM pertaining to bilingual experience and language processing will be used as examples to illustrate the applicability of this method.

Language Comprehension and Emotion

2019 ◽  
pp. 735-766
Author(s):  
Jos J. A. van Berkum
Keyword(s):  
Computational Complexity ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Language Interpretation ◽  
The Brain

When you hear somebody speak, or read a bit of text, you are somehow assigning meaning to an unfolding sequence of signs. Because of the representational and computational complexity involved, this process of language interpretation is considered to be one of the major feats of human cognition. However, you also happen to be just another mammal, and as such, you are biologically predisposed to have emotions, evaluations, and moods (i.e. to feel certain things about your environment). How do these two acts of assigning meaning relate to one another? And what are the implications for neurolinguistics, the endeavor to understand how the brain realizes language use? After examining why emotion is not naturally foregrounded in language processing research, this chapter reviews some basic insights in emotion science, discusses a processing model of affective language comprehension, and explores how the model can contribute to neurolinguistics and other fields.

Multilingualism and Ageing

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-98
Author(s):  
Kees de Bot ◽  
Charlotta Plejert ◽  
Hanne Gram Simonsen ◽  
Valantis Fyndanis ◽  
Pernille Hansen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Language And Communication ◽  
The Media ◽  
University Of Oslo ◽  
The University ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This publication provides an overview of research on a large range of topics relating to language processing and language use from a life-span perspective. It is unique in covering and combining psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches, discussing questions such as: Is it beneficial to speak more than one language when growing old? How are languages processed in multilingual persons, and how does this change over time? What happens to language and communication in multilingual aphasia or dementia? How is multilingual ageing portrayed in the media? It is a joint, cross-disciplinary venture of researchers from the Centre for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan at The University of Oslo and the editors of this publication.

Acquiring mathematics as a second language: A theoretical model to illustrate similarities in the acquisition of English as a second language and mathematics

Pythagoras ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Ledibane ◽  
Kotie Kaiser ◽  
Marthie Van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Input Language ◽  
Third Language ◽  
Language And Mathematics ◽  
And Mathematics

Mathematics has been defined by researchers as a ‘second or third language’ and, as a result, it should be taught as a second language. Results of the literature reviewed from the theories on the teaching of mathematics and English as a second language, as well as on mathematics learning and English as a second language acquisition, have resulted in the emergence of four themes, which are similar to the ones on the teaching and learning of both mathematics and English as a second language; these are: comprehensible input, language processing and interaction, output, and feedback. In this article, the themes are illustrated in a theoretical model and discussed to show how English as a second language and mathematics can be acquired simultaneously. (English as a second language in the South African context is referred to as English as a first additional language.)

scholarly journals Brain and Language: an overview of neuroimaging studies of bilingual language processing

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Augusto Buchweitz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

Six articles combining the study of bilinguals and neuroimaging techniques are discussed. The objective is to seek for contributions from neuroimaging studies for the understanding of what goes on in the bilingual brain that processes two languages, and of what goes on, comparatively, in terms of brain activation of each language. Studies show that highly proficient bilinguals activate the same areas in the brain for both the first and second languages. This indicates that the second language becomes part of the speaker's procedural knowledge.

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