Study of Cognitive Processes in Second Language Learning1

1981 ◽  
Vol II (2) ◽  
pp. 117-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. RUBIN
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes

Focused Tasks, Mental Actions and Second Language Learning. Cognitive and Connectionist Accounts of Task Effectiveness

2006 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Machteld Moonen ◽  
Rick de Graaff ◽  
Gerard Westhoff
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Mental Actions ◽  
Involvement Load Hypothesis

Abstract This paper presents a theoretical framework to estimate the effectiveness of second language tasks in which the focus is on the acquisition of new linguistic items, such as vocabulary or grammar, the so-called focused tasks (R. Ellis, 2003). What accounts for the learning impact offocused tasks? We shall argue that the task-based approach (e.g. Skehan, 1998, Robinson, 2001) does not provide an in-depth account of how cognitive processes, elicited by a task, foster the acquisition of new linguistic elements. We shall then review the typologies of cognitive processes derived from research on learning strategies (Chamot & O'Malley, 1994), from the involvement load hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), from the depth of processing hypothesis (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) and from connectionism (e.g Broeder & Plunkett, 1997; N. Ellis, 2003). The combined insights of these typologies form the basis of the multi-feature hypothesis, which predicts that retention and ease of activation of new linguistic items are improved by mental actions which involve a wide variety of different features, simultaneously and frequently. A number of implications for future research shall be discussed.

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 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.

Where is Cognition?

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Schumann
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Appraisal System ◽  
Affective Filter ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Affect And Cognition ◽  
The Brain

This paper argues that the brain is the seat of cognition, that cognitive processes are neural processes, and that, in the brain, affect and cognition are distinguishable but inseparable. This perspective allows a reconceptualization of the affective filter in terms of the brain's stimulus appraisal system, which interacts with cognition to promote or inhibit second language acquisition. A research strategy is proposed for investigating these ideas.

Second Language Acquisition: Possible Insights from Studies on How Birds Acquire Song

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise M. Neapolitan ◽  
Irene M. Pepperberg ◽  
Linda Schinke-Llano
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
First Language ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Song Acquisition ◽  
General Linguistic ◽  
Species Specific

Research into general linguistic and cognitive processes in humans has been aided by studies of analogous processes in animals. Studies on how birds develop their species-specific song have been of particular interest to researchers seeking to identify critical variables and universels in first language acquisition in humans. Because of recent studies onexceptionalsong acquisition, that is, time-independent. learning of second dialects or song by birds generally thought to acquire a single song during a limited sensitive period, we suggest that there also exist significant parallels between human second language acquisition and avian bilingualism. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these parallels and to demonstrate that such interspecies comparisons may provide new insights into the processes of second language acquisition.

scholarly journals Applied linguistics

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-182
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Language Planning ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Discourse Processes ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Oxford University Press

07–341Al-Kufaishi, Adil (Copenhagen U, Denmark; [email protected]), A pedagogic model of translating expository texts. Babel (John Benjamins) 52.1 (2006), 1–16.07–342Anderson, Wendy (U Glasgow, UK), ‘Absolutely, totally, filled to the brim with the Famous Grouse’. English Today (Cambridge University Press) 22.3 (2006), 10–16.07–343Boudreault, Patrick (California State U, Northridge, USA; [email protected]) & Rachel I. Mayberry, Grammatical processing in American Sign Language: Age of first-language acquisition effects in relation to syntactic structure. Language and Cognitive Processes (Routledge/Taylor&Francis) 21.5 (2006), 608–635.07–344Charles, M. (U Oxford, UK), The construction of stance in reporting clauses: A cross-disciplinary study of theses. Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) 27.3 (2006), 492–518.07–345Frazier, Lyn (U Massachusetts, Amherst, USA; [email protected]), Katy Carlson & Charles Clifton Jr., Prosodic phrasing is central to language comprehension. Trends in Cognitive Sciences (Elsevier) 10.6 (2006), 244–249.07–346Goatly, Andrew (Lingnan U, Hong Kong, China), Ideology and metaphor. English Today (Cambridge University Press) 22.3 (2006), 25–39.07–347Goral, Mira (City U New York, USA; [email protected]), Erika S. Levy, Loraine K. Obler & Eyal Cohen, Cross-language lexical connections in the mental lexicon: Evidence from a case of trilingual aphasia. Brain and Language (Elsevier) 98.2 (2006), 235–247.07–348Hellermann J. (Portland State U, USA), Classroom interactive practices for developing L2 literacy: A microethnographic study of two beginning adult learners of English. Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) 27.3 (2006), 377–404.07–349Joseph, John E. (U Edinburgh, UK), Linguistic identities: Double-edged swords. Language Problems & Language Planning (John Benjamins) 30.3 (2006), 261–267.07–350Kuo, I-Chun (Canterbury Christ Church U College, UK; [email protected]), Addressing the issue of teaching English as a lingua franca. ELT Journal (Oxford University Press) 60.3 (2006), 213–221.07–351McDonald, Janet L. (Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge, USA; [email protected]), Beyond the critical period: Processing-based explanations for poor grammaticality judgment performance by late second language learners.Journal of Memory and Language (Elsevier) 55.3 (2006), 381–401.07–352Mori, Junko & Makoto Hayashi (U Wisconsin-Maddison, USA), The achievement of intersubjectivity through embodied completions: A study of interactions between first and second language speakers. Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) 27.2 (2006), 195–219.07–353Oberlander, Jon (U Edinburgh, UK) & Alastair J. Gill, Language with character: A stratified corpus comparison of individual differences in e-mail communication. Discourse Processes (Erlbaum) 42.3 (2006), 239–270.07–354Rosenberger Shankar, Tara (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Speaking on the record: A theory of composition. Computers and Composition (Elsevier) 23.3 (2006), 374–373.07–355Sanford, Anthony J. (U Glasgow, UK) & Arthur C. Graesser, Shallow processing and underspecification. Discourse Processes (Erlbaum) 42.2 (2006), 99–108.07–356Sears, Christopher R. (U Calgary, Canada), Crystal R. Campbell & Stephen J. Lupker, Is there a neighborhood frequency effect in English? Evidence from reading and lexical decision. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (American Psychological Association) 32.4 (2006), 1040–1062.07–357Sebastian-Gallés, Núria (GRNC, Parc Científic Universitat de Barcelona & Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Spain; [email protected]), Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells, Ruth de Diego-Balaguer & Begoña Díaz, First- and second-language phonological representations in the mental lexicon. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (MIT Press) 18.8 (2006), 1277–1291.07–358Sebba, Mark (Lancaster U, UK), Ideology and alphabets in the former USSR. Language Problems & Language Planning (John Benjamins) 30.2 (2006), 99–125.07–359Valdois, Sylviane (Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble, France) & Sonia Kandel, French- and Spanish-speaking children use different visual and motor units during spelling acquisition. Language and Cognitive Processes (Routledge/Taylor & Francis) 21.5 (2006), 531–561.

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.

Context and idiom understanding in second languages

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 155-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Liontas
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
The Right ◽  
Affect Transfer ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
Idiomatic Meaning

This article describes the results of a study conducted with fifty-three adult third-year learners of Spanish, French, and German in order to investigate (a) the degree to which idiom type affects the speed and ease of idiom comprehension and interpretation, (b) the effect that context exerts on idiom understanding, (c) the strategies second language learners employ in computing the idiomatic meaning of multiword phrasal units during contextualized and acontextualized reading of texts containing such idioms, and (d) the cognitive processes that are likely to constrain the construction of the right idiomatic mappings between target and domain idioms. Findings indicate that (a) there were significant main effects for lexical and post-lexical level idioms in both the context and the non-context treatment; (b) translation, guessing, and the use of context are highly important in the construction of idiomatic meaning; and (c) the degree of opacity between target and domain idiom, knowledge of vocabulary, graphophonics and syntactic arrangement, and literal meaning of an idiom influence and affect transfer of idiomatic knowledge in significant ways.

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