Implications of the declarative/procedural model for improving second language learning: The role of memory enhancement techniques

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T Ullman ◽  
Jarrett T Lovelett
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Memory Enhancement

The declarative/procedural (DP) model posits that the learning, storage, and use of language critically depend on two learning and memory systems in the brain: declarative memory and procedural memory. Thus, on the basis of independent research on the memory systems, the model can generate specific and often novel predictions for language. Till now most such predictions and ensuing empirical work have been motivated by research on the neurocognition of the two memory systems. However, there is also a large literature on techniques that enhance learning and memory. The DP model provides a theoretical framework for predicting which techniques should extend to language learning, and in what circumstances they should apply. In order to lay the neurocognitive groundwork for these predictions, here we first summarize the neurocognitive fundamentals of the two memory systems and briefly lay out the resulting claims of the DP model for both first and second language. We then provide an overview of learning and memory enhancement techniques before focusing on two techniques – spaced repetition and retrieval practice – that have been linked to the memory systems. Next, we present specific predictions for how these techniques should enhance language learning, and review existing evidence, which suggests that they do indeed improve the learning of both first and second language. Finally, we discuss areas of future research and implications for second language pedagogy.

scholarly journals Declarative and Procedural Memory as Individual Differences in Second Language Aptitude

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Buffington ◽  
Kara Morgan-Short
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Aptitude

Domain-general approaches to second language acquisition (SLA) have considered how individual differences in cognitive abilities contribute to foreign language aptitude. Here, we specifically consider the role of two, long-term, cognitive memory systems, i.e., declarative and procedural memory, as individual differences in SLA. In doing so, we define and review evidence for the long-term declarative and procedural memory systems, consider theories that address a role for declarative and procedural memory in L2 acquisition, discuss evidence in support of the claims that these theories make, and conclude with discussion of important directions and questions for future research on the role of declarative and procedural memory as individual differences in assessing L2 aptitude.

Emergent Digital Discourses: What Can We Learn From Hashtags and Digital Games to Expand Learners’ Second Language Repertoire?

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 128-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Work Related

AbstractIn recent years, digital technologies have expanded the possibilities for human interactions in ways that were never before imagined, further complicating the teaching and learning of languages (Taguchi & Sykes, 2013; Thorne, Sauro, & Smith, 2015). Despite this complexity, when approached as meaningful, high-stakes practices, discourses in digital contexts can be highly useful for language learning and teaching. This article synthesizes work related to two digital discourse contexts, specifically hashtags and digital games. Moving away from technology as the vehicle to deliver “important content,” the analysis to follow examines digital discourses as both the content and context to be examined as part of learners’ multilingual experiences. The article begins by situating the discussion focused on digital discourses, reviewing relevant work addressing interactional patterns in each context, and then applying findings to second language teaching and learning. Drawing on empirical work, the article then describes a framework with specific examples for learner exploration of digital discourses as part of their language learning experience. The article concludes with implications for future research and teaching.

The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: the declarative/procedural model

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Lexical Memory ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Neural Bases ◽  
Basal Ganglia Structures

Theoretical and empirical aspects of the neural bases of the mental lexicon and the mental grammar in first and second language (L1 and L2) are discussed. It is argued that in L1, the learning, representation, and processing of lexicon and grammar depend on two well-studied brain memory systems. According to the declarative/procedural model, lexical memory depends upon declarative memory, which is rooted in temporal lobe structures, and has been implicated in the learning and use of fact and event knowledge. Aspects of grammar are subserved by procedural memory, which is rooted in left frontal/basal-ganglia structures, and has been implicated in the acquisition and expression of motor and cognitive skills and habits. This view is supported by psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic evidence. In contrast, linguistic forms whose grammatical computation depends upon procedural memory in L1 are posited to be largely dependent upon declarative/lexical memory in L2. They may be either memorized or constructed by explicit rules learned in declarative memory. Thus in L2, such linguistic forms should be less dependent on procedural memory, and more dependent on declarative memory, than in L1. Moreover, this shift to declarative memory is expected to increase with increasing age of exposure to L2, and with less experience (practice) with the language, which is predicted to improve the learning of grammatical rules by procedural memory. A retrospective examination of lesion, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies investigating the neural bases of L2 is presented. It is argued that the data from these studies support the predictions of the declarative/procedural model.

scholarly journals Child first language and adult second language are both tied to general-purpose learning systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (7) ◽  
pp. 1487-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Hamrick ◽  
Jarrad A. G. Lum ◽  
Michael T. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
First Language ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Language Experience

Do the mechanisms underlying language in fact serve general-purpose functions that preexist this uniquely human capacity? To address this contentious and empirically challenging issue, we systematically tested the predictions of a well-studied neurocognitive theory of language motivated by evolutionary principles. Multiple metaanalyses were performed to examine predicted links between language and two general-purpose learning systems, declarative and procedural memory. The results tied lexical abilities to learning only in declarative memory, while grammar was linked to learning in both systems in both child first language and adult second language, in specific ways. In second language learners, grammar was associated with only declarative memory at lower language experience, but with only procedural memory at higher experience. The findings yielded large effect sizes and held consistently across languages, language families, linguistic structures, and tasks, underscoring their reliability and validity. The results, which met the predicted pattern, provide comprehensive evidence that language is tied to general-purpose systems both in children acquiring their native language and adults learning an additional language. Crucially, if language learning relies on these systems, then our extensive knowledge of the systems from animal and human studies may also apply to this domain, leading to predictions that might be unwarranted in the more circumscribed study of language. Thus, by demonstrating a role for these systems in language, the findings simultaneously lay a foundation for potentially important advances in the study of this critical domain.

Working, Declarative, and Procedural Memory in Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4162-4178
Author(s):  
Emily Jackson ◽  
Suze Leitão ◽  
Mary Claessen ◽  
Mark Boyes
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Spatial

Purpose Previous research into the working, declarative, and procedural memory systems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) has yielded inconsistent results. The purpose of this research was to profile these memory systems in children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Method One hundred four 5- to 8-year-old children participated in the study. Fifty had DLD, and 54 were typically developing. Aspects of the working memory system (verbal short-term memory, verbal working memory, and visual–spatial short-term memory) were assessed using a nonword repetition test and subtests from the Working Memory Test Battery for Children. Verbal and visual–spatial declarative memory were measured using the Children's Memory Scale, and an audiovisual serial reaction time task was used to evaluate procedural memory. Results The children with DLD demonstrated significant impairments in verbal short-term and working memory, visual–spatial short-term memory, verbal declarative memory, and procedural memory. However, verbal declarative memory and procedural memory were no longer impaired after controlling for working memory and nonverbal IQ. Declarative memory for visual–spatial information was unimpaired. Conclusions These findings indicate that children with DLD have deficits in the working memory system. While verbal declarative memory and procedural memory also appear to be impaired, these deficits could largely be accounted for by working memory skills. The results have implications for our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying language impairment in the DLD population; however, further investigation of the relationships between the memory systems is required using tasks that measure learning over long-term intervals. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13250180

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 Dynamic Transfer and Relations between First Language (L1) Proficiency and Second Language (L2) Writing Skills Performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulelah Alkhateeb
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
L1 And L2

This study investigates the transfer relationship between first language (L1) (Arabic) proficiency and second language (L2) (English) performance in writing skills of a Saudi bilingual graduate student. Several studies have discussed the transfer issues in language learning, yet a few of them focus on the transfer relationships between Arabic and English language writing skills. Regardless of the huge linguistic distinction between the English language and Arabic language, it is presumed that Arabic and English writing skills positively, negatively, and neutrally transferred in a dynamic relationship. The researcher has conducted observations and interviews with Fatimah, the participant of this study, and analyzed her texts in both languages to illustrate how dynamic relationships between L1 and L2 in the composition skills is and what the effects of language transfer in the composition skills between L1 and L2 are. The data were collected and analyzed in January 2018. The results demonstrate effects of L2 on L1 as the following; first, a reverse or backward transfer implemented in three ways; positive, negative, and neutral transfer. Second, they indicate that there is a dynamic relationship between second language performance and first language proficiency in composition particularly. It is hoped that this knowledge will assist students in being aware of the effects of L2 on L1 specifically in composition and taking the advantages to accelerate the rate of language learning. It is recommended for future research to conduct studies in bilingual writings to investigate how L1 could be a resource and advocate of language development.

Attitudes and Motivations of Adult Spanish Language Learners: A Comparison of Heritage Language Learners and Second Language Learners

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet S. Oh ◽  
Bertha A. Nash
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Learning Success

Research on background factors in adult language learners’ success has largely focused on first-time learners of a second language. In this study, we utilize a well-established second language learner model (the Socioeducational Model; Gardner, 1985a) to compare heritage language and second language learners in a first-semester college Spanish class. Participants (31 heritage language learners; 80 second language learners) completed a survey at the end of the semester assessing their ethnic identity, language backgrounds, attitudes and motivation toward learning Spanish. Course grades were collected as a measure of language learning success. Results indicate that heritage language learners and second language learners are similar on most background factors, but that the background factors predicting each group’s language learning success are quite different. Implications for our understanding of language learners and future research directions are discussed.

A VIEW OF THE NEURAL REPRESENTATION OF SECOND LANGUAGE SYNTAX THROUGH ARTIFICIAL LANGUAGE LEARNING UNDER IMPLICIT CONTEXTS OF EXPOSURE

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Morgan-Short ◽  
ZhiZhou Deng ◽  
Katherine A. Brill-Schuetz ◽  
Mandy Faretta-Stutenberg ◽  
Patrick C. M. Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Artificial Language Learning ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

The current study aims to make an initial neuroimaging contribution to central implicit-explicit issues in second language (L2) acquisition by considering how implicit and explicit contexts mediate the neural representation of L2. Focusing on implicit contexts, the study employs a longitudinal design to examine the neural representation of L2 syntax and also considers how the neural circuits underlying L2 syntax vary among learners who exhibit different levels of performance on linguistic and cognitive tasks. Results suggest that when exposed to a L2 under an implicit context, some learners are able to quickly rely on neural circuits associated with first language grammar and procedural memory, whereas other learners increasingly use extralinguistic neural circuits related to control mechanisms to process syntax. Thus, there may be multiple ways in which L2 is represented neurally, at least when learned under implicit contexts.

scholarly journals The role of social media in the creation of brand experiences

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (61) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Losada-Otálora ◽  
Iván D. Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Brand Experience ◽  
Brand Associations ◽  
Content Consumption ◽  
The Creation

The relationship between social media and brand experience remains unclear in spite of the strategic importance of social platforms in marketing. To narrow this gap of knowledge, this paper addresses three research objectives: first, defining what is brand experience on social media. Second, explaining how does brand experience come to life on social media? And, third, understanding how do social media create a brand experience. A set of propositions that comes from sense-making, marketing, and cognitive literature suggests that (a) brand experience on social media is the bundle of brand associations to attributes, emotions, or sensations that result from a sense-making process by which a consumer gives meaning to brand-related content consumption or creation on social media; (b) consumer encodes, stores, and retrieves brand experiences for declarative memory as brand associations to attributes, emotions, or sensations; (c) social media may trigger brand experience creation; however, these media may have challenging effects for brand experiences management (e.g., make difficult the creation of long-term brand experiences). Such a conceptual understanding of the role of social media at customer experience creation, paired with a set proposition for empirical work, provide a guide to future research into this field.

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