Taking a social turn for the worse: The language socialization paradigm for second language acquisition

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Gregg
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Language Socialization ◽  
Science Research

In recent years, a number of researchers in the field of second language acquisition have voiced discontent regarding the tendency of second language acquisition (SLA) research to be conducted within a framework of cognitive science (Firth and Wagner, 1997; Atkinson, 2002; Johnson, 2004). Watson-Gegeo (2004) expresses this same discontent, and goes beyond it to call for a new SLA paradigm, the ‘language socialization paradigm’. In this article, I point out the various ways in which Watson-Gegeo has misunderstood the nature of cognitive science research in general, and SLA research in particular, and show why her call should go unheeded.

scholarly journals Cognition, complexity and context as other minds: a tribute to T. Givón

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Other Minds ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Language Universals ◽  
Development And Evolution

Linguistics is made up of great individuals. Throughout its not so long history as compared with other sciences, linguistics boasts many remarkable contributors who paved the way for human language study and thus led us into exploring the rising, development and evolution not only of natural languages, but also that of our own species. This book is a tribute to one of those great contributors to linguistics, T. Givón. As he argues for an evolutionary approach to communication and language, Givón has covered various research fields in linguistics such as morphosyntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse and text, second language acquisition, pidgins and creoles, language universals, grammaticalization, and cognitive science.

The Intersections of Language Socialization and Sociolinguistics

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Ann Watson-Gegeo ◽  
Matthew C. Bronson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Socialization ◽  
Interdisciplinary Work ◽  
Useful Knowledge ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Single Discipline ◽  
Current Shift

First- and second-language-acquisition researchers have increasingly adopted language socialization (LS) as a productive and realistic strategy for examining the intertwined relationships among language, culture, and learning. This chapter reviews recent developments in LS in relation to sociolinguistics, with an emphasis on work in bilingual and multilingual situations cross-culturally. It argues for the value of accelerating the current shift in sociolinguistics from interdisciplinary toward transdisciplinary inquiry. Interdisciplinary work is interactive, combining theory, methods, and practices to address questions difficult to tackle with the tools of a single discipline. It adapts but does not challenge existing boundaries. In contrast, transdisciplinary inquiry problematizes disciplinary compartmentalization as imposing limits in creating useful knowledge to address complex issues. The discussion suggests a framework for evaluating sociolinguistic LS research, concluding that the best LS research always involves a commitment to benefit the communities studied.

scholarly journals Cognitive Foundations of Second Language Acquisition: Introduction

1994 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Russell S. Tomlin ◽  
Morton A. Gernsbacher
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Descriptive Term ◽  
Research Institution ◽  
The World ◽  
Cognitive Foundations

The growth of cognitive science as a field, or at least as a descriptive term, indicates an emerging scientific consensus that many fundamental human capacities require collaborative and interdisciplinary research to make further fundamental headway. Language, as central to our essential humanity as anything is, represents one area in which massive amounts of interdisciplinary research is underway at virtually every research institution in the world.

Connectionism and Universals of Second Language Acquisition

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gasser
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Theory ◽  
Connectionist Models ◽  
Language Patterns ◽  
Simple Processing ◽  
Constituent Order

This article examines the implications of connectionist models of cognition for second language theory. Connectionism offers a challenge to the symbolic models which dominate cognitive science. In connectionist models all knowledge is embodied in a network of simple processing units joined by connections which are strengthened or weakened in response to regularities in input patterns. These models avoid the brittleness of symbolic approaches, and they exhibit rule-like behavior without explicit rules. A connectionist framework is proposed within which hypotheses about second language acquisition can be tested. Inputs and outputs are patterns of activation on units representing both form and meaning. Learning consists of the unsupervised association of pattern elements with one another. A network is first trained on a set of first language patterns and then exposed to a set of second language patterns with the same meanings. Several simulations of constituent-order transfer within this framework are discussed.

Cognitivism, adaptive intelligence, and second language acquisition

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Atkinson,
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Second Language Teaching ◽  
Cognitive Revolution

AbstractThere is no doubt that the “cognitive revolution,” in tandem with a focus on second language teaching, gave birth to the organized study of second language acquisition (SLA). In this sense, SLA studies has always been a cognitive science, although calls have recently been made to reemphasize and strengthen the connection. This paper: 1) reviews the cognitivist vision of mind/brain which has historically dominated both cognitive science and SLA studies; 2) describes how cognitive science has changed in recent years; and 3) introduces an alternative paradigm in cognitive science, adaptive intelligence, which may help us to better understand SLA.

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