A Meta-analysis: Shape of Age Effects and Second Language Grammar Acquisition

ABSTRACTThis study reports an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of published functional neuroimaging studies of bilingualism. Four parallel meta-analyses were conducted by taking into account the proficiency of participants reported in the studies. The results of the meta-analyses suggest differences in the probabilities of activation patterns between high proficiency and moderate/low proficiency bilinguals. The Talairach coordinates of activation in first language processing were very similar to that of second language processing in the high proficient bilinguals. However, in the low proficient group, the activation clusters were generally smaller and distributed over wider areas in both the hemispheres than the clusters identified in the ALE maps from the high proficient group. These findings draw attention to the importance of language proficiency in bilingual neural representation.

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Working memory and second language comprehension and production: A meta-analysis

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review ◽

10.3758/s13423-013-0565-2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 861-883 ◽

Cited By ~ 182

Author(s):

Jared A. Linck ◽

Peter Osthus ◽

Joel T. Koeth ◽

Michael F. Bunting

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Second Language ◽

Language Comprehension ◽

Meta Analysis

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Second Language Sentence Processing

Annual Review of Linguistics ◽

10.1146/annurev-linguistics-030821-054113 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 235-256

Author(s):

Holger Hopp

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Real Time ◽

Sentence Processing ◽

First Language ◽

Mental Lexicon ◽

Utility Functions ◽

Predictive Processing ◽

Grammar Acquisition ◽

L2 Processing ◽

Incomplete Form

Second language (L2) sentence processing research studies how adult L2 learners understand sentences in real time. I review how L2 sentence processing differs from monolingual first-language (L1) processing and outline major findings and approaches. Three interacting factors appear to mandate L1–L2 differences: ( a) capacity restrictions in the ability to integrate information in an L2; ( b) L1–L2 differences in the weighting of cues, the timing of their application, and the efficiency of their retrieval; and ( c) variation in the utility functions of predictive processing. Against this backdrop, I outline a novel paradigm of interlanguage processing, which examines bilingual features of L2 processing, such as bilingual language systems, nonselective access to all grammars, and processing to learn an L2. Interlanguage processing goes beyond the traditional framing of L2 sentence processing as an incomplete form of monolingual processing and reconnects the field with current approaches to grammar acquisition and the bilingual mental lexicon.

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Corpus frequency and second language learners’ knowledge of collocations

International Journal of Corpus Linguistics ◽

10.1075/ijcl.19.4.01dur ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 443-477 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Philip Durrant

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Mutual Information ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Narrow Range ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Item Selection ◽

Frequency Data ◽

Individual Study ◽

Strength Of Association

Tests of second language learners’ knowledge of collocation have lacked a principled strategy for item selection, making claims about learners’ knowledge beyond the particular collocations tested difficult to evaluate. Corpus frequency may offer a good basis for item selection, if a reliable relationship can be demonstrated between frequency and learner knowledge. However, such a relationship is difficult to establish satisfactorily, given the small number of items and narrow range of test-takers involved in any individual study. In this study, a meta-analysis is used to determine the correlation between learner knowledge and frequency data across nineteen previously-reported tests. Frequency is shown to correlate moderately with knowledge, but the strength of this correlation varies widely across corpora. Strength of association measures (such as mutual information) do not to correlate with learner knowledge. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for collocation testing and models of collocation learning.

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Practice and progression in Second Language Research methods

AILA Review ◽

10.1075/aila.27.04mac ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 80-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alison Mackey

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Corpus Linguistics ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Research Synthesis ◽

Deep Dive ◽

Psychology Education ◽

Language Research ◽

General Linguistics

Since its inception, the field of second language research has utilized methods from a number of areas, including general linguistics, psychology, education, sociology, anthropology and, recently, neuroscience and corpus linguistics. As the questions and objectives expand, researchers are increasingly pushing methodological boundaries to gain a clearer picture of second language learning. At one end for example, we see measures of cognition (e.g., brain imaging and eye tracking) and at the other end we see exploration of issues of culture and identity (e.g., ethnographies, deep dive case studies, introspective and narrative analyses). There is an emerging emphasis on research synthesis, meta-analysis, and replication. This article illustrates a few of the advancements in methods and research agendas in SLA. I will conclude by highlighting some of the ways that second language researchers can continue to incorporate, assimilate, and shape methodology, as well as pointing out some of the potential pitfalls, and overall, how these methodological innovations benefit the field.

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A meta-analysis of the relationship between working memory and second language reading comprehension: Does task type matter?

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716420000272 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 873-900

Author(s):

Jihye Shin

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Second Language ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Quantitative Description ◽

Span Task ◽

Word Recall ◽

Reading Span ◽

L2 Reading ◽

L2 Reading Comprehension

AbstractDespite the increasing attention paid to the role of working memory in reading, findings and measurement of working memory have been inconsistent. The current meta-analysis aims to provide a quantitative description of the overall relationship between second language (L2) reading comprehension and working memory measured through reading span task and identify methodological features that moderate this relationship. Following a comprehensive search, 25 primary studies (23 peer-reviewed studies and 2 dissertations) were included comprising 37 unique samples (N = 2,682), all of which were coded for substantive and methodological features. The results showed that (a) there is a moderate relationship between L2 reading comprehension and working memory (r = .30), (b) reading span task features such as the scoring procedure, task language, and final word recall order moderate this relationship, and (c) the degree to which working memory’s involvement in L2 reading comprehension may vary depending on the type of reading tasks at hand. Implications are discussed in terms of conceptualization and measurement of working memory. Future directions are also offered in relation to measurement practices to encourage consistency and to improve our understanding of the link between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

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