Cognition (Ch. 5)

Understanding SLALourdes Ortega (2009)

www.routledge.com/cw/ortegaPublished by Routledge © 2009 Mark Sawyer

Some contextualization Positive evidence vs. negative feedback Why not negative evidence? A simple example: Put the adverb often into

the sentence I drink coffee The logical problem of language acquisition:

Language seems logically unlearnable How can we explain the fact that all children learn it?

UG, (skill learning), emergentist answers

5.1 Information processing in psychology & SLA

1. Representation/access Knowledge/processing Symbols/computation

2. Controlled vs automatic processing Effortful vs. effortless Serial vs parallel

3. Attention & memory are limited

5.2 The power of practice: Proceduralization & automaticity

Proceduralization / Automatization:

Knowledge “that” (declarative/explicit)

Knowledge “how” (procedural/implicit)

Involves speed-up + restructuring

5.3 An exemplary study of skill acquisition theory: DeKeyser (1997)

6 sessions (3 weeks) to learn Autopractan grammar, vocab

15 sessions to practice Conditions: (a) single or dual task;

(b) comprehension, production, mixed Results: (1)reduction of practice effect

(2) mode-specific automatization

5.4 Long-term memory Declarative/propositional (explicit) Procedural (implicit) Semantic: decontextualized Episodic: based on experienced events

5.5 Long-term memory & L2 vocabulary knowledge

Strength (procedural) Size (declarative) Depth (both)

multiple meanings (polysemy) morpho-syntactic behavior relations to other words contextual/usage constraints

Nonselectivity: Simultaneous activation of both L1 & L2 information in language use

5.6 Working memory Manages 同時 storage & processing

capacity limitations can be severe

activation is temporary Site for executive control Site of consciousness Also induction, hypothesizing,

analogizing, prioritizing, deciding

Working Memory: Components

Central executive Phonological loop Visuo-spatial sketchpad

5.7 Memory as storage: Passive working memory tasks

Passive WTM = STM (depending…) Limitations measured by span of recall of…

Digits Words Non-words Sentences

STM Limitations: Explanations Capacity (size) Time passage Increasing interference LTM shortcomings

5.8 Memory as dynamic processing:

Active working memory tasks Simultaneous processing/storage Limitations in span measured by…

Reading span task Listening span task

L2 WM capacity predicts L2 proficiency ( Capacity reflects control of processing

rather than size of storage (Engle, 2002)

5.9 Attention & L2 learning Characteristics of attention

Limited Selective Voluntary Controls access to consciousness

Attentional conditions used in research

1. Incidental

2. Implicit

3. Explicit How do these conditions influence

learning?

5.10 Learning without intention

= Incidental learning, IS possible e.g. vocabulary thru extensive reading But…intention seems to work better

(for specific purposes)

5.11 Learning without attention Noticing vs. detection only, or…Inside or outside focal/selective attention Focal attention entails consciousness

(subjective experience) Fleeting recognition of tree while doing

other things can be detection-only, but evoked intuition, inference, feeling entails noticing

5.12 Learning without awareness

Immediate think-aloud research has shown strong effect of awareness on learning (more so for understanding)

Indirect measures--uptake of recasts, note-taking--have shown no effect.

5.13 Disentangling Attentionfrom Awareness?

Different Measurements Awareness

Self-reports (of subjective experience) Attention

Dual task (learning from unattended task) Memory tests

Direct: recognize item later Indirect: show bias to prefer old items

5.14 Learning without rules

= learning rules without… looking for them (process) awareness of learning (product)

Such implicit learning can be shown by Memorizing artificial language strings:

aabcd abbce abeec… (*acbbe) Later distinguishing “(un)grammatical”

ones (to some extent) w/o awareness

An exemplary study of symbolic vs. associative learning: Robinson (1997)

Dative alternation rule: mono-syllabicity Mitt gave his delegates to John Mitt gave John his delegates Mitt donated his delegates to John *Mitt donated John his delegates

What can be learned from brief training? John minided some hot coffee to Sue *Sandy bivarded Patrick some Swiss cake

Robinson (1997): Learning conditions

Implicit: Memorize word positions Incidental: Read for meaning Explicit 1: Look for rules (with help) Explicit 2: Receive rule, practice

Post-test: Speed, accuracy of judgments

Results: Explicit 2 fastest, most accurateAll groups better on old than new instances

Robinson (1997): Conclusion

Low-level implicit learning is possible, allowing fast access of learned instances

Explicit learning leads to generalization with awareness.

An emergentist turn in SLA?

3 important tenets of learning

1. associative: based on co-occurrences

2. probabilistic: not categorical, deterministic

3. rationally contingent: guesses based on… accumulated statistical (frequency) information most relevant recent evidence attention to cues contextual clues

Other emergentist tenets Usage-based: use & knowledge are

inseparable; no competence/performance, representation/access distinctions

Grounded: language & thought are structured by human experience

Dynamic system: identifiable patterns emerge from a multiplicity of factors