Psycholinguistic Approaches to Instructed Second Language Acquisition

Daniel R. Walter

Description

Controversial challenge to the traditional divisions within the field of SLA and psycholinguistics

This book applies a psycholinguistic perspective to instructed second language acquisition, seeking to bridge the gap between second language acquisition research and language teaching practices. It challenges the traditional divide between conscious and unconscious processes, or explicit and implicit learning, and re-envisions this as a continuum of the varying levels of consciousness which can be applied by learners to different language behaviors in the second language classroom. It applies this model to learner development and the classroom context, discussing pedagogical applications for instructors at all levels. This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in second language acquisition, psycholinguistics and language pedagogy. The accessible discussion of research findings, pedagogical approaches and classroom tasks and activities make this book particularly relevant for language teachers, providing the tools needed to apply second language acquisition research in their classroom.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Instructed SLA: A (Modern) History

Chapter 2 The Conscious|Unconscious Divide

Chapter 3 Re-envisioning a Conscious–Unconscious Continuum

Chapter 4 The Conscious Continuum in Individual Development

Chapter 5 Psycholinguistic Processes in the Classroom

Chapter 6 Curricular and Pedagogical Recommendations

References

Index

Sujets

• Disciplines
• Language Arts
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Linguistics
• Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics
• Professional
• Psycholinguistics
• Postgraduate education
• Language acquisition
• Research
• Postgraduate
• SLA

Informations

• Publié par: Channel View Publications
• Date de parution: 03 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781788928779
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Psycholinguistic Approaches to Instructed Second Language Acquisition

Full details of all our publications can be found onhttp://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual Matters, St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW, UK.

Psycholinguistic Approaches to Instructed Second Language Acquisition

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.21832/WALTER8755 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Names: Walter, Daniel (Linguist), author. Title: Psycholinguistic Approaches to Instructed Second Language Acquisition: Linking Theory, Findings and Practice/Daniel R. Walter. Description: Bristol; Jackson: Multilingual Matters, [2023] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “This book applies a psycholinguistic perspective to instructed second language acquisition, bridging the gap between research and teaching practices. It re-envisions the explicit and implicit learning divide as a continuum of consciousness, explores the pedagogical applications of SLA findings and offers practical suggestions for instructors”— Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022054410 (print) | LCCN 2022054411 (ebook) | ISBN 9781788928755 (hardback) | ISBN 9781788928748 (paperback) | ISBN 9781788928762 (pdf) | ISBN 9781788928779 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Language and languages—Study and teaching—Psychological aspects. | Second language acquisition. Classification: LCC P53.7 .W35 2023 (print) | LCC P53.7 (ebook) | DDC 18.0071— dc23/eng/20230303 LC record available athttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022054410 LC ebook record available athttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022054411

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN-13: 978-1-78892-875-5 (hbk) ISBN-13: 978-1-78892-874-8 (pbk)

Multilingual Matters UK: St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW, UK. USA: Ingram, Jackson, TN, USA.

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Copyright © 2023 Daniel R. Walter.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

The policy of Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products, made from wood grown in sustainable forests. In the manufacturing process of our books, and to further support our policy, preference is given to printers that have FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification. The FSC and/or PEFC logos will appear on those books where full certification has been granted to the printer concerned.

Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India.

Contents

1

2

3

4

5

6

Acknowledgements Introduction

Instructed SLA: A (Modern History ISLA Before SLA Existed Non-Western Language Teaching Traditions and Practi ces The Genesis of (ISLA Recent ‘Turns’ in SLA and Their Impact on Instruction The Future of (ISLA: A Closer Relationship between Researchers, Theorists and Educators

The Conscious|Unconscious Divide Behind the Scenes: Automatic Psycholinguistic Proce sses and Mechanisms of Learning Center Stage: Volition and Consciousness Conclusion

Re-envisioning a Conscious–Unconscious Continuum Dynamic Attention Conscious–Subconscious Fluctuation and Interaction Conclusion: A Continuum of Activity

The Conscious Continuum in Individual Development The Initial State Beyond the Four Skills: A Proposed Trajectory of In dividual Language Learning Early Active Learning: The Search for Systematicity Early Acquisition Growing Proficiency Budding Multilingualism Native-Like Proficiency or Advanced Multilingualism ? Individual Development and the Conscious–Unconsciou s Continuum

Psycholinguistic Processes in the Classroom The Second/Foreign Language Classroom as a Complex Social Environment Classroom Place and Space Artifacts We Learn By People in the L2 Classroom Community Structural and Systematic Influences Classroom Context Effects on Consciousness and Learning

Curricular and Pedagogical Recommendations Designing a Curriculum Daily Instruction L2 Skills and Knowledge Assessment Building a Language Learning Community to Support M ultilingual Identity Development Putting It All Together More than Methods: The Art in L2 Teaching Conclusion: A Robust Language Learning Experience

References

Index

Acknowledgements

For all of my German teachers and professors who inspired my love of languages and language learning, especially Herr Deible and Frau Stein.

And for Brian MacWhinney and Adam van Compernolle, whose work inspired this book.

Introduction

This book links advances in psycholinguistic approaches to second language acquisition (SLA) with curricular design and classroom-based practices. It is the result of efforts to bridge two strands of research: one largely lab based and individual, focusing on attempts at isolating variables and limiting outside noise and interference, and the other participatory and interactional, playing out in the lived experiences of millions of teachers and students every day. In the majority of psycholinguistic publications, the focus is either on the unfolding of microgenetic, cognitive processes in a controlled setting, the development of some psycholinguistic process within an individual over time or a comparison between groups of learners at different stages of development. It is rare to read discussions of a psycholinguistic experiment that includes the context of the actual classrooms where the subject learned their second language (L2) or the implications of the study back into the classroom. For those studies that do discuss teaching applications, it is unusual for the implementation to be described in a way that is feasible in the L2 language classroom and for teachers with little time for or training in interpreting the results of experimental studies. This book repairs these missing links by directly connecting what we know about SLA and learning from a psycholinguistic perspective with pedagogical considerations and curricular design decisions. This book also contributes to SLA psycholinguistics research itself, which is usually studied as two separate areas, by reimagining two distinct research paradigms as a continuum of consciousness. On the one side, researchers and educators engage with explicit instruction that uses the conscious mind of the language learner to instruct various aspects of vocabulary, grammar and strategies for language learning. These include traditional cognitive SLA methods as well as those that fall under the auspices of other theoretical approaches to SLA, such as sociocultural theory, that involve psycholinguistic processes, but which are not frequently discussed in the same vein as SLA research or across researchers from these separate theoretical paradigms. On the other side, researchers and educators focus on implicit learning and automated processes. While both areas of research are essential for advancing knowledge about SLA, there is a need for more explicit dialogue between researchers from these two camps, especially when it comes to relating findings in clearly stated terms. Indeed, if one of the goals of SLA is to increase the efficacy of language instruction, one cannot come without the other. This book proposes that, for instructed SLA (ISLA), we are studying a single continuum of psycholinguistic processes that can be leveraged to increase the effectiveness of language instruction. This book re-envisions the findings of psycholinguistic approaches to SLA in a meaningful way for ISLA. Included is a concise but encompassing picture of the diverse, complex and interconnected mental faculties and mechanisms involved in learning an L2. This understanding is applied to both the individual learner and the L2 classroom across the curriculum, from learners’ first encounter with a second/additional language to advanced stages of proficiency. From the perspective of a continuum along conscious and unconscious language learning processes, this book provides practical suggestions for L2 teachers and researchers, as well as a way to understand the role of both conscious and unconscious processes throughout the course of learner development and throughout the curriculum. The emergence of SLA, as with any newly established discipline, inevitably carried with it epistemologies, standards of proof, theories, methodologies and assumptions from its root fields. Therefore, it is imperative that we are aware of the role that these fields played in the formation of ISLA. It is also necessary to attend to advances in other related fields, such as cognitive science, that may alter some of the base assumptions made during the establishment of ISLA. In many ways, this book is a deliberate attempt at joining the advances in ISLA to the advances made in these parental and partnering fields.

ISLA is a term that has evolved from Western philosophical and scientific traditions. Thus, a large portion of the book, including much of the prior research cited, as well as the development of a curricular approach, is centered around a Western conceptualization of instruction. To account for this perspective discrepancy, L2 instruction methodologies from around the world are included and the author is aware and explicit in the assumptions made throughout the book, particularly the chapter on curricular design. While some specifics for understanding and implementing instructional design may not be suitable for all languages, language learners or language classrooms, the general theory built around specific rationalizations and realizations of methodology are sufficiently adaptable to be broadly informative for an array of language instructors and learning contexts. It is also important here to clearly outline the theoretical perspective taken in this book, and how the author’s conceptualizations of language learning, psycholinguistics, pedagogy and instruction have impacted the way the book is structured. Learning an L2 is a complex task grounded in social, cognitive, physical and physiological realities. These different layers play intertwining roles in the development, maintenance and change of language as a dynamic social, cultural and psychological phenomenon. Any complete theory of SLA must account for the ubiquity of language learning across human history, as well as the wide variation across geographical and temporal space. One of the most complete frameworks that takes many of these aspects into consideration was proposed by the Douglas Fir Group. One particular section of the Douglas Fir Group’s conceptualization of the nature of language that the author calls attention to is

[l]anguage learning is a complex, ongoing, multifaceted phenomenon that involves the dynamic and variable interplay among a range of individual neurobiological mechanisms and cognitive capacities and L2 learners’ diverse experiences in their multilingual worlds occurring over their life spans and along three interrelated levels of social activity: the micro level of social action and interaction, the meso level of sociocultural institutions and communities, and the macro level of ideological structures. (The Douglas Fir Group, 2016: 36)

Two important implications can be made from the Douglas Fir Group’s conceptualization: (1) the nature of language and (2) the importance of both a biological and cultural basis for understanding psycholinguistics. First, language cannot be defined by its structure at a single moment in time. Static instances of language exist in both cultural artifacts, such as books and text messages, and within individuals at a particular moment in time, but the perception that a language exists in this way, that it can be defined and constrained to a static object, cannot be true. Language exists in its use, be that passive or productive, internal (self-talk) or external. The continual encounters of an individual with familiar and unfamiliar language structures across time can change the organization of the system itself. These encounters with other language structures come upon larger social and cultural issues, such as ideologies of ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ language use. This inability to pin down a language in a static way that is anything more than a snapshot of a particular confluence of time, space, people and culture is fundamental to the nature of language. The second part of the Douglas Fir Group’s conceptualization that is necessary to unpack for this book, is that language is based on cultural, social and historical processes grounded in underlying ‘neurobiological mechanisms and cognitive capacities’. This is the key factor that distinguishes psycholinguistics from the more general field of linguistics. Psycholinguists are required to acknowledge that language, in all of its abstraction and levels of representation and reproduction, is based on a physical system of interconnected neurons that display common, although not necessarily universal, regions of functionality, represented in various structures of gray matter that are thoroughly interconnected through white matter tracks, and that these pathways of connectivity have been formed, informed and trained by the cultural forces at play on both small and grand scales of language in use. Thus, the perspective taken in this book regarding instruction and learning always acknowledges the importance of