Second Language Acquisition
Research in second, or non-native, language acquisition asks how speakers learn a new language. One motivation for this is from questions about the nature of linguistic expertise, which can only be understood by comparing L1 and L2. More theoretically, research in L2 (or L3, etc.) allows us to ask which aspects of grammatical knowledge are shared across languages, and which may influence behaviour in novel linguistic environments. In addition, research into L2 is increasingly important as we strive to build diverse, equitable, and inclusive multicultural societies.
Psycholinguistic methods in the language classroom
Point of Contact: Heather Marsden
Collaborators: Emma Marsden, Thomas Jochum-Critchley, Vivienne Rogers, Holger Hopp, Carrie Jackson
Description: Given the recent emphasis on grammar in foreign language education in UK schools, the present study pilots a novel approach to grammar activities, and simultaneously tests psycholinguistic learning theories. The study brings together cutting-edge psycholinguistic laboratory findings about grammar-based prediction during real-time language processing with recent classroom research findings about processing in instructional activities. The study has been conducted in post-A-level German language classes, using specially designed tablet-based materials. Language gains have been measured through eye-tracking and traditional language tests. The findings are currently being analysed and follow-on research is planned.
The role of L1 prosody and morphosyntax in the disambiguation of wh-morpheme meaning in L2 Korean
Point of Contact: Heather Marsden
Collaborators: Kook-Hee Gil, Sunyoung Park
Description: Korean bare wh-morphemes can be interpreted either as wh-interrogatives or as existential quantifiers. This can lead to three-way ambiguity whereby a sentence containing a wh-morpheme could potentially be a wh-question, a yes-no question, or a declarative. Prosody plays a key role in disambiguation in native Korean. This project investigates acquisition of the different meanings in L2 Korean, and specifically the role of crosslinguistic influence from morphosyntax or prosody of L2 Korean speakers’ L1. We focus on L2 speakers whose L1s are Japanese, Mandarin, or English.
Encoding experiences in L1 and L2 comprehension
Point of Contact: Nino Grillo
Collaborators: Heather Marsden, George Tsoulas, Norman Yeo, Kook-Hee Gil, Shayne Sloggett
Description: Every language needs to encode speakers' experiences in the world, but each language seems to choose a slightly (or very) different way of doing so. Despite this heterogeneity, the use of perfective aspectual marking seems to be somewhat universal in conveying information about experiences. We're interested in how this knowledge is applied in the acquisition of a second language. For example, we know that speakers of Singaporean English have generalised the Chinese experiential marker guo to the english word ever, such that sentences like "John has ever eaten apricots" are considered grammatical. Currently, we're asking whether this is a product of how speakers of Mandarin apply their native grammars to English, or whether this is a more general fact about how L2 speakers acquire words like ever.
The representation of re-accessed pronominal referents
Point of Contact: Shayne Sloggett
Description: When interpreting a pronoun, comprehenders must re-access some information about the intended referent. Which information is re-accessed, however, remains an open topic for debate. In recent work, Lago et al. (2017) showed that while English speakers only routinely access discourse-based information, German speakers seem to access more detailed information about the lexical-semantics of the referent. This raises the question: is lexical re-access part of the default pronoun interpretation strategy employed by German speakers, or something about their language specific behaviour? To address this question, we are implementing variations on Lago et al.'s design to test L1 German, L2 English speakers using a mixture of German/English materials to test whether the particular language used to encode and refer impacts the antecedent resolution process.