Chapter 2. Dynamic systems methods in the study of language acquisition

2010 ◽  
pp. 33-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul van Geert
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Dynamic Systems

Researching complex dynamic systems: ‘Retrodictive qualitative modelling’ in the language classroom

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Dörnyei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
System Modelling ◽  
Complex Dynamic ◽  
Qualitative Modelling ◽  
Complex Dynamic Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Language Classroom

While approaching second language acquisition from a complex dynamic systems perspective makes a lot of intuitive sense, it is difficult for a number of reasons to operationalise such a dynamic approach in research terms. For example, the most common research paradigms in the social sciences tend to examine variables in relative isolation rather than as part of a system or network, and most established quantitative data analytical procedures (e.g. correlation analysis or structural equation modelling) are based on linear rather than nonlinear relationships. In this paper I will first summarise some of the main challenges of dynamic systems research in general and then present a concrete research template that can be applied to investigate instructed second language acquisition. This approach involves a special type of qualitative system modelling – ‘retrodictive qualitative modelling’ – that reverses the usual research direction by starting at the end – the system outcomes – and then tracing back to see why certain components of the system ended up with one outcome option and not another. By way of illustration I will provide examples from two classroom-oriented research projects in which the language classroom was taken to be the dynamic system, and the system outcome options were the various learner prototypes (e.g. motivated, laid back, passive) observed in the classroom.

scholarly journals Exploring Learning Context Effects and Grapho(-Phonic)-Phonological Priming in Trilinguals

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Cintia Avila Blank ◽  
Raquel Llama
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Selective Access

A growing body of research on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is language non-selective in nature. This claim aligns with the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) approach to (multilingual) language acquisition, according to which complex systems involve a large number of elements that interact. In language learners, these interactions lead to the creation and dissolution of patterns as the tasks and environments around them change. In this study, we extend the scope from previous research on word recognition to include the role immersion plays on the transfer of grapho(-phonic)-phonological patterns among (Brazilian Portuguese–French–English) trilinguals. Two groups of participants—one group living in their L1 environment and the other in an L2 setting—were presented with a primed lexical decision task. Besides revealing a high impact of L2 immersion on the processing of grapho(-phonic)-phonological related primes, our results provide further support for the notion of language non-selective access to the lexicon, which seems to generalize to trilingual word recognition. Implications for the DST view of multiple language acquisition are briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Where does Psychology and Second Language Acquisition research connect? An interview with Zoltan Dornyei

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
General Area ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
To Come

What is Psycholinguistics? How does it differ from Cognitive Linguistics? Why is this general area of linguistics in the limelight these days? Dr. Zoltan Dornyei is a professor at Nottingham University who is at the forefront of this research. He recently wrote a book titled, The Psychology of Second Language Acquisition (Dornyei, 2009). In it, Dornyei discusses the newer challenges SLA researchers in this century need to come to terms with. He details research of the Critical Period Hypothesis (the connection between emotion and learning), Individual Differences (the implicit/explicit dichotomy), and Dynamic Systems Theory. This interview provides an overview of such recent research and serves as an introduction to his book

The bottleneck may be the solution, not the problem

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnon Lotem ◽  
Oren Kolodny ◽  
Joseph Y. Halpern ◽  
Luca Onnis ◽  
Shimon Edelman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Biological Trait ◽  
Memory Bottleneck

AbstractAs a highly consequential biological trait, a memory “bottleneck” cannot escape selection pressures. It must therefore co-evolve with other cognitive mechanisms rather than act as an independent constraint. Recent theory and an implemented model of language acquisition suggest that a limit on working memory may evolve to help learning. Furthermore, it need not hamper the use of language for communication.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document