Session 9-10: Psycholinguistics

1. Introduction to Psycholinguistics

2. A Processing Approach to L2

3. Implications for teaching and learning

Dr. Simon Phippsdr.simon.phipps@gmail.co

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WHAT IS PSYCHOLINGUISTICS 1(the study of language use in order to understand the nature and

structure of the human mind)

oldest science = astronomynewest science = psychology

‘the mind itself…is the least amenable to objective study’ (Scovel 1998:3)

4 subfields of psycholinguistics How language is acquired produced comprehended lost

1. Development of language (in L1)(common stages, different rates of language development)CryingGurgling/Cooing 2 monthsBabbling 6 monthsBabbling in L1 8 monthsWords 1 year(Holophrastic words)2 words 2 years14,000 words 6 years

su

Baba gel

WHAT IS PSYCHOLINGUISTICS 2

2. Production of Language4 stages;

Conceptualisation Formulation

Articulation Self-monitoring

Speech production is a parallel two-way system output monitoring and editing

Communication is an interactive process with others with self

Communication is a highly complex process we often only see this when it breaks down ‘slips of the tongue’

WHAT IS PSYCHOLINGUISTICS 3

3. Comprehension of Language of sounds

individual sounds and whole phoneme restoration voice onset timing

of words parallel distributed processing spreading activation networks schemata

of sentences predict next word garden-pathing

of texts top down processing

4. Loss of Language (Aphasia) Broca’s area - production Wernicke’s area - comprehension

2 hemispheres – neuroplasticity, localisation of functions

http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_10/d_10_cr/d_10_cr_lan/d_10_cr_lan.html

GARDEN PATH SENTENCES

The baby pop star wants to

The complex houses married and single students and their families.

The cotton clothing is usually made ofgrows in Mississippi.

Fat people eat

I convinced her children

accumulates.

are noisy.

adopt arrives in London.

“AOCCDRNİG TO RSEEARCH AT AN ELİNGSH UİNERVTİSY, İT DEOSN’T MTTAER İN WAHT OREDR THE LTTEERS İN A WROD ARE, THE OLNY İPRMOATNT TİHNG İS TAHT THE FRİST AND LSAT LTTEER İS IN THE RGHİT PCLAE. THE RSET CAN BE A TOATL MSES AND YOU CAN SİTLL RAED İT WOUTHİT A PORBELM. TİHS İS BCUSEAE WE DO NOT RAED ERVEY LTETER BY İSTLEF BUT THE WROD AS A WLOHE.”

Scrambled words

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING

Personalisation Prediction Pronunciation Collocation Production Comprehension Rehearsal, practice Tolerance

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PROCESSES OF LEARNING

Human beings are limited in their capacity to consciously

attend to more than one task at a time

Memory

Limited processing capacity,

Memory is unlimited Processing capacity is limited

we cannot attend to all language some language is automatic

butbut vast memory capacityvast memory capacity

speed

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PROCESSES OF LEARNING

Dual-coding system

Most language we use is not new Working memory vs LTM

The more we use language, the more automatic it becomes The more automatic it becomes, the less we need rules

L2 learners typically use the rule system more; because they don’t have enough exemplars stored so, they are less fluent

E

R

Rule based systemRule based system

RulesRules

Exemplar-based systemExemplar-based systemExamples of languageExamples of language

• individual wordsindividual words• chunks of languagechunks of language

from Skehan, P. (1998). A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Cambridge: OUP.