Abstract
First language acquisition is implicit, in that explicit information about the language structure to be learned is not provided to children. Instead, they must acquire both vocabulary and grammar incrementally, by generalizing across multiple situations that eventually enable links between words in utterances and referents in the environment to be established. However, this raises a problem of how vocabulary can be acquired without first knowing the role of the word within the syntax of a sentence. It also raises practical issues about the extent to which different instructional conditions – about grammar in advance of learning or feedback about correct decisions during learning – might influence second language acquisition of implicitly experienced information about the language. In an artificial language learning study, we studied participants learning language from inductive exposure, but under different instructional conditions. Language learners were exposed to complex utterances and complex scenes and had to determine the meaning and the grammar of the language from these co-occurrences with environmental scenes. We found that learning was boosted by explicit feedback, but not by explicit instruction about the grammar of the language, compared to an implicit learning condition. However, the effect of feedback was not general across all aspects of the language. Feedback improved vocabulary, but did not affect syntax learning. We further investigated the local, contextual effects on learning, and found that previous knowledge of vocabulary within an utterance improved learning but that this was driven only by certain grammatical categories in the language. The results have implications for theories of second language learning informed by our understanding of first language acquisition as well as practical implications for learning instruction and optimal, contingent adjustment of learners’ environment during their learning.
Highlights
The processes by which children acquire their first language have important implications for theories of second language acquisition
In order to test the role of feedback on acquiring statistical information about language structure, we used a minimal form of feedback: a bell sound indicating that the participant had made a correct mapping between utterance and scene in the environment. This is distinct from the more explicit, directive feedback about language structure that tends to occur in second language learning; we aimed to determine as a starting point how minimal feedback – without providing information about particular words or grammatical structures – may help guide the learner
We report the experimental study varying feedback and instruction conditions in learning a complex artificial language from cross-situational statistics
Summary
The processes by which children acquire their first language have important implications for theories of second language acquisition. In order to understand an utterance, the language learner has to develop an understanding of both the meaning of words within the utterance through acquisition of the vocabulary, and determine the grammatical roles of those words from the syntactic structure of the sentence. Such an issue faces both first and second language learners, and has raised a long-standing theoretical debate about how these two interlinked aspects of language can be learned simultaneously (Gentner, 1982; Gleitman, 1990; Gleitman et al, 2005). Prior acquisition of vocabulary and grammar can result in accurate performance
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
