Unified Competition Research Articles

Chunking in the Second Language: Implications for Language Learning and Teaching

Among the various challenges that adult and other late language learners face on their journey to achieving nativelike proficiency, chunking has been identified as one of the most difficult tasks to master. Language users are able to derive and utilize chunks during language processing—both in the first (L1) and the second language (L2)—yet the extent to which the L2 learners utilize and benefit from chunking is not on a par with L1 speakers. L2 learners are generally less sensitive to the statistical regularities in the linguistic input and possess a smaller repertoire of multiword expressions, leaving them susceptible to slower real-time language processing, hampered comprehension during conversation, and distinct production errors. Drawing on insights from Brian MacWhinney's Unified Competition Model of L1 and L2 acquisition, this review examines these unique challenges in L2 chunking as a function of differences between L1 and L2 learning. According to the Unified Competition Model, the existence of deeply entrenched L1 linguistic representations may hinder effective L2 chunking by encouraging over-segmentation in favor of L1 transference at the lexical level and diverting the necessary attention away from the grammatical elements in prefabricated multiword units. Based on these observations, we offer practical suggestions for educators to facilitate chunking in L2 learners and bring them closer to nativelike fluency.

Spanish–English bilingual heritage speakers processing of inanimate sentences

This study investigated how heritage Spanish–English bilinguals integrate their cue hierarchies to process simple sentences in both Spanish and English. Sentence interpretation is achieved by weighing the various cues that are present in the sentence against that language's cue hierarchy. The Unified Competition Model (UCM) suggests that bilinguals show a variety of patterns in sentence interpretation strategies depending on language proficiency. Previous research on heritage Spanish–English bilinguals and late bilinguals has demonstrated differences in cue utilization and sentence interpretation compared to monolinguals. However, good-enough processing suggests that when a sentence does not meet certain heuristics, like the first-noun agent heuristic, a semantic representation of the sentence will be processed instead of a syntactic one. Even with reliable sentential-level cues such as word order, a plausible semantic representation of the sentence is favored. This is especially the case with inanimate–inanimate (IA-IA) sentences, like in the present study, in which there is less reversibility of thematic roles without competing with semantic plausibility. For this study, participants (n = 32) read a total of 80 inanimate sentences in English and Spanish with subject–verb–object and object–verb–subject (OVS) word orders, indicated the subject of the sentences, and completed language proficiency and dominance tasks. When reading Spanish sentences, participants read the OVS word order faster. English proficiency was a significant predictor of sentence reading time and choice selection time but did not predict word choice. The results suggest that IA-IA sentences pose challenges for cue utilization and thematic role assignment due to semantic limitations. This study found that participants may prioritize semantic plausibility over syntactic representations in sentence processing, supporting a good-enough processing model.

Prediction in bilingual sentence processing

Abstract The Unified Competition Model (MacWhinney, 2012) accounts for cross-linguistic differences in thematic role mapping. We investigated production and predictive use of accusative case morphology in Russian-Hebrew bilingual children. We also investigated the role of production in predictive processing testing the Prediction-by-Production Account (Pickering & Garrod, 2018) vs. the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis (Prévost & White, 2000). Three groups of children aged 4–8 participated: Russian-Hebrew-speaking bilinguals, Russian-speaking and Hebrew-speaking monolingual controls. All children participated in the accusative case production and Visual-World eye-tracking comprehension experiments. Bilinguals were tested in both of their languages. The results of the study confirmed the predictions of the Unified Competition Model showing typological differences in the strength of the case-marking cue and its predictive use in sentence processing in Russian- and Hebrew-speaking controls. While Russian-speaking monolinguals relied on case marking to predict the upcoming agent/patient, the performance of Hebrew-speaking monolingual children varied. The findings for bilinguals showed that despite their lower production accuracy in both languages, they were either indistinguishable from monolinguals or showed an advantage in the predictive use of case morphology. The findings support the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis, which predicts a dissociation between production and comprehension.

Shared and distinct neural correlates of first and second language morphological processing in bilingual brain

While morphology constitutes a crucial component of the human language system, the neural bases of morphological processing in the human brain remains to be elucidated. The current study aims at exploring the extent to which the second language (L2) morphological processing would resemble or differ from that of their first language (L1) in adult Chinese-English bilinguals. Bilingual participants were asked to complete a morphological priming lexical decision task drawing on derivational morphology, which is present for both Chinese and English, when their electrophysiological and optical responses were recorded concurrently. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) revealed a neural dissociation between morphological and semantic priming effects in the left fronto-temporal network, while L1 Chinese engaged enhanced activation in the left prefrontal cortex for morphological parsing relative to L2 English. In the early stage of lexical processing, cross-language morphological processing manifested a difference in degree, not in kind, as revealed by the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) effect. In addition, L1 and L2 shared both early and late structural parsing processes (P250 and 300 ~ 500 ms negativity, respectively). Therefore, the current results support a unified competition model for bilingual development, where bilinguals would primarily employ L1 neural resources for L2 morphological representation and processing.

Using diagnostic feedback to enhance the development of phonetic knowledge of an L2: a CALL design based on the unified competition model and the implementation with the Pinyin Tutor

Second language acquisition (SLA) is complex and multidimensional. Using the framework of the unified competition model (UCM), the current study explores how robust learning and testing of Chinese Pinyin are fostered by optimal integration of different kinds of feedback in an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment offered by the Pinyin Tutor at TalkBank. The findings demonstrated that the repeated feedback-embedded training with the Pinyin Tutor significantly boosted the learners’ proficiency in all aspects of Pinyin knowledge for second language (L2) learners of Chinese whose first language (L1) backgrounds were varied and whose initial proficiencies in Chinese were elementary. Furthermore, there was a strong increase in Pinyin knowledge, as evidenced in the delayed posttest administered 3 months after finishing the training sessions. The results further showed that diagnostic feedback led to greater improvement than basic feedback. The significance of the results is attributed to the design of the Pinyin Tutor, which implements principles from psycholinguistic theory as well as corpus data on the speech production by L2 learners. The study sheds fresh light on improving the Pinyin Tutor, and CALL in general, by incorporating up-to-date findings in educational psychology.

The role of novelty stimuli in second language acquisition: evidence from the optimized training by the Pinyin Tutor at TalkBank

As hypothesized by the unified competition model (MacWhinney, 2007, 2017, 2021), optimizing training schemes can enhance second language (L2) learning by fostering various protective factors. Under such a framework, the current study focuses on how the familiarity of stimuli will affect learning Chinese phonetic skills in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. Two training conditions, i.e., training with familiar stimuli from the textbook and unfamiliar stimuli from novelty design, were administered for two groups of learners at American universities, where the classroom instructions were integrated with the Pinyin Tutor—an online spoken Chinese learning platform hosted under TalkBank. The results show that training with novelty stimuli leads to a greater pretest–posttest improvement for intermediate learners, whereas more significant improvement has been observed in training with familiar stimuli among beginning learners. The learning-enhancing power of the Pinyin Tutor is evidenced by the overall significance of the pretest–posttest improvement when consolidating the results of the two conditions. Furthermore, high retention has been demonstrated in all six aspects of the Pinyin knowledge as tested by a three-month-after delayed posttest. These findings tend to endorse a differentiated design of instructional materials with increasing novelty components as the level of L2 learning advances. The overall significant learning-boosting results accredit the design of the Pinyin Tutor, where the technological architecture and algorithms were integrated with psycholinguistic and pedagogical theories. Suggestions and implications for smart learning in general are presented.

Acquisition of Chinese Verb Separation by Adult L2 Learners

Chinese verb separation is a grammatical construction in which a bimorphemic verb compound separates and expands into a verb phrase. For example, to say “sang one song”, one must insert the aspect marker le and classifier phrase yī shǒu between the verb chàng gē ‘sing-song’ as in chàng le yī shǒu gē (sing-LE-one-classifier-song). Adult second language (L2) learners face at least three problems related to acquiring verb separation: separation patterns are complex and numerous, classroom oral input is limited, and L1 transfer often fails. To better understand L2 learners’ acquisition of verb separation, this study tested 28 adult L2-Chinese classroom learners. Three tasks were administered online: verb decomposition, grammaticality judgment, and oral translation. On average, only 37% of verbs were accurately decomposed, 63% of verbs were accurately judged to be grammatical, and 19% of verbs were orally produced with the correct separation pattern. Chinese verb separation, particularly decomposition and oral production, is thus extremely challenging for L2 learners to acquire—even for advanced learners with a relatively large vocabulary size. The results are discussed in terms of the Unified Competition Model and L2 Chinese pedagogy.

Equilibrium reinsurance strategies for n insurers under a unified competition and cooperation framework

We propose a unified competition and cooperation framework for n insurers and investigate the resulting reinsurance game problem. Each insurer's surplus is assumed to be a diffusion process. Each insurer can purchase the proportional reinsurance to reduce his claim risk, and the reinsurance premium is determined via the variance value principle. The objective of each insurer is to find a reinsurance strategy so as to maximize the expected utility of his terminal payoff. We establish a Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation and the corresponding verification theorem. Furthermore, we derive the explicit solutions for both the equilibrium reinsurance strategy and the value function by solving the HJB equation. Finally, numerical experiments are carried out to illustrate the influences of model parameters such as the size of a group, the number of groups on the equilibrium reinsurance strategy. The numerical results reveal some similarities and differences between the competition case and the cooperation case, and the detailed effects of different competition and cooperation patterns, which provide useful insights for reinsurance in reality.

The Role of the WTO in Competition Law

This essay argues why, although an international competition policy may throw up certain benefits, the WTO is not an appropriate forum for such a globally binding competition policy. Given the complexity in dealing with multiple competition regimes in an increasingly globalised world of international mergers and cross border dealings, a unified competition agreement among nations may throw up certain benefits. The WTO agreements such as GATT 1994, TRIPs and GATS contain a variety of provisions can be applied to anti-competitive practices. But even though there are benefits to an international competition agreement, there are some glaring reasons as to why the WTO as a forum is not suited to effect such agreement. The WTO being a trade-related forum, is more likely to favour a trade-centric solution to disputes, which may be less than favourable from a competition law viewpoint. The WTO’s non-discrimination principles may also come in conflict with regional competition agreements. These reasons raise serious questions on the appropriateness of having the WTO harmonizing international competition policies.

Production, comprehension and repetition of accusative case by monolingual Russian and bilingual Russian-Dutch and Russian-Hebrew-speaking children

AbstractThe present study explores the acquisition of the Russian accusative [acc] case inflections in two groups of bilingual children (Russian-Dutch and Russian-Hebrew) who acquire Russian as their Heritage Language (HL) and two groups of monolingual Russian-speaking children within theUnified Competition Model(MacWhinney, 2008,2012). Seventy-two typically developing children participated in the study. Children’s performance on three tasks was compared: elicited production, forced-choice comprehension and sentence repetition.The current study confirmed the predictions of theUnified Competition Model: monolingual children view the [acc] case inflection as a reliable cue. Conversely, bilingual children showed lower accuracy on nouns which require the use of a dedicated [acc] marker. Similarly, the percentage of children manifesting sensitivity to [acc] case cue was low in bilinguals. The findings of the study extend theUnified Competition Modelto patterns of HL acquisition in bilinguals. Cue detection in HL for bilinguals is challenged when exposure is limited.

Competition Policy and Financial Regulations Case of a Unified Competition Regulator

There is no doubt that increased competition improves a country’s economic performance, opens business opportunities to its citizens and reduces the cost of goods and services throughout the economy. This fact has been recognised by the governments around the world including India which is evident from the market reforms being carried out especially in sectors like telecom, electricity, airlines, banking and insurance. With each of these sectors being reformed, an independent regulator is set-up for the purpose with mandate to regulate the respective sector, which in majority of occasions include even “regulating competition issues”. Thus, the question is no more on the necessity and relevance of promotion of competition, but is on who should regulate the matter involving “competition issues” in light of a specialised body, CCI in place.

What does neuroimaging tell us about morphosyntactic processing in the brain of second language learners?

This review article provides an overview of the neural correlates of second language (L2) morphosyntactic processing of the past 20 years. Morphosyntactic processing is of great relevance for our understanding of second language acquisition as it is believed to be more sensitive to age of acquisition (AoA) and maturational constraints than other linguistic sub-processes, i.e., lexical- and semantic processing.In this review we present the more general questions raised by the first neuroimaging studies, namely, whether L1 and L2 neural representation of morphosyntax is shared or segregated. Next, we present studies that addressed the impact of AoA, proficiency level, and language transfer on L2 morphosyntactic processing and representation and their findings. We then discuss these findings in light of the procedural/declarative and unified competition models. Finally, we suggest some future directions for studies investigating L2 morphosyntactic processing using neuroimaging techniques. With this article we aim to provide the reader with an overview of what is currently known in terms of L2 morphosyntactic representation and processing and emphasize aspects that have remained understudied.

A longitudinal analysis of sentence interpretation in bilingual children.

This longitudinal study used sentence interpretation tasks to consider growth in language processing among school-aged children learning Vietnamese and English. Thirty-two children participated yearly over three time points. Children were asked to identify the agent of sentences that manipulated linguistic cues relevant to Vietnamese (animacy) and English (word order). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine change in cue use over time as well as the relation between cue use and proficiency in each language. Findings include exclusive reliance on word order by the end point, nearly identical group-level cue-use patterns across languages with individual variation, and positive relationships between language proficiency and cue use. Findings are discussed within the unified competition model (MacWhinney, 2004) and the literature on sequential bilingualism.

Cue strength in second-language processing: an eye-tracking study.

This study used eye-tracking and grammaticality judgement measures to examine how second-language (L2) learners process syntactic violations in English. Participants were native Arabic and native Mandarin Chinese speakers studying English as an L2, and monolingual English-speaking controls. The violations involved incorrect word order and differed in two ways predicted to be important by the unified competition model [UCM; MacWhinney, B. (2005). A unified model of language acquisition. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 49-67). Oxford: Oxford University Press.]. First, one violation had more and stronger cues to ungrammaticality than the other. Second, the grammaticality of these word orders varied in Arabic and Mandarin Chinese. Sensitivity to violations was relatively quick overall, across all groups. Sensitivity also was related to the number and strength of cues to ungrammaticality regardless of native language, which is consistent with the general principles of the UCM. However, there was little evidence of cross-language transfer effects in either eye movements or grammaticality judgements.

The Moderating Factors and Their Effect in Late Second Language Learners' Syntactic Processing

Recent brain cognition research mainly based on ERP found that second language proficiency,cross-linguistic similarity and working memory-centered individual cognitive ability are independent but influence each other,which leads to the theoretical discrepancy between Shallow Structure Hypothesis indicating there is fundamental difference in L2 syntactic processing between late L2 learners and native speakers and Unified Competition Model which is on the opposite and proposes hat that there is no fundamental Differences. L2 processing as compared to the L1(or to native speakers of the L2) is generally associated with constructions that were crosslinguistically dissimilar or unique to the L2.The difference between the two claims lies in whether late L2 learner can achieve native-like L2 syntactic processing. Accordingly,cross-linguistic studies on the interactive role of these three factors should be conducted in the future.

The Roles of First Language and Proficiency in L2 Processing of Spanish Clitics: Global Effects

We assessed the roles of first language (L1) and second language (L2) proficiency in the processing of preverbal clitics in L2 Spanish by considering the predictions of four processing theories—the Input Processing Theory, the Unified Competition Model, the Amalgamation Model, and the Associative‐Cognitive CREED. We compared the performance of L1 English (typologically different from Spanish) to L1 Romanian (typologically similar to Spanish) speakers from various L2 Spanish proficiency levels on an auditory sentence‐processing task. We found main effects of proficiency, condition, and L1 and an interaction between proficiency and condition. Although we did not find an interaction between L1 and condition, the L1 Romanians showed an overall advantage that may be attributable to structure‐specific experience in the L1, raising new questions about how crosslinguistic differences influence the processing strategies learners apply to their L2.

L1 AND L2 WORD RECOGNITION IN FINNISH

This study investigated the effect of the first language (L1) on the visual word recognition of inflected nouns in second language (L2) Finnish by native Russian and Chinese speakers. Case inflection is common in Russian and in Finnish but nonexistent in Chinese. Several models have been posited to describe L2 morphological processing. The unified competition model (UCM; MacWhinney, 2005) predicts L1-L2 transfer, whereas processability theory (Pienemann, 1998) posits a universal hierarchy in L2 acquisition regardless of the L1. The morphological decomposition deficiency hypothesis (Ullman, 2001b; VanPatten, 2004) claims that nonnatives cannot morphologically decompose words. Finally, DeKeyser (2005) proposes that morphophonological transparency affects nonnative processing. The current study explores which model best accounts for the processing of L2 Finnish by native Russian and Chinese speakers. The materials included simple nouns, transparently inflected nouns, and semitransparently inflected nouns. The results showed that Finns and Russians had longer reaction times (RTs) for morphologically complex nouns, but Chinese had longer RTs for semitransparent nouns. The RT results support the UCM by showing a L1-L2 transfer. Furthermore, transparency influenced word recognition among nonnatives; they made the most errors with semitransparent nouns.

FROM SEEING ADVERBS TO SEEING VERBAL MORPHOLOGY

Adult learners have persistent difficulty processing second language (L2) inflectional morphology. We investigate associative learning explanations that involve the blocking of later experienced cues by earlier learned ones in the first language (L1; i.e., transfer) and the L2 (i.e., proficiency). Sagarra (2008) and Ellis and Sagarra (2010b) found that, unlike Spanish monolinguals, intermediate English-Spanish learners rely more on salient adverbs than on less salient verb inflections, but it is not clear whether this preference is a result of a default or a L1-based strategy. To address this question, 120 English (poor morphology) and Romanian (rich morphology) learners of Spanish (rich morphology) and 98 English, Romanian, and Spanish monolinguals read sentences in L2 Spanish (or their L1 in the case of the monolinguals) containing adverb-verb and verb-adverb congruencies or incongruencies and chose one of four pictures after each sentence (i.e., two that competed for meaning and two for form). Eye-tracking data revealed significant effects for (a) sensitivity (all participants were sensitive to tense incongruencies), (b) cue location in the sentence (participants spent more time at their preferred cue, regardless of its position), (c) L1 experience (morphologically rich L1 learners and monolinguals looked longer at verbs than morphologically poor L1 learners and monolinguals), and (d) L2 experience (low-proficiency learners read more slowly and regressed longer than high-proficiency learners). We conclude that intermediate and advanced learners are sensitive to tense incongruencies and—like native speakers—tend to rely more heavily on verbs if their L1 is morphologically rich. These findings reinforce theories that support transfer effects such as the unified competition model and the associative learning model but do not contradict Clahsen and Felser’s (2006a) shallow structure hypothesis because the target structure was morphological agreement rather than syntactic agreement.

Analysis of species coexistence co‐mediated by resource competition and reproductive interference

AbstractReproductive interference is any interspecific sexual interaction that reduces the reproductive success of females through promiscuous reproductive activities of heterospecific individuals. This phenomenon is ubiquitous in nature in both plants and animals, and is frequently observed in biological invasions. However, its effects on interspecific competition remain incompletely understood despite growing concern. To study the interactive effects of resource competition and reproductive interference on species coexistence and exclusion, we analyzed a unified competition model including both processes in symmetric and asymmetric scenarios. The results of our model showed that resource competition and reproductive interference act synergistically to promote competitive exclusion. We also found that when the two processes are asymmetric, the species that is superior in reproductive interference can coexist with or even exclude the species that is superior in resource competition. Therefore, coexistence is possible via an unbalanced trade‐off between resource use and reproduction. Our results suggest that integration of reproductive interference and resource competition will contribute to a better understanding of interspecific competition and to more effective biodiversity conservation against management of biological invasions.

The competition model: From language processing to pedagogical implications

The competition model is a psycholinguistic model which was first introduced to account for language processing, yet over time, the model was generalized to deal with the areas of first and second language acquisition. As a functionalist model, the ‘competition model’ suggests that language forms are at the service of communicative functions. It also draws on connectionism, and thus emphasizes the importance of frequency and the information value of linguistic input. Furthermore, it is based on the hypothesis that human beings do not need to have any innate brain module for language learning. However, it does not reject the innate and psychological mechanisms underlying language acquisition. The present article attempts to discuss the principles of the ‘competition model’ and the possible pedagogical implications of it. Key words: Competition model, functionalism, cues, two-level mapping, unified competition model, chunking, buffering, resonance.