Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Morphosyntactic Development in a Second Language: An eye tracking study of the role of attention

了解影响语言习得的因素--不仅在学习者的第一语言（或母语）的情况下，而且在第二语言习得的情况下--是人类语言和交际研究的一个重要目标。 学习第二语言可以说是成人大脑最复杂的学习任务之一，并且导致第二语言的获得存在很大的差异，特别是语法。注意力是造成这种差异的一个认知因素。在第二语言学习的理论和应用研究中，人们普遍认为，对语法形式的关注导致了对这些形式的习得。然而，在该领域，支持这一主张的直接经验证据很少。相比之下，认知科学领域的研究已经产生了大量的证据，表明注意力对各种类型的认知操作至关重要，包括学习。因此，我们对第二语言学习中注意的理解可以通过采用理论观点来进一步阐明，例如外部注意（由物体本身的属性提示）和内部注意（由与物体相关的任务操作提示）之间的区别，并通过使用认知科学的实验方法，如眼动追踪，来检验这种区别。在卡拉·肖特博士的指导下，伯纳德·伊萨的论文项目采用了这样一种创新的方法来解决以下问题：（i）对特定第二语言语法形式的关注是否会导致对这些形式的学习增加？(ii)外部注意和内部注意对第二语言学习的影响是否存在差异？为了回答这些问题，西班牙语初学者的眼动将被记录为注意力指数，同时学习一种新的语法形式下，无论是外部或内部的注意力操纵。这个跨学科项目的结果有望为注意力在第二语言学习中的作用提供新的、直接的证据，从而更广泛地理解学习中的注意力，并对教学法产生直接影响。最后，这个项目将进一步参与，培训和跨学科合作研究的研究生和本科生研究助理，谁可能来自认知科学的代表性不足的群体的机会。

Understanding the factors that influence language acquisition--not only in the case of a learner's first (or native) language, but also in the case of second language acquisition--is an important goal of research on human language and communication. Learning a second language is arguably one of the most complex learning tasks for the adult mind and results in great variability in attainment of the second language, particularly for grammar. One cognitive factor that may account for this variability is attention. It has been widely assumed, under both theoretical and applied perspectives on second language learning, that attention to grammatical forms leads to acquisition of those forms. However, there is scant direct empirical evidence to support this claim in the field. In contrast, research in the field of cognitive science has produced ample evidence that suggests that attention is crucial for various types of cognitive operations, including learning. Thus, our understanding of attention in second language learning may be further elucidated by adopting theoretical perspectives, such as the distinction between external attention (cued by properties of the object itself) and internal attention (cued by task manipulations related to the object), and by the use of experimental methods from cognitive science, such as eye tracking, to examine this distinction. Under the direction of Dr. Kara Short, Bernard Issa's dissertation project implements such an innovative approach to address the following questions: (i) Does increased attention to particular second language grammatical forms lead to increased learning of those forms? (ii) Are there differential effects of external and internal attention on second language learning? To answer these questions, the eye-movements of novice learners of Spanish will be recorded as an index of attention while learning a new grammatical form under either external or internal manipulations of attention. The results from this interdisciplinary project are expected to provide novel, direct evidence for the role of attention in second language learning, lead to a greater understanding of attention in learning more generally, and have direct implications for pedagogy. Finally, this project will further opportunities for involvement, training, and interdisciplinary collaborations in research for a graduate student and for undergraduate researcher assistants, who are likely to come from underrepresented groups in cognitive science.