Second language acquisition and long-term retention in a mini-language

随着现代生活的全球化，学习第二语言（L2）变得越来越重要。然而，第二语言学习是出了名的困难，尤其是在成年期，即使达到了很高的熟练程度，学习者仍然面临着记住他们所学知识的困难而关键的任务。我们目前对二语习得和保留的神经机制知之甚少。研究二语习得的神经认知轨迹的一个主要障碍是学习者从最初接触到熟练掌握一门完整语言所需的时间。在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，迈克尔·乌尔曼博士和他的同事们将使用一种新的方法来揭示从最初的习得到高熟练程度再到随后的保留整个过程中所涉及的神经处理过程。使用实际自然语言巴斯克语的简化版本，但使用更少的单词和简化的语法，学习者可以在相对较短的时间内达到较高的熟练程度。使用这种简化的语言来研究第二语言学习，可以为了解学习和保留完整语言的共同神经机制提供见解。当说英语的成年人在几天的几次学习中学习低水平的巴斯克语时，行为和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）的测量结果将被持续记录下来，并在1个月和6个月后再次检查语言保留情况。本研究将提供第二语言学习从最初接触到高熟练程度再到保留的完整行为和神经轨迹的第一幅精细图。了解大脑如何熟练地学习第二语言，然后保持它，将为多种有益的结果铺平道路。首先，它可能导致有效的循证语言学习和教学方法。例如，在学习轨迹的不同阶段，不同的神经认知机制可以针对语言的不同方面。这些方法可能对教育、安全和经济产生重大影响，在这些领域，学习第二语言通常很重要，有时甚至至关重要。这些方法也可能导致语言（再）学习疗法的进步，用于患有发育或获得性障碍的个体（例如，特殊语言障碍，阅读障碍，自闭症，获得性失语），具有实质性的临床效益。拟议的研究可能还会影响研究方法，因为证明这种范式的效用将开辟第二语言研究的主要新途径。该项目还应具有制度和教育效益。它汇集了来自多个学科和机构的研究人员，加强了现有的合作并形成了新的合作。最后，该项目将通过开发本科生研究模块，以及培训高中生、研究生和博士后，为他们提供前沿跨学科研究的第一手经验，从而培养下一代科学家。

Learning a second language (L2) is becoming increasingly important given the globalization of modern life. Yet, L2 learning is notoriously difficult, especially in adulthood, and even after high proficiency is reached, learners face the difficult yet critical task of retaining what they have learned. We currently know very little about the neural mechanisms underlying L2 acquisition and retention. A major roadblock in investigating the neurocognitive trajectory of L2 acquisition is the time it takes a learner to acquire a full language, from initial exposure all the way to high proficiency. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Michael Ullman and colleagues will use a new approach to reveal the neural processing involved in the entire trajectory from initial acquisition to high proficiency and then subsequent retention. Using a reduced version of an actual natural language, Basque, but with many fewer words and a simplified grammar, learners can achieve high proficiency in a relatively shorter time. Investigating L2 learning using this reduced language may offer insights into shared neural mechanisms underlying the learning and retention of a full language. Both behavioral and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) measures will be continuously recorded while English-speaking adults learn reduced Basque to high proficiency, over several learning sessions spread out over several days, as well as again one and six months later to examine language retention. This study will provide the first fine-grained picture of the full behavioral and neural trajectories of L2 learning from initial exposure to high proficiency and then retention. Understanding how the brain learns a second language to high proficiency, and then retains it, will pave the way to multiple beneficial outcomes. First, it may lead to effective evidence-based language learning and teaching approaches. For example, different neurocognitive mechanisms could be targeted for different aspects of language at different points in the learning trajectory. Such approaches could have significant impacts for education, security, and the economy, where learning an L2 is often important, and sometimes critical. Such approaches could also lead to advances in language (re)learning therapies for individuals with developmental or acquired disorders (e.g., Specific Language Impairment, dyslexia, autism, acquired aphasias), with substantial clinical benefits. The proposed research may additionally impact research methodology, since demonstrating the utility of this paradigm would open up major new avenues of L2 research. The project should also have institutional and educational benefits. It brings together researchers from several disciplines and institutions, strengthening existing collaborations and forming new ones. Finally, the project will be leveraged to train the next generation of scientists, through the development of an undergraduate research module, and the training of high school, graduate, and post-doctoral students, providing them with first-hand experience in cutting edge interdisciplinary research.