Doctoral Dissertation Research: Exploring the Interface of Implicit and Explicit Second-Language Knowledge: A Longitudinal Perspective

本研究旨在探讨第二语言外显和内隐知识的界面，并探讨不同的第二语言学习过程对其发展的影响程度。外显知识是有意识可言语表达的知识，而内隐知识是无意识的语言知识，被广泛认为是流利交际技能的关键组成部分。了解二语知识是如何产生的，以及加工活动对它的贡献是二语研究的一个重要领域，它可以告诉我们如何才能最好地学习和教授语言。它还将促进研究人员对第二语言习得的认知基础的理解，以及这种基础在多大程度上不同于或类似于母语习得。几十年来，心理语言学家一直在研究第二语言知识和加工之间的关系，但这种界面的本质仍不清楚。为了揭开界面争论的神秘面纱，一大批在美国的国际学生将在12个月内完成三次语言知识测试，共五次。非定时书面语法性判断测试和元语言知识测试将作为外显知识的测量，而定时书面语法性判断测试、口头生产任务和诱发模仿将用于测量内隐知识。学生还将定期通过移动应用程序报告他们在第二语言中的参与情况。使用结构方程模型，本研究提出了两个研究问题：(1)外显知识在多大程度上影响内隐知识的发展？(2)语言加工的数量和类型（即以语法为中心和以意义为中心）在多大程度上促进了不同知识类型的发展？这项研究的结果直接说明了出国留学对教育的好处。学生的数据？真实的语言使用可以增强和丰富国际学生的经历。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The purpose of this project is to probe the interface of second language (L2) explicit and implicit knowledge and explore to what extent different L2 learning processes influence their development. Explicit knowledge is conscious-verbalizable knowledge while implicit knowledge is unconscious knowledge of language that is widely held to be a key component for fluent communicative skills. Understanding how L2 knowledge emerges and what processing activities contribute to it is an important area of L2 research that can inform how languages can best be learned and taught. It will also advance researchers' understanding of the cognitive basis of L2 acquisition and to what extent this basis differs from, or is similar to, first language acquisition. Psycholinguists have studied the relationship between and within L2 knowledge and processing for decades, yet the nature of the interface remains unclear. To demystify the interface debate, a large body of international students in the U.S. will complete a battery of five linguistic knowledge tests three times over twelve months. An untimed written grammaticality judgment test (GJT) and metalinguistic knowledge test will serve as measures of explicit knowledge whereas a timed written GJT, oral production task, and elicited imitation will be used to measure implicit knowledge. Students will also report their engagement in the L2 periodically through a mobile app. Using structural equation modeling, the proposed study addresses two research questions: (1) To what extent does explicit knowledge influence the development of implicit knowledge? (2) To what extent do the amount and type of language processing (i.e., grammar-focused and meaning-focused) contribute to the development of different knowledge types? The results of this study speak directly to the educational benefits of studying abroad. Data on students? authentic language usage can be used to enhance and enrich the international student experience.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.