Doctoral Dissertation: Does Speaking Improve Comprehension and Processing of a Foreign Language? A Computer-Assisted Language Learning and ERP Study

成年语言学习者，包括大学生，发现学习新语言是困难的，然而许多人都非常成功。虽然以前的工作主要集中在认知能力（如流体智力、语音短期记忆、陈述性记忆）作为语言学习能力的指标，但很少关注具体的学习任务如何促进成人的语言学习。使用计算机辅助语言学习（CALL）协议，该项目向大学生介绍了一门不熟悉的语言，同时不同参与者小组的学习任务也有所不同。在听完用新语言进行的问答对话后，提示学习者生成问题的答案（即该语言中的短句），重复问题的答案，或回答强迫选择的理解题。测量和评估不同任务对学习结果的影响。会议是远程进行的，并使用基于网络的工具进行记录。基于认知心理学的研究，该项目证明了检索练习对学习的好处，该项目假设，在控制了个人能力差异后，能给出答案的成年人在评估他们对新语言特定语法特征的理解能力的测试中，会比其他组表现得更好。研究人员假设，仅在两次CALL会话后，成人学习者就会显示出与处理语法结构相关的神经标记（即事件相关电位被错误时间锁定），这将与理解准确性相关。识别检索练习对理解的好处将为语言学习指导提供信息，并有助于开发有效的网络和移动应用程序。这项研究将在一所大型城市公立大学进行，妇女和代表性不足的群体成员将作为主要人员和参与者参与。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。

Adult language learners, including college students, find learning new languages to be difficult, yet many are remarkably successful. While previous work has focused on cognitive abilities (e.g. fluid intelligence, phonological short-term memory, declarative memory) as indicators of language learning aptitude, less attention has been given to how specific learning tasks might promote language learning in adults. Using a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) protocol, this project introduces an unfamiliar language to college students while varying learning tasks across participant groups. After listening to question-answer dialogues in the novel language, learners are prompted either to generate answers to the questions (i.e. brief phrases in the language), repeat answers to the questions, or answer forced-choice comprehension questions. The impacts on the learning outcomes of the different tasks are measured and assessed. Sessions are conducted remotely and recorded using web-based tools. Based on work in cognitive psychology demonstrating benefits of retrieval practice for learning, this project hypothesizes that adults who generate answers will outperform the other groups on tests assessing their comprehension of specific grammatical features of the new language, after controlling for individual differences in aptitude. Researchers hypothesize that after only two CALL sessions, adult learners will show neural markers associated with processing the grammatical structures (i.e. event-related potentials time-locked to errors) that will correlate with comprehension accuracy. Identification of the benefits of retrieval practice for comprehension will inform language learning instruction and aid in the development of effective web and mobile applications. The research will be conducted at a large urban public university with women and members of underrepresented groups involved as key personnel and participants.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.