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

成人语言学习者，包括大学生，发现学习新语言很困难，但许多人都非常成功。虽然以往的研究主要关注认知能力(如流动智力、语音短时记忆、陈述性记忆)作为语言学习能力的指标，但很少有人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一种不熟悉的语言，同时在不同的参与者群体中执行不同的学习任务。在听完小说语言的问答对话后，学习者被提示生成问题的答案(即语言中的简短短语)，重复问题的答案，或者回答强迫选择的理解问题。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，证明了提取练习对学习的益处，该项目假设，在控制了个体能力差异后，生成答案的成年人在测试他们对新语言特定语法特征的理解时会比其他组表现得更好。研究人员假设，在两次通话后，成年学习者将显示出与加工语法结构(即时间锁定于错误的事件相关电位)相关的神经标记，这将与理解的准确性相关。确定检索实践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，女性和代表性不足群体的成员将作为关键人员和参与者。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.