Brain signatures of nativeness in second language acquisition III

《第二语言习得中母语的大脑特征3》 这项建议汇集了来自三个国家(加拿大、中国和英国)的语言学家、实验心理学家和神经学家，以澄清第二语言习得领域中的一些及时的问题。 第一个项目关注的是居住在蒙特利尔的中国移民中第一语言(L1)的流失，他们已经成为英语第二语言的主流，并报告说他们失去了L1。使用脑电波测量(ERPs)，我们将比较这些受试者和4个对照组的神经活动，以确定语言丧失的机制。我们的团队已经是这一领域国际领先的两个实验室之一。该项目是与中国的一个实验室合作的，这将为从事这项研究的博士生提供一个沉浸在国际努力中的绝佳机会，同时完善他已经很好的中文水平以及他先进的研究技能。 第二个项目旨在确定第一语言习得和第二语言习得之间的神经认知异同。我们已经开发了一种实验范式(法语中的图片-句子匹配)，既可以用于儿童学习第一语言，也可以用于成年人学习第二语言。比较两组人的大脑活动将揭示我们的假设是否正确，根据这一假设，在熟练程度的驱动下，第一语言和第二语言习得中的神经过程遵循相似的轨迹。如果是这样的话，我们目前的二语习得模式也可以适用于儿童第一语言学习者。 第三项研究是与伦敦玛丽女王大学的同事们合作的另一个项目。以往的研究有力地表明，二语学习者的形态句法加工困难可以通过增加对新语言的接触来克服。在这里，我们试图将这项研究扩展到西班牙英语学习者，他们将西班牙语发音规则应用到英语中，并将诸如SPORT之类的单词发音为esport。生产错误和感知错误之间的分离使我们产生了一种新的ERP设计，它将有助于澄清潜在的机制，并测试长期接触L2并克服这些问题。 最后一个项目将重复之前的一项研究，该研究表明，内隐学习者学习的第二语言不同于明确指导的学习者。由于这项研究是用人工微型语言进行的，目前还不清楚这些数据是否可以推广。我们在课堂上的复制将回答这个问题。 该研究计划的第三阶段将产生重要的数据，这些数据不仅与语言学家、心理学家和神经学家有关，而且还与加拿大和其他地方的语言教师和移民有关。博士生将发挥关键作用，接受世界级的顶尖神经科学技术培训。这笔拨款将确保加拿大在第二语言习得研究方面继续处于领先地位。

"Brain signatures of nativeness in second language acquisition III." The present proposal brings together linguists, experimental psychologists, and neuroscientists from three countries (Canada, China, and the UK) in order to clarify a number of timely questions in the domain of second language (L2) acquisition. The first project focuses on first language (L1) attrition in Chinese immigrants, who have lived in Montreal, have become dominant in their English L2, and report losing their L1. Using brain wave measures (ERPs), we will compare the neural activity of these attriters' to 4 control groups to identify the mechanisms of language loss. Our group is already one of the two leading labs in this area internationally. The project is a collaboration with a lab in China, which will give the PhD student working on this study an outstanding opportunity to get immersed in an international endeavour, while perfecting his already excellent command of Chinese as well as his advanced research skills. A second project aims at identifying the neurocognitive similarities and differences between L1 and L2 acquisition. We have already developed an experimental paradigm (picture-sentence matching in French) that can be used in both children acquiring their L1 and adults learning their L2. Comparing the brain activity of both groups will reveal if our hypothesis is correct, according to which neural processes in both L1 and L2 acquisition follow a similar trajectory, driven by proficiency levels. If so, our current model for L2 acquisition could also be applied to child L1 learners. The third study is another collaborative project with colleagues at Queen Mary in London. Previous research strongly suggests that morphosyntactic processing difficulties in L2 learners can be overcome with increasing exposure to the new language. Here we try to extend this research to Spanish learners of English who apply their Spanish phonotactic rules' to English and pronounce words like sport' as esport'. A dissociation between production and perception errors led us to a new ERP design that will help to clarify the underlying mechnisms and test, if long L2 exposure and overcome the problems. The last project will replicate a previous study that showed that implicit learners learn a second language different from explicitly instructed learners. As this study was run with an artificial miniature language, it is unclear if the data can be generalized. Our replication in the classroom will answer this question. Stage III of this research program promises to generate important data that are not only relevant for linguists, psychologists and neuroscientists, but also for language teachers and immigrants in Canada and elsewhere. PhD students will play a crucial role and receive world-class training in top-notch neuroscientific techniques. The grant will ensure that Canada will continue to be among the leaders in top-notch research on second language acquisition.