Norman Segalowitz

CONTEXT OF LEARNING AND SECOND LANGUAGE FLUENCY IN FRENCH: Comparing Regular Classroom, Study Abroad, and Intensive Domestic Immersion Programs

We compared the acquisition of various dimensions of fluency by 28 students of French studying in three different learning contexts: formal language classrooms in an at home (AH) institution, an intensive summer immersion (IM) program, and a study abroad (SA) setting. For the purpose of oral data collection, students participated in oral interviews (similar to the Oral Proficiency Interview) at the beginning and the end of the semester and provided information regarding language use and interactions. Analyses included comparisons of gain scores as a function of the learning context and as a function of the time reported using French outside of class. The main findings that reached statistical significance include: (a) The IM group made significant gains in oral performance in terms of the total number of words spoken, in length of the longest turn, in rate of speech, and in speech fluidity based on a composite of fluidity measures. When compared to the AH group, the SA group made statistically significant gains only in terms of speech fluidity but fewer gains than the IM group. The AH group made no significant gains. (b) The IM students reported that they spoke and wrote French significantly more hours per week than the other two groups. The SA group reported using English more than French (although the difference was not statistically significant) and reported using significantly more English in out-of-class activities than the IM group. (c) Multiple regression analyses revealed that reported hours per week spent writing outside of class was significantly associated with oral fluidity gains. Appreciation is expressed to a number of organizations and individuals without whom this project would not have been brought to completion. Contributions of funding, technical support and expertise, or both are acknowledged from: ACTFL (Elvira Spender and Robert Vicars); Carnegie Mellon University (The Office of the President and Bonnie Youngs in the Department of Modern Languages); The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Concordia University (International Initiatives Research Program, Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science); Concordia University (Randall Halter, Eric Buisson, Christine Brassard, Eowyn Crisfield, Nilmini de Silva, Sarah Frenkiel, and Heather Wilcox); Middlebury College (Clara Yu, Michael Katz, Beth Karnes, Kara Gennarelli, Paula Schwartz, Carol Rifelj, Jean-Claude Redonnet, Guy Spielmann, Beverly Keim, Anna Sun, and Alex Chapin). The authors also thank Nicole Lazar for her helpful statistical advice.

Automatic and controlled processes in the first- and second-language reading of fluent bilinguals.

Many fluent bilinguals read their two languages with equal levels of comprehension but read their second language at a slower rate. The present study examined whether, compared with first language reading, slower second-language reading is associated with reduced involvement of automatic processing during lexical access. Subjects were bilinguals with fluent speaking and listening skills under ordinary conditions of communication and with equivalent comprehension of their first and second languages when reading and listening under speeded conditions. Half these subjects, however, read their first and second languages equally fast, and half read the second language more slowly than the first. Subjects were tested on a lexical decision task that manipulated expectations about the semantic relatedness of prime and target words and the stimulus onset asynchrony between them. Bilinguals with equal first- and second-language reading rates produced in each language a pattern of reaction times suggesting automatic processing, whereas bilinguals with a slower second-language reading rate did so in their first language but not in their second.

THE LANGUAGE CONTACT PROFILE

Efforts to gather data of various sorts—demographics, language-learning history, contact with native speakers, use of the language in the field—as they relate to participants in SLA research studies are inherent to understanding more about language acquisition and use. Scholars frequently develop questionnaires of their own, which are rarely shared widely in the profession. Consequently, much time and effort is invested in reinventing the process of gathering the types of data that are commonly needed. This research was funded in part by a grant to Barbara F. Freed from the Council for International Educational Exchange (New York), in part by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to Norman Segalowitz, and in part by a grant from the Deans Office, Faculty of Arts and Science, at Concordia University to Segalowitz.

Assessing the Development of Automaticity in Second Language Word Recognition.

This study investigated the development of automaticity in second language word recognition. In an earlier study (Segalowitz & Segalowitz, 1993) we demonstrated that a reduction in the coefficient of variation of lexical decision reaction time (CV RT ) - the standard deviation of reaction time divided by mean reaction time (RT) - reflects a restructuring of underlying cognitive processing mechanisms in the direction of increased automaticity and not a simple speed-up of those mechanisms. In the current study, English speakers studying French performed multiple lexical decision tasks. Differences in CV RT were compared cross-sectionally and longitudinally. As in the earlier study, crosssectional analyses showed that CV RT correlated positively with RT for initially fast, but not initially slow, responders. CV RT also correlated positively with RT in longitudinal analyses. These results confirm that, with extended learning experience, the cognitive components underlying word recognition are restructured (automatized) and not simply speeded-up.

Phonological memory and lexical, narrative, and grammatical skills in second language oral production by adult learners

This study investigated the role of phonological memory (PM) in second language (L2) speech production by English-speaking adults who were learning Spanish. PM, operationalized as serial nonword recognition, and L2 lexical, narrative, and grammatical abilities from speech samples were assessed 13 weeks apart. After controlling for the amount of speech output, PM contributed significantly to the development of L2 narrative skills for less proficient participants (17.5% of variance explained) and to gains in correct use of function words for more proficient participants (15.7% of variance explained). These findings suggest that PM plays an important role in narrative development at earlier stages of L2 learning and in the acquisition of grammatical competence at later stages.

Second language reading in fluent bilinguals

Many bilinguals, who are fluent second language users in normal commmunicative situations, nevertheless read more slowly in that language. The present study examines whether this performance difference is specific to reading or whether its occurrence is accompanied by similar differences in the auditory modality. Fluent English and French bilinguals were required to adjust the delivery rate of spoken first and second language texts so as to maximize speed of delivery while maintaining full comprehension. The results showed that the pattern of listening rates for the second language relative to the first mirrored the pattern of reading rates. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for second language reading research.

Attention control and ability level in a complex cognitive skill: Attention shifting and second-language proficiency

In this study, we investigated the relationship between attention control and proficiency in a complex cognitive skill. The participants were English-French bilinguals with varying degrees of secondlanguage (French) proficiency. Proficiency was operationalized as efficiency of lexical access in an animacy judgment task, as reflected in the coefficient of variability of response time adjusted for first-language performance on the same task. Attention control was operationalized as the shift cost obtained in a linguistic version of the alternating runs task-switching paradigm. Hierarchical regression revealed that, overall, attention control accounted for 59% of the variance of proficiency and that secondlanguage attention control alone accounted for 32% of the unique variance of proficiency, indicating a high degree of skill domain (second language) specificity in the relationship between attention control and proficiency. The results speak to issues regarding the development of expertise, second-language acquisition, and a cognitive linguistic approach to language and attention.

Semantic priming in a first and second language: evidence from reaction time variability and event-related brain potentials

Abstract We investigated individual differences in second language (L2) proficiency by looking at the efficiency or automaticity of semantic priming using behavioural and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures. In Experiment 1, 37 first language (L1) English speakers varying in second language (L2, French) proficiency made living/non-living judgments to English and French nouns in lists blocked by language. Sixty critical words were each presented twice, once primed by a semantic associate in the preceding trial (e.g. ADULT, CHILD) and once unprimed (e.g. RABBIT, CHILD). Measures of response time (RT) and intra-individual variability in response time (coefficient of variation, CV) were obtained. The CV provided an index of processing efficiency that has been related to automaticity. Participants performed faster and with lower CVs (i.e. with greater efficiency) in L1 than L2, and the more highly proficient bilinguals had lower CVs than the less proficient bilinguals. Experiment 2 replicated these results with 29 participants and provided an electrical brain activity measure of processing efficiency using the N400 ERP. The similar pattern of results obtained between the behavioural and N400 ERP CV measures supported the idea that the CV measure of electrical brain activity can provide useful information about the automaticity or efficiency of cognitive processing.

Vocabulary skill: single-case assessment of automaticity of word recognition in a timed lexical decision task

This study illustrates, in the context of vocabulary assessment research, a procedure for analysing a single subjects variability of response times (RTs) in a simple, timed lexical decision task. Following the interpretation developed in Segalowitz and Segalowitz (1993) for RT variability as reflection of the automatic/controlled nature of underlying processing mechanisms, it was possible to draw conclusions about the extent to which second language English word recognition in this subject was subserved by automatic as opposed to controlled processes. The study also examined the development of automaticity in word recognition skill for a small, selected vocabulary as a function of reading experience during a three-week testing period. The general implications of this methodology for assessing vocabulary skill in a single case are discussed.

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC APPROACHES TO SLA

These are exciting times for research into the psychological processes underlying second language acquisition (SLA). In the 1970s, SLA emerged as a field of inquiry in its own right (Brown 1980), and in the 1980s, a number of different approaches to central questions in the field began to develop in parallel and in relative isolation (McLaughlin and Harrington 1990). In the 1990s, however, these different approaches began to confront one another directly. Now we are entering a period reminiscent, in many ways, of the intellectually turbulent times following the Chomskyan revolution (Chomsky 1957; 1965). Now, as then, researchers are debating basic premises of a science of mind, language, and learning. Some might complain, not entirely without reason, that we are still debating the same issues after 30–40 years. However, there are now new conceptual and research tools available to test hypotheses in ways previously thought impossible. Because of this, many psychologists believe there will soon be significant advancement on some SLA issues that have resisted closure for decades. We outline some of these developments and explore where the field may be heading. More than ever, it appears possible that psychological theory and SLA theory are converging on solutions to common issues.