Table of Contents
Preface & Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction: mapping the terrain 1
Language, linguistics, and psychology: academic interfaces 2
Cognitive linguistics 4
Psycholinguistics 5
Neurolinguistics 6
Cognitive science 7
Cognitive neuroscience 8
Interim summary: the permeability of disciplinary boundaries 10
Main avenues to language attainment 11
First language acquisition 12
Bilingualism 14
Second language acquisition 18
Similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition 21
Third language acquisition and-multilingualism 23
Summary 25
2 Language and the brain 27
The brain 29
The anatomy of the brain 29
The neurobiological basis of brain activity 32
The functional anatomy of the brain 32
The conscious and the unconscious mind 41
Research methods for investigating language and the brain 42
Psycholinguistic methods 43
Pre-neuroimaging methods of brain research 48
Neuroimaging 53
Molecular genetic investigations and imaging genetics 77
Summary 77
3 Psychological processes in language acquisition I: symbolic versus connectionist accounts 79
Nativism and Universal Grammar 81
Universal Grammar 82
A weak form of nativism 87
Non-symbolic psychological theories 88
Connectionism 89
The competition model and the unified model of language acquisition 95
Dynamic(al) systems theory 99
Emergentism 112
Usage-based (or item-/exemplar-based) theories 116
Summary 127
4 Psychological processes in language acquisition II: explicit versus implicit learning 131
Consciousness and attention 132
Consciousness 132
Attention 133
The explicit-implicit dichotomy 135
Explicit learning 136
Implicit learning 137
Incidental versus intentional learning 140
Explicit versus implicit knowledge 142
Explicit versus implicit memory 144
The declarative-procedural dichotomy 146
Beyond the declarative-procedural memory systems 148
Anderson's ACT-R theory 148
At the interface of explicit/declarative and implicit/procedural knowledge 150
Skill learning theory 151
Automatization 155
Initial attention and noticing 158
Explicit versus implicit language learning 159
Krashen and the various interface positions 159
Ullman's declarative-procedural model 161
Automatization and skill learning in a second language 162
Schmidt's noticing hypothesis 164
The explicit-implicit interface m SLA 166
Summary 174
5 The learner in the language learning process I: the dynamic interplay of learner characteristics and the learning environment 179
The 'individual differences' paradigm: the myth and the problems 181
Problems with the traditional conceptualization of ID factors 182
Problems with the traditional selection of ID factors 184
Two meanings of 'individual difference research' 185
Lack of stability and context-independence 188
Multicomponential nature 189
Interim summary: the dynamic nature of individual difference factors 194
Individual differences and dynamic systems theory 196
Reconciliation of personality stability and dynamism 197
The proposed framework of learner-based variance in SLA 200
The cognitive system 202
The motivational system 209
The emotional system 219
The interaction of cognition, motivation, affect, and the environment 225
Summary 229
6 The learner in the language learning process II: the learner's age and the Critical Period Hypothesis 233
Is the age issue really about age? 235
Critical period-sensitive period 236
Definitions of critical and sensitive periods 237
Is there a critical period for first language acquisition? 238
Is there a critical period for SLA? 240
Non-native-like young learners and native-like adult learners 242
A dynamic systems perspective on the Critical Period Hypothesis 247
The age effect and its possible sources 249
The younger the better 249
The older the better 250
Sources of the age effect in formal school learning contexts 251
Sources of the age effect in naturalistic SLA contexts 253
Summary 263
7 The psychology of instructed second language acquisition 267
Implicit versus explicit learning in instructed SLA 268
Is explicit instruction necessary for L2 learning? 269
Three past approaches to L2 instruction 272
The grammar-translation method 273
The audiolingual method 274
Communicative language teaching 275
Current issues in L2 learning and teaching 279
Focus on form and form-focused instruction 280
Fluency and Automatization 286
Formulaic language 293
Summary 300
Afterword 303
References 305
Subject Index 329
Author Index 333
