Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Nov 30, 2023
Studies of language acquisition have shown that language learning ability declines with age. It h... more Studies of language acquisition have shown that language learning ability declines with age. It has been documented that the overwhelming majority of learners who begin the process of second language (L2) learning after passing the critical periodafter a certain agecannot attain native-like competence (underlying knowledge of language) at the end state. There is a universal folk belief, shared by almost all psycholinguists, that at an early age, the brain is plastic; it can modify its own structure, organization and function as a direct consequence of experiences and learning. According to this belief, the plasticity of the brain fades with age and with the increasing specialisation of the different hemispheres and areas of the brain. However, recently neuroscientists, equipped with the complementary aid of brain neuroimaging, have discovered that mature brain is far from being fixed as previously thought; it has the ability to continuously adapt its structure and function based on internal and external environmental changes and/or input such as experience, ageing, illness, injury and learning, meaning that the brain remains plastic throughout life. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to illustrate that the theory about the loss of brain plasticity during natural maturation is not valid in explaining the question why L2 learning is affected by delayed exposure to a language? It should be mentioned here that until now, the overwhelming majority of L2 researchers tend to think of plasticity as a phenomenon confined to early development; and therefore, evidence supporting plasticity is generally ignored.
This research paper aims at illuminating some of the effects that multilingualism and linguistic ... more This research paper aims at illuminating some of the effects that multilingualism and linguistic diversity might have at the societal level with regard to various attributes of social life. In doing so, a thematic review of previous research on the effects of multilingualism is carried out. Particular focus was paid here to a number of areas in which multilingualism can have specific and major effects on social life, e.g. education, economy, as well as employment and language policy. Following attempts to problematize the notion of multilingualism, the article concludes that language-related problems evident in multilingual societies appear to be largely attributable to (language and language education) policies implemented by governments concerned.
This article introduces the Universal-Grammar-based (UG) theory of language acquisition. It focus... more This article introduces the Universal-Grammar-based (UG) theory of language acquisition. It focuses on parameters, both as a theoretical construct and in relation to first-language acquisition (L1A). The null subject parameter is used to illustrate how languages vary and explain how a child’s grammar develops into adult grammar over time. The article is structured as follows: the first section outlines crucial ideas that are relevant to language acquisition in generative linguistics, such as the notions of competence, performance, critical period, and language faculty. Section two introduces and discusses the content of language faculty from the perspectives of the Principles and Parameters Theory and the Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory. This section also briefly describes the contrast among languages in regard to whether or not they allow empty categories in subject position in finite clauses. The third section first discusses how children are hypothesised to acquire their...
Intuitional data elicited by means of grammaticality judgement (GJ) tasks are affected by a diver... more Intuitional data elicited by means of grammaticality judgement (GJ) tasks are affected by a diverse number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors including the type of the measurement scales and the response formats used (see Schütze, 1996; Sorace, 1996). The problems associated with the rating scales vary according to the type of the rating scale used-whether absolute or comparative. Such problems pose a serious challenge to linguists to find an alternative rating scale that can overcome these methodological problems and pitfalls. The only way to do so is by using a new rating scale which allows sharp lines to be drawn between the learner's certainty, doubt and lack of knowledge reflected in his or her judgements. The four-point scale in its new format proposed in this article (i.e., clearly correct, clearly incorrect, possibly incorrect and do not know) managed to map the territory between the three possibilities that capture a learner's feelings towards any given sentence. What is unique about this rating scale compared to others commonly used in grammaticality judgments (i.e., Coppetiers, 1987, Schachter and Yip, 1990; Schachter, 1990; Gass, 1994) is how it works and how the data obtained by means of this scale can be marked and scored. The purpose of the present article is to introduce this scale and to discuss from a logical point of view the extent to which it can produce reliable and valid data that reflect second language (L2) learner's interlanguage knowledge.
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Nov 30, 2023
Studies of language acquisition have shown that language learning ability declines with age. It h... more Studies of language acquisition have shown that language learning ability declines with age. It has been documented that the overwhelming majority of learners who begin the process of second language (L2) learning after passing the critical periodafter a certain agecannot attain native-like competence (underlying knowledge of language) at the end state. There is a universal folk belief, shared by almost all psycholinguists, that at an early age, the brain is plastic; it can modify its own structure, organization and function as a direct consequence of experiences and learning. According to this belief, the plasticity of the brain fades with age and with the increasing specialisation of the different hemispheres and areas of the brain. However, recently neuroscientists, equipped with the complementary aid of brain neuroimaging, have discovered that mature brain is far from being fixed as previously thought; it has the ability to continuously adapt its structure and function based on internal and external environmental changes and/or input such as experience, ageing, illness, injury and learning, meaning that the brain remains plastic throughout life. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to illustrate that the theory about the loss of brain plasticity during natural maturation is not valid in explaining the question why L2 learning is affected by delayed exposure to a language? It should be mentioned here that until now, the overwhelming majority of L2 researchers tend to think of plasticity as a phenomenon confined to early development; and therefore, evidence supporting plasticity is generally ignored.
This research paper aims at illuminating some of the effects that multilingualism and linguistic ... more This research paper aims at illuminating some of the effects that multilingualism and linguistic diversity might have at the societal level with regard to various attributes of social life. In doing so, a thematic review of previous research on the effects of multilingualism is carried out. Particular focus was paid here to a number of areas in which multilingualism can have specific and major effects on social life, e.g. education, economy, as well as employment and language policy. Following attempts to problematize the notion of multilingualism, the article concludes that language-related problems evident in multilingual societies appear to be largely attributable to (language and language education) policies implemented by governments concerned.
This article introduces the Universal-Grammar-based (UG) theory of language acquisition. It focus... more This article introduces the Universal-Grammar-based (UG) theory of language acquisition. It focuses on parameters, both as a theoretical construct and in relation to first-language acquisition (L1A). The null subject parameter is used to illustrate how languages vary and explain how a child’s grammar develops into adult grammar over time. The article is structured as follows: the first section outlines crucial ideas that are relevant to language acquisition in generative linguistics, such as the notions of competence, performance, critical period, and language faculty. Section two introduces and discusses the content of language faculty from the perspectives of the Principles and Parameters Theory and the Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory. This section also briefly describes the contrast among languages in regard to whether or not they allow empty categories in subject position in finite clauses. The third section first discusses how children are hypothesised to acquire their...
Intuitional data elicited by means of grammaticality judgement (GJ) tasks are affected by a diver... more Intuitional data elicited by means of grammaticality judgement (GJ) tasks are affected by a diverse number of linguistic and non-linguistic factors including the type of the measurement scales and the response formats used (see Schütze, 1996; Sorace, 1996). The problems associated with the rating scales vary according to the type of the rating scale used-whether absolute or comparative. Such problems pose a serious challenge to linguists to find an alternative rating scale that can overcome these methodological problems and pitfalls. The only way to do so is by using a new rating scale which allows sharp lines to be drawn between the learner's certainty, doubt and lack of knowledge reflected in his or her judgements. The four-point scale in its new format proposed in this article (i.e., clearly correct, clearly incorrect, possibly incorrect and do not know) managed to map the territory between the three possibilities that capture a learner's feelings towards any given sentence. What is unique about this rating scale compared to others commonly used in grammaticality judgments (i.e., Coppetiers, 1987, Schachter and Yip, 1990; Schachter, 1990; Gass, 1994) is how it works and how the data obtained by means of this scale can be marked and scored. The purpose of the present article is to introduce this scale and to discuss from a logical point of view the extent to which it can produce reliable and valid data that reflect second language (L2) learner's interlanguage knowledge.
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