The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching

Tammy Gregersen, Sarah Mercer, Tammy Gregersen, Sarah Mercer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367337230
• eBook ISBN: 9781000439908
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This state-of-the-art volume is the first to capture a hybrid discipline that studies the role and linguistic implications of the human mind in language learning and teaching. This Handbook considers individual as well as collective factors in language learners and teachers from an array of new empirical constructs and theoretical perspectives, including implications for practice and "myths, debates, and disagreements" in the field, and points to future directions for research. This collection of stellar contributions is an essential resource for researchers, advanced students, and teachers working in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, psychology, and education.

Part 1

Perspectives on Psychology

DOI: 10.4324/9780429321498-2

1

The Cognitive Approach

Yuichi Suzuki

DOI: 10.4324/9780429321498-3

In this chapter, second language (L2) learning processes are elucidated from cognitive perspectives gained from psychology and second language acquisition (SLA) research. While L2 acquisition involves complex cognitive mechanisms, these are naturally embedded in social contexts, and the importance of social, affective, and conative factors and their interaction is widely recognized. Yet, the internal or cognitive mechanisms and processes presumably share some key commonalities across all L2 learners with different affective and motivational levels in various social contexts. Thus, it is worth investigating and seeking to understand the cognitive underpinnings of L2 learning.

Historically, theories of L2 learning have drawn upon cognitive approaches. For instance, in their edited book, Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction, Vanpatten and Williams (2015) presented ten “mainstream” L2 theories, eight of which were cognitive (e.g., usage-based approaches, skill acquisition theory, input-processing model, declarative/procedural model, processability theory). These eight theories are not exhaustive even within cognitive approaches. Over a decade ago, Long (2007) pointed out that there are “as many as 60 theories, models, hypotheses, and theoretical frameworks” (p. 4). As such, an extensive list cannot be addressed within a single chapter; here, focus will be placed on skill acquisition theory, as this cognitive theory is deeply rooted in psychology literature and is highly relevant for language learning.

In what follows, the foundational concepts of memory and knowledge in cognitive psychology are briefly outlined. Next, skill acquisition theory is delineated from SLA perspectives and several key issues are highlighted. Last, an integrated perspective of SLA and cognitive psychology—the main theme of this chapter—is presented.

Cognitive Perspectives in Psychology

Many essential constructs in SLA stem from cognitive psychology, which is the scientific study of human mental processes, such as perception, attention, consciousness, memory, automatization, and language. Two related constructs—memory and knowledge—are posited to play critical roles in learning. Psychologists have a particular interest in memory, i.e., the underlying mechanisms that support diverse forms of learning. While memory was once considered a unitary system, it is now generally believed to be multi-componential (Baddeley, Eysenck, & Anderson, 2014). Declarative and nondeclarative memory (e.g., Squire & Zola, 1996), as well as working memory (Baddeley, 2012), are the most influential conceptualizations of human long-term memory not only for psychologists but also for L2 researchers. Declarative memory is used for the learning of factual information and events, whereas the nondeclarative type of memory is involved in procedural, priming, conditioning, and non-associative learning. A well-known concept, working memory, is responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information for carrying out complex cognitive tasks. From a cognitive perspective, these memory systems form the foundation for acquiring knowledge that is dedicated to specific processes by experiencing and encoding events from the environment (e.g., Anderson, 1996). For instance, L2 learners need to process and analyze L2 input such that they develop mental representations—L2 knowledge—that can be used for communication.

A number of empirical studies in the field of cognitive psychology and education have also provided valuable insights into the effectiveness of various teaching techniques in promoting learning in general (e.g., feedback, distributed learning, and individualized instruction). In the effort to promote the “science of learning,” Hattie and Yates (2013) synthesized the meta-analyses of cognitive psychology findings regarding effective teaching and learning strategies that can be utilized in research-informed classroom teaching (see also Horvath, Lodge, & Hattie, 2016).

Although psychology research has generated a number of insights that could be applied in education, in most cases, researchers tended to examine simple tasks (Wulf & Shea, 2002) that are only remotely related to L2 learning. Consequently, the findings pertaining to the effectiveness of certain techniques in psychology may not always be applicable to L2 learning. While some cognitive psychologists are interested in L2 learning, the scope of L2 learning examined in such studies is often limited. In the past, for instance, L2 learning was equated simply with vocabulary acquisition (e.g., Donovan & Radosevich, 1999). Historically, psychologists rarely delved into the complexity of L2 learning; however, this situation changed dramatically in the past decade. Recently, L2 researchers have started incorporating and testing findings reported by psychologists (Suzuki, Nakata, & DeKeyser, 2019b), and this emerging field will be discussed in depth in the “Integrating Perspectives” section.

Cognitive Perspectives in SLA

Skill Acquisition Theory

A particularly useful cognitive theory for elucidating L2 learning processes from a cognitive perspective is skill acquisition theory (DeKeyser, 2015). It stems from Anderson’s adaptive control of thought-rational (ACT-R) theory in psychology (Anderson, Bothell, Byrne, Douglass, Lebiere, & Qin, 2004). In an overview of the field of psychology and SLA, Dörnyei (2009, 2019) identified this theory as one of the most useful frameworks that offers a concrete approach to studying L2 learning from a psychology perspective.

According to skill acquisition theory, knowledge has declarative and procedural forms. In L2 learning, declarative knowledge consists of exemplars and rules that L2 learners are usually aware of, while procedural knowledge is used by applying declarative knowledge to behaviors/skills, such as L2 comprehension and production. For instance, when learners possess declarative knowledge of third person s, they can explain when the morpheme -s is used at the end of the verb. Using this declarative rule as a crutch, they practice producing or comprehending sentences by paying attention to the target morpheme -s that is embedded in its surrounding linguistic information. Engaging in this type of deliberate practice leads to proceduralization. Further fine-tuning of linguistic knowledge requires substantial practice, and this gradual process is described as automatization. Automatization leads to faster, more consistent and efficient utilization of acquired skills. In sum, the theory presupposes three stages of L2 learning: declarative−procedural−automatization.

The key long-term memory systems—declarative and procedural memory—are also highlighted in Michael Ullman’s declarative/procedural model (Ullman, 2015, 2016). According to this neurobiological L2 learning model, learners gradually shift from the declarative to the procedural stage as their L2 proficiency increases. Unlike skill acquisition theory, the declarative/procedural model does not seem to distinguish between the procedural and automatization phases. What is important for L2 researchers and teachers, however, is that both theories can provide a theoretical neuro-cognitive foundation for the way L2 learners develop their knowledge and skills.

This dual-memory system view of L2 knowledge can easily be linked to explicit and implicit knowledge, which are key constructs in both SLA and psychology. Declarative and procedural knowledge corresponds to explicit and implicit knowledge in most cases; however, some discrepancies in operational definitions utilized by L2 researchers do exist, which has led to long-lasting controversies fueled by confusion. The distinction between explicit and implicit knowledge is based on the criterion of awareness. Explicit knowledge is conscious, whereas implicit knowledge is used without awareness (DeKeyser, 2003; Williams & Paciorek, 2015). In contrast, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge are often distinguished, irrespective of awareness, by the neurobiological long-term memory systems involved: declarative memory (hippocampus and medial temporal lobe) and procedural memory (frontal-basal ganglia circuits), respectively (Paradis, 2009; Ullman, 2015, 2016).

From a pedagogical perspective, the declarative−procedural−automatization distinction, rather than the explicit−implicit distinction, fulfills the purposes and is perhaps more useful in analyzing cognitive underpinnings of L2 learning processes in most classroom contexts. This is because highly advanced L2 learners can develop conscious, explicit knowledge and are able to access it quickly (Suzuki & DeKeyser, 2015; Suzuki, 2017). In other words, these advanced L2 learners can use speeded-up or automatized explicit knowledge that is presumably useful for communication, and the acquisition of unconscious, implicit knowledge, unless it is highly automatized, may be of less concern, at least for practitioners. Automatization of implicit knowledge necessitates extensive L2 exposure and may take a number of years to develop typically beyond classroom contexts, and only some portion of L2 grammatical knowledge may ultimately become implicit in the sense of non-awareness, even in naturalistic settings (Paradis, 2009; Suzuki & DeKeyser, 2017c).

Rather than the idea of “implicit” learning without awareness, proceduralization may be a construct that is more applicable to analyzing L2 learning process and perhaps can be achieved realistically in classroom settings. According to skill acquisition theory, initial proceduralization can be achieved after just a few attempts in some cases (DeKeyser, 2015). Automatization emerges from this procedural knowledge and skill and requires a long learning process, which is a useful conceptualization for tracking the L2 learning progress from a longitudinal perspective. The discussions presented in this chapter primarily focus on the transition from the declarative to the procedural learning phase, and finally to automatization, irrespective of awareness, as this learning mode is likely to be most relevant in the majority of L2 learning classroom settings.

Key Issues and Research from the Skill Acquisi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction
• Part 1 Perspectives on Psychology
• Part 2 Constructs: Teacher and Learner Psychologies
• Part 3 Groups and Communities
• Part 4 Myths, Debates, and Disagreements
• Index