Wakayo Mattingley, Forrest Panther, Simon Todd, Jeanette King, Jennifer Hay, Peter J. Keegan
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Previous studies report that exposure to the Māori language on a regular basis allows New Zealand adults who cannot speak Māori to build a proto-lexicon of Māori—an implicit memory of word forms without detailed knowledge of meaning. How might this knowledge feed into explicit language learning? Is it possible to “awaken” the proto-lexicon in the context of overt language learning? We investigate whether implicit linguistic knowledge represented in a proto-lexicon gives any advantages for intentional language learning in a tertiary educational environment. We conducted a three-task experiment which: (a) assessed participants’ Māori proto-lexicon, (b) assessed their phonotactic knowledge, and (c) tested them on Māori vocabulary that they had been exposed to during the course at two time points. The results show that students with larger Māori proto-lexicons learn more words in a classroom setting. This study shows that proto-lexicon acquired from ambient exposure can lead to significant benefits in language learning.
期刊介绍:
Language Learning is a scientific journal dedicated to the understanding of language learning broadly defined. It publishes research articles that systematically apply methods of inquiry from disciplines including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, educational inquiry, neuroscience, ethnography, sociolinguistics, sociology, and anthropology. It is concerned with fundamental theoretical issues in language learning such as child, second, and foreign language acquisition, language education, bilingualism, literacy, language representation in mind and brain, culture, cognition, pragmatics, and intergroup relations. A subscription includes one or two annual supplements, alternating among a volume from the Language Learning Cognitive Neuroscience Series, the Currents in Language Learning Series or the Language Learning Special Issue Series.