Neuro(+psycho)linguistics of 1st and 2nd language learning/impairment Kuppuraj S Lecturer in Speech Language Pathology Dept. of Speech-Language Pathology All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Manasagangothri, Mysore-570006 E mail: kuppuslp@gmail.com, 7406367390

Overview of the talk… Neurolinguistics of language learning/representation How second language learning is different from 1st language at the neurobio level? Psycholinguistic experiments we run in our dept lab to study memory systems and their role in explaining typical and atypical language development

What comprises language ? Words –meaning- i.e., Semantics (the content) Grammar –rule to combine the words- i.e. syntax (the form) Imagine a present continuous sentence a) semantics only E.g., ‘I-go-school’ b) syntax only E.g., ‘am -ing to’ c)Perfect sentence would be ‘I am going to school’

Neurolinguistics? Psycholinguistics ? Neurolinguistics is the study of how language is represented in the brain: that is, what goes where in the brain. Psycholinguistics ? Study of behavior aspects that enable humans to acquire/learn language

What goes where in brain? (NEUROLing view) Semantics- mental lexicon (the mental dictionary) is mediated by declarative memory system- temporal lobe/hippocampus

Smell, taste & texture Color, shape The phonological form ‘apple’

Syntax- procedural system- the system that can track the probability rules in the input and extract the pattern- mediated by Frontal lobe (broca’s area),basal ganglia and cerebellum Probability rules? – he plays, he played Predicting ? next immediate and non-adjacent element in speech by a probability basis calculation -helps in speech comprehension and executive function like problem solving Finding word boundaries based on transitional probability - ‘eatmango’ Learning skills like cycling, driving, swimming…

Declarative Vs Procedural system

How are information learned in and retrieved from these memory systems How are information learned in and retrieved from these memory systems? (PSYCHOling view) Semantics/words – learned explicitly-retrieved consciously at the beginning Syntax – learned implicitly-retrieved automatically Instructions Exposure

Temporal lobe/hippocampus Procedural Declarative Frontal, BG, Cerebellum Temporal lobe/hippocampus Implicitly learned Explicitly learned Automatically retrieved Consciously retrieved Phonotactics/Grammar/cycling/swimming..etc Words/irregular morphemes/ remembering events and facts

Words and grammar in memory in first (L1) and second language (L2)

Child language acquisition When children acquire their first or second (or third) language, evidence indicates that grammar is supported by procedural memory and words are supported by declarative memory.  L1 and L2 acquisition involve the same memory systems. procedural LTM declarative LTM L1 grammar words L2

Adult SLA procedural LTM declarative LTM L1 grammar words L2 --- When adults acquire a second language, evidence indicates that that both words and grammar are supported by declarative memory systems. (Ullman’s, 2005 DP model of SLA)  L1 and L2 acquisition involve different memory systems. procedural LTM declarative LTM L1 grammar words L2 --- grammar & words

More evidence … The frontal lobe structures organize the syntactic components of a language only if it is learnt before the critical age. Afterwards, other brain structures account for the organization of the grammatical aspects of the second language, probably through explicit learning.” (Fabbro, 1999, p. 101)

Role of procedural memory in adult second language (L2) development. Better procedural memory enables efficient learning of second language rules in adults. Especially through implicit strategies. (Measures of procedural memory were administered and were used to create high and low procedural groups. Results revealed an advantage in L2 development for learners with high procedural memory when trained in the implicit condition. (Kara Morgon Short et al., 2012)

Procedural and declarative potentials as predictor for L2 learning Positive relationships between declarative learning ability and syntactic development at early stages of acquisition and between procedural learning ability and development at later stages of acquisition. (Kara Morgan Short et al., 2012 )

How detached is second language from cognition? Cognition here is executive function-intelligence 2 groups, 1 with simultaneous exposure and the other with sequence exposure The sequence exposure- second language depend more on exe functions The simultaneous exposure- the second language depend less on exe function Surprisingly both were equally performing at psycholinguistic level (Ana Inés Ansaldo et al., in preparation)

Implications for the classroom When students say “I hate grammar” they are expressing real frustration related to the disconnect between knowing what and knowing how. Learning and practicing grammar rules is unlikely to promote spontaneous use of those rules. Learning words and meaning-bearing phrases may lead to spontaneous grammatical utterances.

What we do currently in the project… We work with children with Language impairment (LI) (& also bilinguals, effect of aging on cognition and so on). They predominantly have problem in learning rules of language ‘He come to college’, who did what to whom type of sentences (active to passive and vice versa) –surely a procedural deficit Where as their declarative system is largely intact –simply they learn the words as good as typical children.

Match between LI and second language learners ??? My view Yes!!! LI L2 Declarative system Adequate and flexible Procedural system Week – what is left is residual functions of procedural memory Less flexible –difficult to change and register the rules What remains unanswered is What possible things can be taught explicitly and what could be taught implicitly?

How to examine the procedural memory ? We discuss this here because it has a very practical implication about identifying whether or not some one is typical second language learner or a language impaired in L2…..discussed later Through an Serial Reaction Time (SRT) Task

Neuro Exp Psycho Exp

SRT task-PsychoLing task

We also currently examine.. Learning two structurally different language has reverse knock on effect on sequence /procedural memory ???

Thank you for listening 