B R A I N
Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence
and Neuroscience
Volume 3, Issue 4
"Brain and Language"
December 2012
EduSoft
www.brain.edusoft.ro

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The phenomenon of language acquisition is a controversial issue within the field of  language-related studies. Different approaches have been proposed to take account of this  complicated matter. The present paper attempts at reviewing the current cognitive perspectives on  language acquisition, i.e., Connectionism and Emergentism and exploring to what extent they are  different from Nativism.

The influence of neurolinguistic applications on second language pedagogy has often been a  controversial subject of dispute. As such, researchers in this field have faced with some blurred and  conflicting views in terms of the pedagogical applicability of neurological discoveries for second  language instruction. In light of this research-based concern, the current short paper attempts to  review the related issues and refocus the current direction of the neurolinguistic-second language  pedagogy debate. The paper also concludes with some suggestions made in favor of an alternative  neurolinguistic outlook for L2 researchers.

In the past, vocabulary teaching and learning were often given little priority in second  language programs but recently there has been a renewed interest in the nature of vocabulary and its  role in learning and teaching. Although most teachers might be aware of the importance of  technology, say, computer, rarely teachers use it for teaching vocabulary. Thus, the current study  aims at exploring the effects of CALL on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL Learners. In this  study, 40 intermediate EFL learners, both male and female aged from 16 to 18 studying New  Interchange, book III, were chosen randomly from a language institute in Tehran. They were divided
into two twenty-member groups. The experimental group was given the VTS.S (a computer  program for teaching vocabularies), a computerized dictionary and provided with teacher efeedback.
The control group received no special software and vocabularies were taught using the  conventional ways with the help of a paper dictionary. A vocabulary pre-test based on the tests  available in their teacher's guide was given to both groups. The aim of this test was to make sure  that the students were not familiar with the words in advance. By pre-test/post-test comparison  researchers found learners exposed to VTS.S teacher e-feedback plus the computerized dictionary  scored higher than the control group. Both high-stake and low-stake holders can avail from the  findings of the study.

English language teaching has left behind many ups and downs until the introduction of  CLT and TBLT methodologies in recent years. Much attempt has been made both by researchers  and language instructors to make use of the most efficient teaching practices aimed at enhancing  language production and affecting learning outcomes in a positive way. In the same direction,  during 1950s an approach emerged in the United Kingdom based on behaviorist teaching practices  known as PPP, which soon popularized the field of language teaching and employed by many  professional schools throughout the world. However, due to ignoring the communication as a main  goal of language learning, this approach came under serious attacks and criticisms by various  scholars from 1990s onwards. The present paper is an attempt to critically look at this issue from  several perspectives: First, in order to know the three Ps approach, this article will present its main  characteristics and principles. Second, it will elaborate on the main challenges and criticisms posed  against this approach by various scholars. Finally, the advantages of applying the three Ps will be  discussed as a useful teaching technique rather than an approach or method. Also, the implications  will be pointed out both for language teachers and learners.

Research on word recognition across languages has gained popularity in recent years, due to  its overall bearing on the psycholinguistic account of language acquisition. To this end, this study  was an attempt to demonstrate the differential influences of L2 proficiency, and type of context on  the lexical recognition and retrieval of bilinguals. For this purpose, ten participants who were native  speakers of Persian and were learning English at the two distinct levels of elementary and advanced  were requested to recite two texts, one in Persian and one in English, which were specifically
modified for the current research purpose. The results revealed that while advanced learners were  better performers on L2 lexis retrieval, their bare word recognition in L1 lagged behind in latency
from elementary learners.

Behaviorism dominated the field of SLA until the end of the 1960s and found its most  visible application in contrastive analysis and the audiolingual method (Johnson, 2004, p. 10). In  this tradition, the focus was on the learner's external environment. By now it is consensus that a  mature psychology will contain a level of intermediate theory which bridges the divide between  physiology and behavior, but there is disagreement over the best way to do that (Reisman, 2003).  Now behaviorism is like a cube of sugar dissolved in tea; it has no major, distinct existence but it is  everywhere (Harzem, 2004).

Although decisions and inferences made based on test scores depend both on the  characteristics of test takers and testing environment, the former seems to have the most overriding
importance. The present study which was conducted in a bilingual environment is in line with this  assumption and is aimed at investigating intelligence as one of the test taker characteristics. First, it  aimed at finding the possible correlation between any of the eight types of intelligences in  Gardner`s MI theory and EAP test performance. Second, it intended to survey the intercorrelation
among the eight types of intelligences themselves. To that end, 122 male bilingual EFL learners  who were all sophomore university students were chosen as the participants of the study. They sat
for the final EAP exam and filled the questionnaire on multiple intelligence. The test takers' scores  on EAP exam were correlated with their multiple intelligences. The result did not demonstrate any
statistically significant go-togetherness between EAP test performance and any types of  intelligence; however, a significantly positive correlation was observed among the eight types of  intelligences themselves showing that all types of intelligences are equally important and ought to  be equally dealt with in EFL context.

In recent times, there has been a growing interest in analyzing the relationship between  language and thought from a variety of points of view to explore whether language comes before  thought or thought precedes language. Accordingly, the present paper attempts at mulling over the  current debates on this issue, including Chomsky's (1975, 1983) Independent Theory, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (1956), Piaget's Cognitive Determinism (1952, as cited in, Chaput, 2001),  Vygotsky's (1978, 1986) Theory of Interchanging Roles, O'brien and Opie's (2002) Radical  Connectionism, and Slobin's (1987, 1991, 2003) Thinking for Speaking Hypothesis, which recently  have received a great amount of attention, among other positions. Then the pedagogical  implications of the Thinking for Speaking Hypothesis for Second Language Acquisition (SLA) are
presented.

This study is intended to investigate the teacher-student communication patterns in an  upper-intermediate English class. There are major questions in this study; (a) what the nature of
interaction is in a foreign language classroom, (b) what the characteristics of teacher-student turn  taking are, (c) what type of feedback is taken by the teacher, (d) how the teacher's competence and  performance are. The participants of the study are female adult students and a female teacher  majoring English literature at MA level that has had five years of teaching experience. Five partial  sessions of the class are recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. According to the findings, the type of  discourse is teacher-initiated one and the question type is both WH-questions and questions with  auxiliaries. The way of student's reply is brief and limited to one teacher-student turn-taking. The  type of interaction is based on the questions posed by the teacher and long interaction such as  discussing, debating, and challenging could rarely be seen in the classroom in question. The type of  feedback depending on the skill and tasks dealt with, ranging from recast to direct correction. The  teacher's competence and performance are satisfactory with correct pronunciation and near native  accent.