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2 - Cognitive Approaches to Second Language Acquisition

from Part I - Theories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2019

By
Nick C. Ellis  and
Stefanie Wulff
Edited by
John W. Schwieter  and
Alessandro Benati
John W. Schwieter
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
Alessandro Benati
Affiliation:
American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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Summary

In this chapter, we describe the constructs and working assumptions that characterize such approaches to language learning, with a particular focus on their cognitive underpinnings and how these explain differences between the linguistic forms that distinguish L1 and L2 speakers. We first define constructions as the targets of language learning and then describe the processes of construction learning in terms of exemplar-based, rational, associative learning. Not all constructions are equally learnable by all learners: naturalistic second language learners process open-class words more efficiently than grammatical cues even though the grammatical cues may be more frequent. We outline a usage-based account of this phenomenon in terms of salience, contingency, and redundancy, and explain how effects of learned attention and blocking further limit learning in adult L2 learners. We describe educational interventions taking these findings into consideration and conclude with further readings on usage-based approaches to L2 acquisition.

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Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning , pp. 41 - 61
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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