Collaborative Research: NSF/SBE-BSF: The neural mechanisms of language transfer in morphological learning

合作研究：NSF/SBE-BSF：形态学习中语言迁移的神经机制

• 批准号: 1753611
• 负责人: Vedran Dronjic
• 金额: $ 5.35万
• 依托单位: Northern Arizona University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-05-01 至 2021-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1753611&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; NSF; SBE; BSF

The ability to communicate in a second language is of critical importance in today's global society. But learning a second language as an adult is hard, especially when it is very different from one's first language. This study will examine whether greater similarity between the first and second language 1) facilitates learning in the second language and 2) effects the brain processes that underlie learning. English speakers and Hebrew speakers are compared on their ability to learn words in a "new" language, created by the investigators, that shares features with both English and Hebrew. The investigators use functional brain imaging to examine whether learning familiar language features uses different brain systems than when learning unfamiliar language features. The study will also examine the effect of variability in the training items on learning. High variability involves training many different words with similar features whereas low variability training involves repeating fewer words more times. More broadly, the results will uncover aspects of the brain basis for second-language learning and will inform methods for improving second-language instruction. The project will integrate research and education by providing training to students at all levels from undergraduate to postdoctoral and includes a visiting scholar program between the US and Israel. The investigators will also hold workshops on second language learning for local professionals in both countries.This project will contribute to our understanding of the role of domain-general principles of learning and consolidation in second-language acquisition. It will examine the relative involvement of mediotemporal and neocortical learning mechanisms in the acquisition of a second language, depending on the presence of pre-existing experience with similar abstract linguistic structures in the first language. The structure of words varies across languages. In Hebrew, many words have a three-consonant root, such as the word perax (meaning "flower"), which contains the root p-r-x (meaning, "to bloom"). In contrast, most complex English words contain a base and an affix. For example, piglet contains the base "pig" and the affix "let." This study will shed light on the role of compositional processes in second-language learners and suggest a mechanism by which transfer from the first language may affect such compositional processes. Differences in the linguistic properties, such as morphological structure of the two languages, may influence the neurocognitive basis of learning. Finally, parameters that can improve learning and enhance extraction of morphological regularities from new words will be examined. This project is supported by a partnership between the National Science Foundation and the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在当今的全球社会中，用第二语言进行交流的能力至关重要。但是，成年后学习第二语言是很难的，尤其是当它与母语截然不同时。这项研究将检查第一语言和第二语言之间的更大相似性1）促进第二语言学习和2）影响学习基础的大脑过程。比较了讲英语的说话者和希伯来语的说话者，他们用调查人员创建的“新”语言学习单词的能力，这些语言与英语和希伯来语都有特征。研究人员使用功能性脑成像来检查学习熟悉的语言特征是否使用与学习陌生语言特征不同的大脑系统。该研究还将检查培训项目中可变性的影响。高变异性涉及训练许多具有相似特征的不同单词，而低变异性训练涉及更少的单词更多次。更广泛地说，结果将发现大脑基础的第二语言学习方面，并将为改善第二语言教学的方法提供信息。该项目将通过向从本科到博士后的各个级别的学生提供培训来整合研究和教育，并包括美国和以色列之间的访问学者计划。调查人员还将举办有关两国本地专业人士第二语言学习的研讨会。该项目将有助于我们理解领域一般性学习和合并在第二语言中的作用。它将根据第一语言中存在与类似的抽象语言结构的现有经验，这将检查中性和新皮质学习机制在获取第二语言中的相对参与。单词的结构在语言上有所不同。在希伯来语中，许多单词具有三个呼声的根，例如perax一词（含义“花”），其中包含root p-r-x（含义为“ bloom”）。相比之下，大多数复杂的英语单词都包含一个基础和词缀。例如，小猪包含“猪”和词缀“ let”。这项研究将阐明组成过程在第二语言学习者中的作用，并提出一种机制，通过该机制，从第一语言转移可能会影响这种组成过程。语言特性的差异，例如两种语言的形态结构，可能会影响学习的神经认知基础。最后，将检查可以改善学习和增强形态规律性提取新单词的参数。该项目得到了国家科学基金会与美国 - 以色列双国科学基金会之间的合作伙伴关系。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并认为使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准，认为值得通过评估来获得支持。