In this article I review studies published between 1996 and 2010 in which the effectiveness of Co... more In this article I review studies published between 1996 and 2010 in which the effectiveness of Cognitive-Semantics informed second language pedagogy was put to the test. Altogether, the published evidence is manifestly favourable, although questions remain as to the scope of application of the approach and the precise properties that produce its positive effects. It must also be recognised that Cognitive Semantic ventures into language pedagogy stand a lot to gain from a closer collaboration with ‘mainstream’ applied linguistics, not only with regard to general insights into the nature of second language acquisition but also with regard to this type of research methodology.
Abstract: Discusses the effectiveness of mental imagery in processing and understanding idiomatic... more Abstract: Discusses the effectiveness of mental imagery in processing and understanding idiomatic expressions. Investigates the usefulness of mental hypothesizing on the etymological origins of idioms as a key to learning them.(Adjunct ERIC for ESL Literacy ...
ABSTRACT When investigating second language development or deciding on ways to teach it, it is im... more ABSTRACT When investigating second language development or deciding on ways to teach it, it is important to know how language and language development are viewed in general, because it will determine to a great extent what you look for, what you find, and what you teach. For example, if you think that syntax (form) drives a modular system, your attention will focus mainly on form. On the other hand, if you think the need to communicate and express meaning drives a dynamic, complex system, your attention turns to how language users develop their meaning system and how insights into this development may help in teaching an L2. Cognitive linguistics (CL) holds the latter view. In this entry, we will first explain the basic concepts in CL, contrast them with syntax-driven approaches to SLA, and finally show how CL insights may be applied in the L2 classroom.Keywords:language teaching;language in the classroom;second language acquisition;teaching methods in applied linguistics
In the light of the existing literature on the issue of cross-cultural interface design, we carri... more In the light of the existing literature on the issue of cross-cultural interface design, we carried out a small-scale study in order to check whether we could find cultural differences in local web sites. First, the experiment was conducted for university web sites. Our hypotheses with ...
This article reports an experiment in which mental imagery was used as a mnemonic strategy to enh... more This article reports an experiment in which mental imagery was used as a mnemonic strategy to enhance learners' retention of figurative idioms. Language students in tertiary education were provided with on-line exercises on 120 English idioms. Under the experimental condition, participants were presented with multiple-choice exercises in which they were asked to hypothesise about the etymological origin of the given idioms. This task was meant to elicit mental imagery. Under the control condition, participants were presented with traditional multiple-choice exercises in which they were asked to identify the correct figurative meaning of the idioms. Retention was measured one week later by means of a gap-fill exercise in which the participants were asked to produce the keywords of the idioms in context. The results of the experiment suggest (i) that mental imagery can be a powerful mnemonic strategy, and (ii) that this strategy generates superior recall, especially with regard to...
Experimental evidence suggests that pictorial elucidation helps learners comprehend and remember ... more Experimental evidence suggests that pictorial elucidation helps learners comprehend and remember the meaning of second language (L2) idioms. In this article we address the question whether it also helps retention of the form of idioms, i.e. their precise lexical composition. In a small-scale experiment, the meaning of English idioms was clarified to students with reference to the original, literal use of the expressions. This was done with a view to stimulating dual coding, i.e. the association of the figurative phrases with images of concrete scenes. For half of the idioms, photographs or drawings depicting those concrete scenes were added to the verbal explanations. The learners’ recollection of the content words of the expressions was subsequently gauged in a gap-fill test. Overall, the results suggest that the addition of pictorial elucidation contributes little to learners’ retention of linguistic form. Distraction by pictures may even have a detrimental effect when it comes to...
This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) t... more This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) the use of formulaic sequences (standardized phrases such as collocations and idiomatic expressions) can help learners come across as proficient L2 speakers and (ii) an instructional method that emphasizes ‘noticing’of L2 formulaic sequences can help language learners add such phrases to their linguistic repertoire. Participants were 32 college students majoring in English. Over the course of 22 teaching hours they were exposed to considerable quantities of authentic listening and reading materials. During exploration of those materials, the experimental students (N = 17) were made aware of standardized word combinations, while in the control group (N = 15) the traditional grammar-lexis dichotomy was upheld. Afterwards, the participants’ oral proficiency was gauged in an interview by two blind judges. Both perceived the experimental group as more proficient than the control group. Two oth...
In this article I review studies published between 1996 and 2010 in which the effectiveness of Co... more In this article I review studies published between 1996 and 2010 in which the effectiveness of Cognitive-Semantics informed second language pedagogy was put to the test. Altogether, the published evidence is manifestly favourable, although questions remain as to the scope of application of the approach and the precise properties that produce its positive effects. It must also be recognised that Cognitive Semantic ventures into language pedagogy stand a lot to gain from a closer collaboration with ‘mainstream’ applied linguistics, not only with regard to general insights into the nature of second language acquisition but also with regard to this type of research methodology.
Abstract: Discusses the effectiveness of mental imagery in processing and understanding idiomatic... more Abstract: Discusses the effectiveness of mental imagery in processing and understanding idiomatic expressions. Investigates the usefulness of mental hypothesizing on the etymological origins of idioms as a key to learning them.(Adjunct ERIC for ESL Literacy ...
ABSTRACT When investigating second language development or deciding on ways to teach it, it is im... more ABSTRACT When investigating second language development or deciding on ways to teach it, it is important to know how language and language development are viewed in general, because it will determine to a great extent what you look for, what you find, and what you teach. For example, if you think that syntax (form) drives a modular system, your attention will focus mainly on form. On the other hand, if you think the need to communicate and express meaning drives a dynamic, complex system, your attention turns to how language users develop their meaning system and how insights into this development may help in teaching an L2. Cognitive linguistics (CL) holds the latter view. In this entry, we will first explain the basic concepts in CL, contrast them with syntax-driven approaches to SLA, and finally show how CL insights may be applied in the L2 classroom.Keywords:language teaching;language in the classroom;second language acquisition;teaching methods in applied linguistics
In the light of the existing literature on the issue of cross-cultural interface design, we carri... more In the light of the existing literature on the issue of cross-cultural interface design, we carried out a small-scale study in order to check whether we could find cultural differences in local web sites. First, the experiment was conducted for university web sites. Our hypotheses with ...
This article reports an experiment in which mental imagery was used as a mnemonic strategy to enh... more This article reports an experiment in which mental imagery was used as a mnemonic strategy to enhance learners' retention of figurative idioms. Language students in tertiary education were provided with on-line exercises on 120 English idioms. Under the experimental condition, participants were presented with multiple-choice exercises in which they were asked to hypothesise about the etymological origin of the given idioms. This task was meant to elicit mental imagery. Under the control condition, participants were presented with traditional multiple-choice exercises in which they were asked to identify the correct figurative meaning of the idioms. Retention was measured one week later by means of a gap-fill exercise in which the participants were asked to produce the keywords of the idioms in context. The results of the experiment suggest (i) that mental imagery can be a powerful mnemonic strategy, and (ii) that this strategy generates superior recall, especially with regard to...
Experimental evidence suggests that pictorial elucidation helps learners comprehend and remember ... more Experimental evidence suggests that pictorial elucidation helps learners comprehend and remember the meaning of second language (L2) idioms. In this article we address the question whether it also helps retention of the form of idioms, i.e. their precise lexical composition. In a small-scale experiment, the meaning of English idioms was clarified to students with reference to the original, literal use of the expressions. This was done with a view to stimulating dual coding, i.e. the association of the figurative phrases with images of concrete scenes. For half of the idioms, photographs or drawings depicting those concrete scenes were added to the verbal explanations. The learners’ recollection of the content words of the expressions was subsequently gauged in a gap-fill test. Overall, the results suggest that the addition of pictorial elucidation contributes little to learners’ retention of linguistic form. Distraction by pictures may even have a detrimental effect when it comes to...
This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) t... more This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) the use of formulaic sequences (standardized phrases such as collocations and idiomatic expressions) can help learners come across as proficient L2 speakers and (ii) an instructional method that emphasizes ‘noticing’of L2 formulaic sequences can help language learners add such phrases to their linguistic repertoire. Participants were 32 college students majoring in English. Over the course of 22 teaching hours they were exposed to considerable quantities of authentic listening and reading materials. During exploration of those materials, the experimental students (N = 17) were made aware of standardized word combinations, while in the control group (N = 15) the traditional grammar-lexis dichotomy was upheld. Afterwards, the participants’ oral proficiency was gauged in an interview by two blind judges. Both perceived the experimental group as more proficient than the control group. Two oth...
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