30.1062, Review: Applied Linguistics; Cognitive Science; Computational Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Tyler, Huang, Jan (2018)

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Subject: 30.1062, Review: Applied Linguistics; Cognitive Science; Computational Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Tyler, Huang, Jan (2018)

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Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2019 10:51:06
From: Daniel Walter [dwalte5 at emory.edu]
Subject: What is Applied Cognitive Linguistics?

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/29/29-2864.html

EDITOR: Andrea  Tyler
EDITOR: Lihong  Huang
EDITOR: Hana  Jan
TITLE: What is Applied Cognitive Linguistics?
SUBTITLE: Answers From Current SLA Research
SERIES TITLE: Applications of Cognitive Linguistics [ACL]
PUBLISHER: De Gruyter Mouton
YEAR: 2018

REVIEWER: Daniel Walter, Emory University

SUMMARY

In ''What is Applied Cognitive Linguistics: Answers from current SLA
research'',  Andrea Tyler, Lihong Huang, and Hana Jan put forth an argument
for the advancement of Cognitive Linguistics (CL) by drawing on current Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) research. The structure of the book includes an
overarching introduction and three major subsections. The introduction to the
topic includes a description of CL, the relevance of each article to the
overall theme, and the interconnection of the chapters to one another. The
three major subsections of the book are ''Categories and constructions in
context'', ''Teaching construal and viewpoint'', and ''Polysemy''. Each
subsection begins with a chapter that contains more detailed information about
the subsection in general which acts as a guide to the related subsection
chapters.

The introduction to the book begins by focusing the reader on the current
state of SLA research, which, according to the authors, is being invigorated
by new discoveries from a broad array of fields, including ''cognitive
science, psycholinguistics, first language learning and linguistic theory,''
(p. 1). The authors then go on to describe the major tenets of CL, which are a
commitment to explaining linguistic complexity through ''general cognitive
processes'' (p. 1). A major aspect of CL which is repeated throughout the book
is a dedication to usage-based and embodied explanations of second language
(L2) phenomena and justification for L2 pedagogical interventions. The
introduction then goes on to outline how each of the authors and chapters in
the book intertwine towards this shared CL perspective.

The first subsection of the book, ''Categories and constructions in context''
is separated into four chapters. The first chapter, ''Teaching usage and
concepts: Toward a cognitive pedagogical grammar'' by Michel Achard, begins
with a critique of the previous inability of linguistic models to have a real
impact on second language instruction. As a remedy, he posits that CL can
overcome this gap for two reasons. First, the identification of constructions
as the goal broadens the scope of what can and should be taught in the second
language classroom, and second, instructors are given flexibility because both
''grammar as use'', which I interpret as implicit instruction, and ''grammar
as concepts'', which I interpret as a type of explicit instruction, are seen
as complementary (p. 37). The rest of the chapter focuses on two impersonal
forms in French, the middle personal and the indefinite impersonal, and how
they can be taught from a CL perspective. The author first describes the
French impersonal forms, their difficulties for second language learners of
French, their distinct functions and contexts. He then outlines what a dual
usage and conceptual approach should entail. To end the chapter, the author
describes how this dual approach can be applied to the teaching of French
impersonal forms. 

The second chapter of the first subsection, ''L2 constructions and
interactional competence: Subordination and coordination in English L2
learning'' by Søren W. Eskildsen, espouses a closer-look into the development
of a particular linguistic feature, in this case English subordination and
coordination, using microanalytic procedures taken from Conversation Analysis
(CA). The author begins with a short description of usage-based linguistics
and language development, as well as  bi-clausality, formulaic language, and
interactional competence. The majority of the chapter details the development
of one ESL learner over the course of a four-year period. The focal data are
the learner's use of coordinating and subordinating constructions over time.
The author uses this data to argue that the development of these linguistic
forms is rooted in interactional competency and that their usage in relevant
contexts is the driving force behind the learner's linguistic change.
Throughout the chapter, he places special emphasis on the emergence of these
forms in situated interactions. 

The third chapter of the first subsection, ''Optional that in complementation
by German and Spanish learners'', by Stefanie Wulff, Stefan Th. Gries, and
Nicholas Lester, provides a statistical analysis of constructions in context.
In their study, the authors are interested in the optional use of that in
complementation by non-native speakers (NNS) of English. The data in this
chapter come from first language (L1) speakers of German and Spanish. The
authors provide an initial comparison of that-variation in English, German,
and Spanish, and then contrast that with the same variation in L2 production.
In order to analyze this data set, which is comprised from multiple corpora,
the authors utilize an advanced statistical procedure, MuPDAR (Multifactorial
Prediction and Deviation Analysis using Regressions) (p. 109). This tool is
then used to look at how much the different complement types deviate from one
another across groups (English, German, Spanish) and languages (English spoken
by native English speakers, German spoken by German native speakers, Spanish
spoken by Spanish native speakers, and English spoken by NNS with L1 German
and Spanish). Using these results, the authors argue that learner behavior,
overall, is not much different from native speaker (NS) behavior and that
particular psycholinguistic aspects of processing are the likely cause for
both the similarities and differences in group behavior, which is key to a
usage-based, CL approach that sees general psychological processes as the
foundation for language.

The fourth and final chapter of the first subsection, ''French onions and
Dutch trains: Typological perspectives on learners' descriptions of spatial
scenes'' by Maarten Lemmens and Julien Perrez, explores how the concept of
space varies in its representation in languages. In this particular case, the
authors are interested in the typological differences between languages that
encode direction of movement in the main verb and the manner is optionally
expressed, and languages that encode manner in the main verb and direction in
a satellite (p. 122). The study outlined here is a picture description task
completed in L1 French, L1 Dutch, and L2 Dutch by L1 speakers of French at
three different proficiency levels. The results show the various interactions
of language, proficiency, and construction type across learners, and also
indicate a strong effect of individual variation. The chapter title comes from
their description of French and Dutch differences in their representations of
multiple locative events. The French speakers tend to nest an initial locative
event within another through subordination (like layers of an onion), while
the Dutch speakers follow one locative event with another (like two train cars
linked to one another). Their emphasis in the conclusion is that the major
hurdle L1 French learners of Dutch face is a one-to-many, rather than
one-to-one mapping of lexical items and their relevant constructions.

The next subsection of the book, ''Teaching construal and viewpoint'', is
separated into three chapters. The first chapter, ''Since it is everywhere:
Viewpoint in second language teaching'' by Barbara Dancygier and Carol Lynn
Moder, acts as an introduction to the way viewpoints and mental spaces are
conceptualized and realized by L2 learners. The authors begin with an overview
of how grammatical choices and constructions are intertwined in the viewpoint
presented by a speaker. The focal point of this chapter is on verb form
choices as they relate to a speaker's perception of events, and how they
change depending on their usage across constructions. As a case in point, the
authors delineate how ‘since’ constructions work together with different
tenses to create particular viewpoints. The authors then conclude the chapter
with a teaching outline of the various ‘since’ constructions in an L2 English
environment. The elicited student responses to the teaching method showed a
raised awareness of the link between construction, tense, and meaning. The
conclusion draws attention to the need to focus on viewpoint as a way to
provide meaning to grammar teaching, as well as the larger topic of teaching
constructions rather than isolated grammar points.

The second chapter of Subsection Two, ''Using blending theory to teach the
English conditionals'' by Natalia Dogova Jacobsen, displays the results of a
study comparing the effects of three approaches to the instruction of English
conditionals. After an initial introduction to construal and CL for language
teaching, the author moves to define blending theory and its relevance for
English conditionals. Thereafter, the author presents the study. One group
receives no instruction on English conditionals and two experimental groups
receive explicit instruction, one of which follows a CL approach. The findings
indicate that both groups who received explicit instruction outperformed the
control group, while the CL group performed the best. The author argues that
these findings show that CL theory can be used effectively to inform L2
pedagogy.

The third and final chapter of subsection two, ''Making sense of the definite
article through a pedagogical schematic'' by Benjamin White,  engages the
''notoriously difficult'' English article system (p. 203). The author begins
the chapter with an overview of existing pedagogies for the instruction of
English articles and their shortcomings. He then moves to a CL approach
centered around a schematic depiction that represents the abstract concept
encompassed in this grammatical feature. This schematic depiction here is a
shared conceptual space encompassing a discourse frame, which has three
internal frames: a situation, concept, and text frame. To test this approach,
the author's study involved L2 English graduate students whose intentions were
to become ESL teachers. The author worked individually with each participant
in six meetings, ranging from 60 to 100 minutes. The first meeting was an
interview and explanation elicitation, the second was a presentation of the
concept, meetings three through five were applications of the framework, and
the sixth meeting was another elicitation task. The author used a change in
elicitation response from meeting one to meeting six to show that these
participants changed their understanding to a more consistent understanding of
the use of the definite article over time by adopting the more abstract
representation presented in the schematic. 

The third and final subsection of the book, ''Polysemy'', has three chapters.
The first chapter, ''Reexamining por and para in the Spanish foreign language
intermediate classroom: A usage-based, cognitive linguistic approach'' by
Elizabeth Kissling, Andrea Tyler, Lisa Warren, and Lauren Negrete, begins with
an introduction on the disconnect between current linguistic theory and
teaching practices and the implications thereof for the instruction of two
polysemous words in Spanish, por and para. The authors first discuss the
traditional approach to teaching por and para and its shortcomings. Then, a CL
approach is introduced, where por and para are presented in ''semantically
related mini-clusters'' over the course of an entire semester, rather than all
at once (p. 236). The authors then present a study of the CL approach. Two
test groups received the same clusters of meaning with visuals, but one also
received an explicit explanation of a spatial schematic unifying the meanings.
The results of the study showed that both groups had significant development
from pre- to posttest; however, the results did not indicate any significant
differences between groups. The authors suppose that because the words were
presented in meaningful clusters over time, the group that did not receive
explicit instruction could have figured out the unifying concept on their own,
which they argue is fully in line with a usage-based approach. Finally, the
authors note the limitation that there was no control group and no delayed
posttest, but contend that the results are promising for CL approaches to
polysemy and that por and para are not the only grammatical items in Spanish
that could benefit from a change in instruction.

The second chapter of the final subsection, ''Polysemy and conceptual
metaphors: A cognitive linguistics approach to vocabulary learning'' by Helen
Zhao, Thomas Siu-ho Yau, Keru Li, and Noel Nga-yan Wong, begins with a broad
overview of polysemy, semantic networks, image schema in relation to
vocabulary learning, conceptual metaphor and metonymy, vocabulary instruction
with metaphors and metonymies, and finally, a view into the vocabulary
teaching practices in Hong Kong. The authors present a study on the vocabulary
learning of ‘keep’ and ‘hold’, presented as embodied concepts from a
semantically grounded action that moves towards abstraction. A control group
received work with reading comprehension materials that contained the target
words. The teacher highlighted them and discussed them using dictionary
definitions. An experimental group received the same amount of time, but was
given a presentation on the uses of the target words as conceptual metaphors
and metonymies. The participants were given a pretest, posttest, and delayed
posttest. The experimental group outperformed the control group on the
posttest and even made gains between posttest and delayed posttest. Using
these findings, the authors present the potential for future-learning from
this CL approach, especially in relation to polysemous vocabulary that can be
explained via embodiment. Also significant is that the learners in this group
were between the ages of 12 and 13, which shows that young learners can also
benefit from this type of instruction, not just fully cognitively developed
learners.

The final chapter of subsection three and the final chapter of the book,
''Embodied experience and the teaching of L2 prepositions: A case of abstract
in and on'' by Marlene Johansson Falck, investigates how abstract
prepositional meanings can be linked to embodied origins and that this
embodiment can act as a unifying concept for learners. The chapter begins with
an explanation of abstract meaning of ‘in’ and ‘on’, and how they can be
envisioned via embodied motivations. The final section discusses two
implementations of this CL approach with young (12 to 13-year-old) L1 Swedish
L2 English learners. From pre- to posttest questioning, the learners made
significant changes in the way they understood the different motivations for
using abstract ‘in’ and ‘on’. 

EVALUATION

 Overall, this edited volume brings together a number of grammatical and
linguistic topics, relevant to both linguistics and language education, under
the umbrella of CL. The editors do a good job of organizing each of the three
subsections under a unifying linguistic concept, as well as  ordering the
chapters within each subsection. The papers flow from a broader overview of CL
and its relationship with the linguistic concept towards more specific
studies. There is some repetitive information from one chapter to the next,
but this is largely due to the initial chapter of each subsection covering a
large swath of the material covered in more detail in the other chapters in
the subsection. 

 As a tool for understanding CL, this book is an excellent example of the
wide-reaching implications that this theoretical perspective can have for
understanding linguistics and language education. The contributing authors
come from a variety of backgrounds in terms of linguistic foci and research
methods. The different types of quantitative and qualitative data included in
this book, as well as the different research methods used to investigate the
data, are important in showing that CL has applications for a broad array of
research areas and interests, and that classroom and learning evidence for CL
comes from a triangulation of evidence, not a single, rigid framework of
understanding. 

 While this book offers a great overview of CL and many further areas of
exploration, my biggest critique is the somewhat unfinished nature of some of
the analyses in individual chapters. A number of the chapters are based on
studies that seem, in some cases, to be incomplete. The data presented can be
somewhat limited and hence the interpretations in some chapters seems a bit
beyond what the evidence can support, especially in terms of generalization.

 In spite of this, this book provides an interesting starting point for
researchers pursuing effective educational practices for language learners and
for language learning classrooms. Some of the content may be beyond the reach
of the typical educator, but for those interested in second language
acquisition theory, it provides solid footing for both rigorous experimental
interventions and the adventurous action researcher. 

 A major point of emphasis that I draw from the book is the implication for
both explicit and implicit forms of instruction and knowledge. The questions
surrounding the effects of implicit versus explicit instruction have long been
debated in SLA (Bialystock, 1982; Ellis, 2008); MacWhinney, 1997). However,
this debate has, unfortunately, not had the direct impact on language teaching
that it could. As evidenced in this literature, there are merits to both
explicit and implicit teaching methods and knowledge, which can support the L2
learning process. As is the case in many of the chapters in this book, there
is a call for both explicitness and implicitness in language pedagogy, not one
or the other. The importance placed by many of these authors on the conscious,
mature, explicit control of concepts and meaning making, along with
unconscious, usage-based, statistical-learning process is, in my view, a
necessary reframing for further connection between SLA research and classroom
practices. 

 In sum, this book can be used by a variety of interested parties for
exploration of CL in research and pedagogy. In particular, dedicated classroom
and interventionist researchers can make important inroads with language
teaching and provide a theory that supports a multi-faceted view of language
instruction.

REFERENCES

Bialystock, E. (1982). On the relationship between knowing and using
linguistic forms. Applied Linguistics 3, 181–206.

Ellis, N. (2008). Implicit and explicit knowledge about language. In J. Cenoz
and Nh. H. Hornberger (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Ed.,
Vol. 6: Knowledge and Language, 1-13. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

MacWhinney, B. (1997). Implicit and explicit processes: Commentary. Studies in
Second Language Acquisition 19, 277–282.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Daniel Walter is a Visiting Assistant Professor of German and Linguistics
at Emory University's Oxford College, where he teaches syntax and morphology,
introductory and advanced German, and ESL and first-year composition. His
research focuses on the intersection of usage-based and conceptual approaches
to the instruction of second language morphosyntax and the emergence of forms
in instructed SLA. His current research projects include implicit learning of
agreement pattern cues in an artificial language, the use of cognitive tutors
in the acquisition of German declension, and the effects of short-term alcohol
consumption on grammatical accuracy in a second language.





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