30.4135, Review: German; Cognitive Science; Language Acquisition; Linguistic Theories; Neurolinguistics: Roche, Suñer (2017)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-30-4135. Fri Nov 01 2019. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 30.4135, Review: German; Cognitive Science; Language Acquisition; Linguistic Theories; Neurolinguistics: Roche, Suñer (2017)

Moderator: Malgorzata E. Cavar (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Student Moderator: Jeremy Coburn
Managing Editor: Becca Morris
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Everett Green, Sarah Robinson, Peace Han, Nils Hjortnaes, Yiwen Zhang, Julian Dietrich
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
           https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

Editor for this issue: Jeremy Coburn <jecoburn at linguistlist.org>
================================================================


Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 13:00:56
From: Franka Kermer [franka.kermer at utu.fi]
Subject: Sprachenlernen und Kognition

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36554979


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/28/28-3963.html

AUTHOR: Jörg-Matthias  Roche
AUTHOR: Ferran  Suñer
TITLE: Sprachenlernen und Kognition
SUBTITLE: Grundlagen einer kognitiven Sprachendidaktik
SERIES TITLE: Kompendium DaF/DaZ, Bd. 1
PUBLISHER: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG
YEAR: 2017

REVIEWER: Franka Kermer, University of Turku

SUMMARY 

“Sprachenlernen und Kognition: Grundlagen einer kognitiven Sprachendidaktik”,
edited by Jörg Roche and Ferran Suñer, appears in Narr Francke Attempto’s new
series of publication Kompendium DaF/DaZ, edited by Jörg Roche.
“Sprachenlernen und Kognition: Grundlagen einer kognitiven Sprachdidaktik” is
the 1st publication in the series and has the form of a textbook divided into
eight chapters, in addition to the introductory chapter, including learning
outcomes at the beginning and exercises at the end of each chapter. The
collection is primarily prepared by Jörg Roche and Ferran Suñer, but other
experts were invited to contribute to the volume: Kees de Bot, Sabine de Knop,
Marianne Hepp and Marina Foschi, and Parvaneh Sohrabi. The volume’s main focus
is to explore how the framework of cognitive linguistics can be brought to
bear on real life issues: the teaching and learning of foreign languages, in
this case German. This contribution attempts to bridge the gap between current
foreign language teaching techniques and cognitive-oriented frameworks of
language. The book is intended for foreign language teachers, students of
language pedagogy, applied cognitive linguists and people with an interest in
foreign language didactics alike.    

Chapter 1, “Sprachenlernen”, introduces the basic notions in  a
cognitive-oriented model of language, including contemporary views on the
relationship between language, thought and culture, the merit of using
cognitive-based theories as a basis for grammatical description, as well as
the benefit of using cognitive approaches to language as a foundation of
pedagogical grammars. It also outlines issues bearing on the language-brain
interface, thereby discussing the neural basis of language and issues related
to the differences in brain processing of first and second language
acquisition. The last section of the chapter discusses differences between
various techniques used in neuroimaging, such as structural imaging and
functional imaging, which are used to examine brain processing in
multilinguals.  

In Chapter 2, Roche provides an introduction to the most relevant notions in
cognitive linguistics, namely those of concepts, images and schemata. Numerous
examples to demonstrate the close relationship between language and imagery
that is postulated in cognitive linguistics are also offered. The chapter
continues by presenting an insight into two most existential domains of
experience, space and time, and their realisation in different languages, as
well as a review of one of the most prominent theories within the cognitive
framework, cognitive grammar.
 
The first part of the third chapter (“Konstruktionen und Chunks”), contributed
by Sabine de Knop, is intended to introduce the theoretical basis of
construction grammar in a precise manner and to recognise that not all
constructions are equally relevant when learning a language. The second part
of the chapter deals with chunks, learner’s use of chunks and the importance
of introducing larger sequences of words to learners in foreign language
teaching. It also touches upon the value of teaching constructions in the
foreign language classroom by demonstrating how certain verbs in constructions
can be taught to learners at less advanced and advanced levels of proficiency.
    

In Chapter 4, “Das mehrsprachige mentale Lexikon”, Roche attempts to answer
questions that address the nature and organisation of our mental lexicon and
stages of language processing. In light of these answers, specific tools and
strategies for improving vocabulary instruction in the foreign language
classroom are presented. Roche makes use of Levelt’s model of speech
production to exemplify how language is processed and produced in the
speakers’ mind. The chapter continues to show how insights from research on
language processing can be utilised for teaching vocabulary. Lastly, this
chapter offers an overview of second language vocabulary acquisition, thereby
discussing the most relevant stages of vocabulary learning in a foreign
language and the pedagogical implications that could be derived from these
findings. 

Chapter 5, “Text und Textualität”, is devoted to the discussion of the
development of second language reading and characteristics of texts by means
of contrastive text analysis. The value of relying on so-called hypertext
materials in fostering foreign language reading comprehension is supported by
various empirical studies presented in this section. A closer look at the text
genre hypertext, its advantages and disadvantages for foreign language
teaching as well as real-life examples of the applicability of hypertexts in
the foreign language classroom is one of the major parts of Chapter 5. 

L2-specific aspects of reading comprehension, such as metacognitive reading
strategies, are the focal point in Chapter 6 (“Textverarbeitung”). Teaching
how to use appropriate strategies to facilitate the development of reading
skills among the learners and to think about what happens during the language
learning process will lead learners to develop stronger learning skills. After
illustrating the factors that distinguish reading comprehension in learners’
L1 and L2, textual macrostructures and their construction and organisation in
the processing of text passages are presented. In the last section of Chapter
6, Parvaneh Sohrabi invites the reader to reflect upon their own metacognitive
strategies and reading patterns and to make use of these strategies in the
language teaching context to not only enhance learners’ reading comprehension
skill but also to raise their metacognitive awareness to regulate their own
language learning.  

Chapter 7, “Multimedialität, Multimodalität und Multikodalität”, aims to offer
a discussion of Paivio’s dual coding theory, which assumes that there are two
cognitive subsystems, one specialised for the processing of imagery and the
other specialised for dealing with language. The second part of the chapter
addresses questions of how theories of multimedia learning can be translated
into learner-accessible classroom materials in the foreign language context.
Furthermore, it is shown how the theoretical prerequisites presented in
Chapter 2 can be applied to teach various grammatical phenomena in the foreign
language classroom. For example, the author makes use of Langacker’s
trajector-landmark differentiation and active zones to exemplify how two-way
prepositions in German can be taught by means of pictorial representation.  

Finally, Chapter 8, “Kognition und Sprachvermittlung”, addresses the benefit
of employing more cognitive-grounded descriptions of grammatical structures in
language learning and teaching. In doing so, Roche first outlines the
foundation of a cognitive-oriented pedagogical grammar, taking into
consideration works that deal with multimedia learning and grammar animations.
The chapter also highlights the importance and relevancy of metaphors in
language learning and teaching. Lastly, it is shown how principles of
cognitive theories to language can enrich teaching practices at every level of
proficiency.        

EVALUATION

In “Sprachenlernen und Kognition: Grundlagen einer kognitiven
Sprachendidaktik”, Roche and Suñer attempt to provide an up-to-date view of
the ongoing paradigm shift in foreign language education and demonstrate that
the use of cognitive linguistics as a basis of pedagogical grammar is one of
the changes that fit with this paradigm shift to what is described as applied
cognitive linguistics. The volume is an account of innovative ideas of how
cognitive approaches to language and current foreign language instruction
practices can be intertwined to contribute to implementing change in a
holistic way. As the introduction states, it is a valuable contribution and
step forward in providing language instructors with teaching concepts that are
equally theoretically sound and learner-accessible. The volume is
well-organised, and each chapter provides goals, learning outcomes and
exercises at the end of each section, and theoretical context in a
straightforward manner. It is well-written and concise, with the focus on the
most central aspects of the respective topic. Each chapter deals with examples
and data on spoken and written German as a foreign language. 

“Sprachenlernen und Kognition” makes a significant and valuable contribution
to the field for two reasons. First, the structure of the book and the
learning outcomes at the beginning and the exercises at the end of each
section offer is a great basis for language teacher training studies. This
book could be, in one form or another, part of the language teacher training
curriculum in universities all around the globe. Second, contributions in the
field of applied cognitive linguistics commonly deal with English as a second
language, whereas this volume is intended for scholars and language teachers
interested in teaching German as a second or foreign language.   

At the same time, the authors highlight important contemporary issues at the
interface between cognitive linguistics and applied linguistics, such as the
following: conceptual transfer, i.e., the transfer of L1-induced concepts to
the L2; encyclopedic view of meaning and semantics; conceptual metaphor, which
are starting to make their way into teaching materials; dual coding theory,
which is compatible with the notion in cognitive linguistics that language is
an integral part of cognition, and, lastly, grammar is meaningful, one of the
key commitments within the cognitive movement.  

The book is, however, not without weaknesses. The first minor criticism
concerns the introductory chapter, which could have provided more
justification as to why cognitive linguistics is deemed fruitful for foreign
language pedagogy. Also, the editors could have referred to other
contributions to the field and provide more context with regards to the common
ground between cognitive linguistics and applied linguistics. Another minor
drawback concerns Chapters One to Three: the accounts on cognitive
linguistics, cognitive grammar and construction grammar are well presented if
rather densely written overviews of these theoretical frameworks.
Particularly, I have a few concerns that language teachers, who most likely
are not familiar with these frameworks, cannot relate to the texts and
consequently the reading act will be short-circuited. Furthermore, some of the
concepts that are introduced as part of sample lesson plans later in the book
were not sufficiently explained in previous chapters. For example, Chapter 7
exemplifies how the notion of trajector and landmark can be utilised to teach
two-way prepositions in German, but does not provide the background
information necessary for the audience to understand the way the
trajector/landmark asymmetry relates to the elements in a relational
structure. These limitations, however, do not diminish the relevance, validity
and value of the book.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Franka Kermer received her Ph.D. in English Language and Culture from the
University of Eastern Finland in 2015 with a thesis entitled A Cognitive
Grammar Approach to Tense and Aspect Teaching in the L2 Context. Her research
interests are primarily concerned with cognitive linguistics, particularly
cognitive grammar, and second language acquisition. Her current post-doctoral
research focuses on cross-linguistic differences and influence from the
perspective of cognitive grammar and cognitive sociolinguistics.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***************************    LINGUIST List Support    ***************************
 The 2019 Fund Drive is under way! Please visit https://funddrive.linguistlist.org
  to find out how to donate and check how your university, country or discipline
     ranks in the fund drive challenges. Or go directly to the donation site:
               https://iufoundation.fundly.com/the-linguist-list-2019

                        Let's make this a short fund drive!
                Please feel free to share the link to our campaign:
                    https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-30-4135	
----------------------------------------------------------