Completed Projects
Implicit/incidental Learning of Lexical Stress Rules
Project summary
This project focuses on implicit/incidental learning, a domain-general process posited as a mechanism for both first and second language acquisition. A long-standing puzzle in language acquisition research is the differential success in first language and second language acquisition. While nativists would explain this with reference to the amount of access to universal grammar, a recent proposal by the empiricists is that children acquire their first language mainly through implicit learning whereas adults rely mainly on explicit learning; it is mainly our implicit linguistic knowledge that subserves fluency and automaticity in our language use. The crux of the problem then lies in the scope and constraints of implicit learning in second language acquisition, and how implicit knowledge should be assessed. Based on systematically controlled experiments, this project addressed the above issues and showed that implicit knowledge of L2 stress patterns can be developed with only brief and incidental exposure, and demonstrated the combined use of subjective and objective awareness measures based on different theories of consciousness.
Funding
- Postgraduate Studentship, University of Hong Kong. (Ricky Chan, HKD 320,400)
Outputs
- Chan, R. & Leung, J. (2018). Implicit Knowledge of L2 Lexical Stress Rules: Evidence from the Combined Use of Subjective and Objective Awareness Measures. Applied Psycholinguistics, 39(1), 37-66.
- Chan, R. & Leung, J. (2014). Implicit learning of L2 word stress regularities. Second Language Research, 30(4), 463-484.
- Chan, R. & Leung, J. (2012). Implicit learning of L2 word stress rules. In Miyake, N., Peebles, D. & Cooper, R. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.
Implicit learning of form-meaning connections and its limits
Project summary
The phenomenon of implicit learning has been a subject of much controversy in cognitive psychology in recent decades, with some psychologists characterising it as the primary form of learning (Reber, 1993) and some others denying the possibility of learning even simple contingencies without awareness (Lovibond and Shanks, 2002). Within the language domain, Gupta and Dell (1999) and Ellis (2000) argue that the meaning aspect of language learning requires explicit and conscious processes. On the other hand, Williams (2003, 2004, 2005) has found evidence of the learning of form-meaning connections without awareness, and the learning effect interacted with the participants’ relevant linguistic knowledge. The project addresses the possibility of the implicit learning of form-meaning connections and investigates the conditions under which such learning may occur. A series of experiments reveal that implicit learning of form- meaning connections is possible, but learning is constrained by the nature of the meaning involved and learners’ prior linguistic knowledge.
Funding
- The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (RGC) Joint Research Scheme (Code: RES-000-22-3030) (PI: Janny Leung, HKD 350,000)
Outputs
- Leung, J. & Williams, J. (2014) Cross-Linguistic Differences in Implicit Language Learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 36(4): 733-755.
- Leung, J. & Williams, J. (2012) Constraints on Implicit Learning of Grammatical Form-Meaning Connections. Language Learning, 62(2): 634-662.
- Leung, J. & Williams, J. (2011) The Implicit Learning of Mappings between Forms and Contextually-Derived Meanings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 33(1): 33-55.
- Leung, J. & Williams, J. (2006) Implicit Learning of Form-Meaning Connections. In R. Sun and N. Miyake (eds.), Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 465-70. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
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