The construct of attention in studies in l2 phonology between 2010 and 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-8420.2023.e91933Keywords:
Phonological acquisition, Attention, Second Language, Cognition, Systematic reviewAbstract
The acquisition of a second language (L2) is a highly demanding cognitive task that, in terms of phonology, happens through the siege of the first language (L1). The cue-weighting, that is, the attention given to specific cues in the L2 speech and the ability to change the focus of attention to relevant cues is essential for L2 speech processing and tends to be affected by the patterns of the L1. The present study aimed to produce a systematic review of the studies concerning attention and L2 phonological knowledge. Research participants, attention and phonological assessment, and the main results of eighteen studies published between 2010 and 2021 were described and analyzed. The data gathered indicates that the bulk of the research carried out is of cross-sectional studies with attention control and perceptual discrimination tasks with L2 English adult learners. Most studies pointed out that attention has an important role in L2 phonological acquisition. At the beginning of acquisition, attention seems to be more important to L2 speech processing than for proficient L2 speakers when automatization takes place. Focusing, selecting, shifting, dividing, and sustaining attention as well as being flexible and having good inhibitory control have a special role in L2 phonological acquisition. The need for further investigation with controlled variables, other L1/L2 combinations, and multiple assessment instruments is evident.
References
ASANO, Yuki. Discriminating Non-Native Segmental Length Contrasts Under Increased Task Demands. Language and Speech, v. 61, n. 3, p. 409-429, 2017. doi:10.1177/0023830917731907
BABAYIĞIT, Selma; SHAPIRO, Laura. Component skills that underpin listening comprehension and reading comprehension in learners with English as first and additional language. Journal of Research in Reading, n. 43, p. 78-97, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12291
CHANG, Charles B. Perceptual attention as the locus of transfer to nonnative speech perception. Journal of Phonetics, n. 68, p. 85-102, 2018. doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2018.03.003
DARCY, Isabelle; MORA, Joan C.; DAIDONE, Danielle. Attention control and inhibition influence phonological development in a second language. Concordia Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, v. 5, mar. 2014, p. 115-129, 2014.
DARCY; Isabelle, PARK, Hanyong; YANG, Chung-Lin. Individual differences in L2 acquisition of English phonology: The relation between cognitive abilities and phonological processing. Learning and Individual Differences, v. 40, p. 63–72, 2015. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.04.005
DE LOS SANTOS, Bruna da Rosa; ALVES, Ubiratã Kickhöfel. Desenvolvimento fonético-fonológico bi/multilíngue e atenção – Questões teóricas abordadas no Speech Learning Model (SLM/SLM-r) e desafios futuros para a pesquisa em segunda língua (L2). Revista X, v. 16, n. 5, p. 1203-1230, set. 2021. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufpr.br/revistax/article/view/81523. Acesso em: 27 dez. 2021.
FLEGE, James Emil; BOHN, Ocke-Schwen. The Revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r) In: WAYLAND, R. (Ed.) Second Language Speech Learning: Theoretical and Empirical Progress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. p. 3-83.
FUKUTA, Junya; YAMASHITA, Junko. Effects of cognitive demands on attention orientation in L2 oral production. System, v. 53, p. 1-12, 2015. doi:10.1016/j.system.2015.06.010
GÖKGÖZ-KURT, Burcu. Attention Control and the Effects of Online Training in Improving Connected Speech Perception by Learners of English as a Second Language. Dissertation (PhD in Linguistics) – University of South Carolina, The U.S.A. 2016.
GUION, Susan G.; PEDERSON, Eric. Investigating the role of attention of phonetic learning. In: BOHN, O.-S. Bohn; MUNRO, M. J. (Ed.), Language experience in second language speech learning: In honor of James Emil Flege, p. 57-77. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 2007.
HISAGI, Miwako; SHAFER, Valerie L.; STRANGE, Winifred; SUSSMAN, Elyse S. Neural measures of a Japanese consonant length discrimination by Japanese and American English listeners: Effects of attention. Brain Research, v. 1621, nov. 2015. S0006899315004709–. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2015.06.001
ISAACS, Talia; TROFIMOVICH, Pavel. Phonological memory, attention control, and musical ability: Effects of individual differences on rater judgments of second language speech. Applied Psycholinguistics, v. 32, n. 1, p. 113-140, 2011. doi:10.1017/s0142716410000317
JAMES, William. The Principles of Psychology. New York: Henry Holt. 1890.
KWAKKEL, Hedi; DROOP, Mienke; VERHOEVEN, Ludo; SEGERS, Eliane. The impact of lexical skills and executive functioning on L1 and L2 phonological awareness in bilingual kindergarten. Learning and Individual Differences, n. 88, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102009
LANGE, Benjamin P.; ZARETSKY, Eugen. Sex differences in language competence of 4-year-old children: female advantages are mediated by phonological short-term memory. Applied Psycholinguistics, v. 42, n. 6, p. 1503-1522. 2021.
LEWANDOWSKI, Natalie; JILKA, Matthias. Phonetic Convergence, Language Talent, Personality and Attention. Frontiers in Communication, 4. 2019.
MCCLELLAND, Megan M.; CAMERON, Claire E.; DUNCAN, Robert; BOWLES, Ryan P.; ACOCK, Alan C.; MIAO, Alicia; PRATT, Megan E. Predictors of early growth in academic achievement: The head-toes-knees-shoulders task. Frontiers in Psychology, n. 5, p. 1-14. 2014. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2014.00599.
MORA, Joan. C.; MORA-PLAZA, Ingrid. Contributions of cognitive attention control to L2 speech learning. In: NYVAD, A. M. et al. (Ed.) A sound approach to language matters – In honor of Ocke-Schwen Bohn, p. 477-499. Dept. of English, School of Communication & Culture, Aarhus University. 2019.
NICOLAY, Anne-Catherine; PONCELET, Martine. Cognitive abilities underlying second-language vocabulary acquisition in an early second-language immersion education context: A longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, v. 115, n. 4, p. 655–671. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2013.04.002
NISSEN, Mary Jo; BULLEMER, Peter. Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures. Cognitive Psychology, v. 19, n. 1, p. 1-32, 1987. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(87)90002-8
PORRETTA, Vincent J.; TUCKER, Benjamin V. Perception of non-native consonant length contrast: The role of attention in phonetic processing. Second Language Research, v. 31, n. 2, p. 239-265, 2014. doi:10.1177/0267658314559573
SAFRONOVA, Elena. The role of cognitive ability in the acquisition of second language perceptual phonological competence. 242fls. Dissertation (PhD in English Studies and Modern Languages) – Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, 2016.
SAFRONOVA, Elena; MORA, Joan C. Attention control in L2 phonological acquisition. In: BARÓ, Llanes; CIRO, Astrid; GALLEGO BALSÁ, L.; SERRA, Mateus R. (Ed.). Applied Linguistics in the Age of Globalization. Lleida: Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida. p.109-114. 2013.
SILVEIRA, Rosane; ALVES, Ubiratã. Noticing e Instrução Explícita: Aprendizagem fonético-fonológica do morfema -ed. Nonada: Letras em Revista, v. 2, n. 13, out., 2009.
SKEHAN, Peter. Foreign Language Aptitude and Its Relationship with Grammar: A Critical Overview. Applied Linguistics, v. 36, n. 3, p. 367-384. 2015. doi:10.1093/applin/amu072
STERNBERG, Robert J.; STERNBERG, Karin. Cognitive Psychology. 6. ed. Cengage learning. 2011.
STRANGE, Winifred. Automatic selective perception (ASP) of first and second language speech: A working model. Journal of Phonetics, v. 39, n. 4, p. 456-466. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2010.09.001
STRAUSS, Esther; SHERMAN, Elisabeth M. S.; SPREEN, Otfried. A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms, and commentary. 3. ed. Oxford University Press. 2006.
TOIVAINEN, Teemu; PAPAGEORGIOU, Kostas A.; TOSTO, Maria Grazia; KOVAS, Yulia. Sex differences in non-verbal and verbal abilities in childhood and adolescence. Intelligence, v. 64, p. 81-88, 2017.
WEN, Zhisheng; MOTA, Mailce Borges; MCNEILL, Arthur. Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. 2015.
WHITE, Erin Jacquelin; TITONE, Debra; GENESEE, Fred; STEINHAUER, Karsten Phonological processing in late second language learners: The effects of proficiency and task. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, v. 20, n. 1, p. 162–183. 2015. doi:10.1017/s1366728915000620
YANG, Hwajin; YANG, Sujin; KANG, Carissa. The relationship between phonological awareness and executive attention in Chinese-English bilingual children. Cognitive Development, 30, 65–80. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2013.11.003
YONCHEVA, Yuliya; MAURER, Urs; ZEVIN, Jason D.; MCCLANDISS, Bruce D. Selective attention to phonology dynamically modulates initial encoding of auditory words within the left hemisphere. Neuroimage. aug. v. 15, n. 97, p. 262-270, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.04.006.
ZOU, Ting; CHEN, Yiya; CASPERS, Johanneke. The developmental trajectories of attention distribution and segment-tone integration in Dutch learners of Mandarin tones. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, v. 20, n. 5, p. 1017–1029, 2016. doi:10.1017/s1366728916000791
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Melissa Bettoni
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyrights belong to the authors, who allow the Working Papers em Linguística journal to publish their work. Total or partial reproduction requires the Editorial Board's authorization. Names and adresses in this website are exclusively used for the journal's purposes and are not available for other purposes and/or third parties.
This publication is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial - 4.0 International.
