It is frequently observed that children learn languages better than adults do. Why should this be so? With National Science Foundation support, Ms. Harriet Bowden will investigate several interconnected issues related to this question for her doctoral dissertation under the direction of Dr. Michael Ullman. Is all of language equally affected by late acquisition, or are certain parts of language (such as "irregular" as compared to "regular" forms in language, or grammar versus vocabulary learning) more susceptible than other aspects of language? Does the brain use the same memory systems in adult language learning as in learning during childhood? How does language experience (that is, proficiency or amount of exposure) affect the way the brain processes language? Do very proficient late learners process their second language like native speakers of that language? How does a later age of acquisition affect language learning and processing (that is, what are the effects of a so-called critical or sensitive period)? A combination of language production measures and neuroimaging techniques will be used to probe the processing of late-acquired language. The research project will compare performance levels and neurocognitive bases of native Spanish with those of late-learned Spanish at three levels of language experience/proficiency (low, medium and very high). This will be the first project to investigate the behavioral and neurocognitive bases of late-acquired language across different levels of experience and proficiency in this manner.
The research has broader impacts in several key areas. First, the project investigates Spanish, a minority language of importance in the United States, as both a first and second language. Empirical evidence across native and later-learned Spanish will complement the vast array of existing data on English as a first and second language. In addition, the results are expected to inform cognitive neuroscience, second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and linguistic theory. By shedding light on the neurocognition of second language use, this research may have important implications for second language instruction, and may benefit a variety of public and private institutions interested in training proficient users of second languages.
