Second language input, working memory and dyslexia Bimali - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Second language input, working memory and dyslexia

Bimali Indrarathne Lancaster University

Introduction

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

Who? When?

Lower working memory capacity Helping learners

Dyslexia and language learning

Working memory

My research

Input processing Working memory

My research

• Attention is a necessary condition for learning (Leow, 2013; Robinson,

Mackey, Gass & Schmidt, 2012)

• Learners need to identify the language features in the input

(Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis, 1995)

• What type of input promotes attention?

– Explicit? – Implicit?

• Working memory and input processing

– Directing learners’ attention to relevant features in the input (Ellis,

1996)

– Processing input (Ellis & Sinclair, 1996)

My research

P R E T E S T P O S T T E S T Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2 No explanation, but participants were asked to pay attention to highlighted parts Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

W O R K I N G M E M O R Y T E S T S

Control group

My research

Participants

– 100 undergraduates at a Sri Lankan university – Age between 18-22 – B1/B2 level of proficiency – 20 in a group Pre/post-tests – Sentence Reconstruction items – Grammaticality Judgement items – Free writing task Working memory tests Digit Span, Keep track, Plus minus, Stroop Target structure Causative passive

My research

Eye tracking to measure attention

– Tobii X2-60 portable eye tracker fixed to a laptop

My research

My research

My research

My research

Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2

No explanation, but participants were asked to pay attention to highlighted parts

Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

Significantly higher amount of attention Significant improvement in the post-test Significantly lesser amount of attention Very little or no improvement in the post-test

Higher WM: better attention, better performance Indrarathne & Kormos (2016), Indrarathne & Kormos (2017)

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

ELT Well

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

• Slow reading speed
• Spelling issues
• Mixing up words
• Difficult to express themselves clearly
• Poor concentration
• Ineffective organizational skills
• Low self-esteem
• Short memory span (lower WM capacity)

(International Dyslexia Association, 2012)

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2 No explanation, but participants were asked to pay attention to highlighted parts Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

Significantly higher amount of attention Significant improvement in the post-test Significantly lesser amount of attention Very little or no improvement in the post-test

Higher WM: better attention, better performance

Working memory and language learning

• reserved in group activities
• rarely volunteering answers
• avoid answering direct questions
• behave as they have not paid attention
• forgetting part or all of instructions
• struggle in complicated tasks
• poor academic progress
• teachers find them easily distracted

(Gathercole & Alloway, 2007)

Helping learners with lower working memory capacity

• Input in parts
• Shorter input sessions – more time for practice
• Same input: different modes
• Repeat
• Recycle
• Restructuring multi-step tasks to independent steps
• Short instructions/ display them
• Encourage learners to request information
• Working memory training (http://www.cogmed.com/)

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

Partners

Project website: http://www.dyslexiaprojectsl.com/

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

• Will educate ca. 100 English language teacher trainers in the

country

• How to identify learners with dyslexia and how to support them

in the English language classroom

• Training materials
• Free resources and professional development opportunities

available

• Raise awareness among school principals, policy planners and

language testing body of the country

• May/June 2017

References

Gathercole, S.E. & Alloway, T.P. (2007). Understanding working memory: A classroom

• guide. London: Harcourt Assessment.

References

Ellis, N.C. (1996). Sequencing in SLA: phonological memory, chunking, and points of order. SSLA, 18, 91-126. Ellis, N. C., & Sinclair, S. G. (1996). Working memory in the acquisition of vocabulary and syntax: putting language in good order. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A(1), 234-250. ELT Well. (2017). http://eltwell.com/ Indrarathne, B. & Kormos, J. (2016). Attentional processing of input in explicit and implicit learning conditions: an eye- tracking study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. doi:10.1017/S027226311600019X. Indrarathne, B. & Kormos, J. (2017). The role of working memory in processing L2 input: insights from eye-tracking. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. (in press) International Dyslexia Association .(2012).Dyslexia basics: fact sheet. Available at https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia- basics/ Leow, R. (2013). Attention, Noticing, and Awareness in Second Language Acquisition. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 1-7). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Robinson, P., Mackey, A., Gass, S. M., & Schmidt, R. (2012). Attention and awareness in second language acquisition. In

• S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp.247-267). London,

England: Routledge. Schmidt, R. (1995). Consciousness and foreign language learning: A tutorial on the role of attention and awareness in

• learning. In R. Schmidt (Ed.), Attention and awareness in foreign language learning (pp 1-63). Honalulu, HI:

University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Centre.

Thank you