Research Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Northern California Health Care System.
Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Cogn Sci. 2016 May;40(4):822-47. doi: 10.1111/cogs.12257. Epub 2015 Jul 22.
Artificial language learning (ALL) experiments have become an important tool in exploring principles of language and language learning. A persistent question in all of this work, however, is whether ALL engages the linguistic system and whether ALL studies are ecologically valid assessments of natural language ability. In the present study, we considered these questions by examining the relationship between performance in an ALL task and second language learning ability. Participants enrolled in a Spanish language class were evaluated using a number of different measures of Spanish ability and classroom performance, which was compared to IQ and a number of different measures of ALL performance. The results show that success in ALL experiments, particularly more complex artificial languages, correlates positively with indices of L2 learning even after controlling for IQ. These findings provide a key link between studies involving ALL and our understanding of second language learning in the classroom.
人工语言学习 (ALL) 实验已成为探索语言和语言学习原理的重要工具。然而，在所有这些工作中，一个持久的问题是 ALL 是否涉及语言系统，以及 ALL 研究是否是对自然语言能力的生态有效评估。在本研究中，我们通过检查 ALL 任务中的表现与第二语言学习能力之间的关系来考虑这些问题。参加西班牙语课程的参与者使用多种不同的西班牙语能力和课堂表现评估方法进行评估，并与智商和多种不同的 ALL 表现评估方法进行了比较。结果表明，即使在控制智商后，ALL 实验的成功，特别是更复杂的人工语言，与 L2 学习的指标呈正相关。这些发现为 ALL 研究与我们对课堂中第二语言学习的理解之间提供了关键联系。
