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Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure

Although learning a second language (L2) as an adult is notoriously difficult, research has shown that adults can indeed attain native language-like brain processing and high proficiency levels. However, it is important to then retain what has been attained, even in the absence of continued exposure...

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Autores principales: Morgan-Short, Kara, Finger, Ingrid, Grey, Sarah, Ullman, Michael T.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314650/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22470434
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032974
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author Morgan-Short, Kara
Finger, Ingrid
Grey, Sarah
Ullman, Michael T.
author_facet Morgan-Short, Kara
Finger, Ingrid
Grey, Sarah
Ullman, Michael T.
author_sort Morgan-Short, Kara
collection PubMed
description Although learning a second language (L2) as an adult is notoriously difficult, research has shown that adults can indeed attain native language-like brain processing and high proficiency levels. However, it is important to then retain what has been attained, even in the absence of continued exposure to the L2—particularly since periods of minimal or no L2 exposure are common. This event-related potential (ERP) study of an artificial language tested performance and neural processing following a substantial period of no exposure. Adults learned to speak and comprehend the artificial language to high proficiency with either explicit, classroom-like, or implicit, immersion-like training, and then underwent several months of no exposure to the language. Surprisingly, proficiency did not decrease during this delay. Instead, it remained unchanged, and there was an increase in native-like neural processing of syntax, as evidenced by several ERP changes—including earlier, more reliable, and more left-lateralized anterior negativities, and more robust P600s, in response to word-order violations. Moreover, both the explicitly and implicitly trained groups showed increased native-like ERP patterns over the delay, indicating that such changes can hold independently of L2 training type. The results demonstrate that substantial periods with no L2 exposure are not necessarily detrimental. Rather, benefits may ensue from such periods of time even when there is no L2 exposure. Interestingly, both before and after the delay the implicitly trained group showed more native-like processing than the explicitly trained group, indicating that type of training also affects the attainment of native-like processing in the brain. Overall, the findings may be largely explained by a combination of forgetting and consolidation in declarative and procedural memory, on which L2 grammar learning appears to depend. The study has a range of implications, and suggests a research program with potentially important consequences for second language acquisition and related fields.
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spelling pubmed-33146502012-04-02 Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure Morgan-Short, Kara Finger, Ingrid Grey, Sarah Ullman, Michael T. PLoS One Research Article Although learning a second language (L2) as an adult is notoriously difficult, research has shown that adults can indeed attain native language-like brain processing and high proficiency levels. However, it is important to then retain what has been attained, even in the absence of continued exposure to the L2—particularly since periods of minimal or no L2 exposure are common. This event-related potential (ERP) study of an artificial language tested performance and neural processing following a substantial period of no exposure. Adults learned to speak and comprehend the artificial language to high proficiency with either explicit, classroom-like, or implicit, immersion-like training, and then underwent several months of no exposure to the language. Surprisingly, proficiency did not decrease during this delay. Instead, it remained unchanged, and there was an increase in native-like neural processing of syntax, as evidenced by several ERP changes—including earlier, more reliable, and more left-lateralized anterior negativities, and more robust P600s, in response to word-order violations. Moreover, both the explicitly and implicitly trained groups showed increased native-like ERP patterns over the delay, indicating that such changes can hold independently of L2 training type. The results demonstrate that substantial periods with no L2 exposure are not necessarily detrimental. Rather, benefits may ensue from such periods of time even when there is no L2 exposure. Interestingly, both before and after the delay the implicitly trained group showed more native-like processing than the explicitly trained group, indicating that type of training also affects the attainment of native-like processing in the brain. Overall, the findings may be largely explained by a combination of forgetting and consolidation in declarative and procedural memory, on which L2 grammar learning appears to depend. The study has a range of implications, and suggests a research program with potentially important consequences for second language acquisition and related fields. Public Library of Science 2012-03-28 /pmc/articles/PMC3314650/ /pubmed/22470434 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032974 Text en Morgan-Short et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Morgan-Short, Kara
Finger, Ingrid
Grey, Sarah
Ullman, Michael T.
Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title_full Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title_fullStr Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title_full_unstemmed Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title_short Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
title_sort second language processing shows increased native-like neural responses after months of no exposure
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314650/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22470434
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032974
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