Doctoral Dissertation Research: Testing the Three-Stage Model of Second Language Skill Acquisition

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Learning a second language is an impressive feat that can bear societal, professional, and cultural benefits. This research project examines the number of stages that second language learners go through as they attempt to master a second language. The most influential contemporary theory holds that second language skill acquisition is a three-stage process: (i) from initial slow application of knowledge, (ii) through initial changes in behavior, (iii) to eventual fluent and automatic behavior. At present, there is indirect evidence that supports the existence of these three stages, yet the number and the nature of the stages have not been examined closely through targeted research. By newly establishing what stages language learners go through, and how many, this research can inform modern language teaching and assessment and empower more second language learners to reach high language proficiency. To investigate the stages of second language acquisition, participants will learn and practice comprehending and producing a miniature version of a language until they reach high speed and accuracy ('automaticity'). Half the participants will receive explicit instruction about the vocabulary and grammar of the language before they engage in practice, whereas the other half will not receive prior instruction but will be passively exposed to vocabulary items and sentences of the language. These conditions mirror two broad contexts for natural language learning in the U.S., namely, teacher-led classroom learning and naturalistic language learning, respectively. Participants' data from comprehension and production practice will be analyzed using hidden Markov modeling, a novel method of cognitive modeling that will be used to test whether the three-stage acquisition model accounts for the data better than other models (for example, a two-stage model) do. Once the number of skill acquisition stages has been determined computationally, a regression analysis will investigate which of three sets of cognitive abilities - declarative memory, procedural memory, and psychomotor ability - predicts learning at each skill acquisition stage. Results of this study will directly serve a wide variety of second language learners (a) by revealing whether and how instructed and naturalistic learners attain automaticity and (b) by identifying what cognitive characteristics make one a successful learner. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.