11th ABLA CALI

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11th ABLA CALI COLOMBIA

• Learning strategies from a Dynamic Systems Theory
  (DST) perspective
• Carlos Andrés Rico
• M.A. Applied Linguistics
• University of Groningen, the Netherlands

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Implementation of vocabulary learning strategies
from a DST perspective

• Objectives
• To briefly describe what Dynamic Systems Theory
  (DST) is about
• To provide examples of how DST may apply SLA
• Give pertinent information about the organization
  of the multilingual mental lexicon and offer some
  insights about vocabulary learning from a dynamic
  perspective
• Give a general description of the empirical
  experiment that was carried out for this
  investigation

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1. Dynamic Systems Theory
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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• What is a system?
• What is a dynamic system?
• Can you name three examples of systems?
• What are some characteristics of dynamic systems?

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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• 1. What is a system?
• A group of related parts that work together as a
  whole for a particular purpose (Oxford
  dictionary).

Taken from http//www.rainbowskill.com/wp-content/
uploads/2009/03/digestive-system2.jpg
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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• 2. What is a dynamic system?
• Van Geert (1994) defines dynamic system as a set
  of variables that mutually affect each other, and
  this generates changes over time.

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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• 3. Examples
• Examples
• The weather, the traffic, economy of a country.

Taken from https//www.ecwa.org/Graphics/watercyc
le.gif
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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• What does DST study?

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1. Dynamic Systems Theory

• What does DST study?
• It aims to account for how the behavior of a
  large complex system emerges from the interaction
  of its different components.
• It analyzes how disorder gives way to order.
• It studies processes rather than states.

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems
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2. Features of Dynamic Systems
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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Dynamic
• Complex
• Non-linear
• Chaotic
• Unpredictable

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Dynamic
• Complex
• Non-linear
• Chaotic
• Unpredictable

• Sensitive to initial conditions
• Open
• Self-organizing
• Feedback sensitive
• Adaptive

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Dynamic
• There are changes over time
• Complex
• Large number of components
• The behavior of the system depends on the
  behavior of its individual elements

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Dynamic
• There are changes over time Vocabulary
• Complex
• Large number of components Vocal cords,
  respiratory system
• The behavior of the system depends on the
  behavior of its individual components Speech
  production

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Non-linear
• The proportion cause- effect is not reciprocal
• Chaotic
• Period of complete randomness
• Unpredictable
• It impossible to determine when chaos will start

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Non-linear
• The proportion cause- effect is not reciprocal
  Teaching and learning (time invested)
• Chaotic
• Period of complete randomness Grammar mistakes,
  L1 interference
• Unpredictable
• It impossible to determine when chaos will start
  It is impossible to predict all the errors one
  learner can make

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Sensitive to initial conditions
• A slight change in initial conditions can have
  vast implications for future behavior
• Open
• Increase in order and complexity

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Sensitive to initial conditions
• A slight change in initial conditions can have
  vast implications for future behavior Sounds to
  produce
• Open
• Increase in order and complexity More elaborated
  grammar structures

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Self-organizing
• Particles organize themselves
• Feedback sensitive
• Mutations, and changes

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Self-organizing
• Particles organize themselves Human mental
  lexicon
• Feedback sensitive
• Mutations, and changes improvement in the
  learning of the L2

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Adaptive
• Attractor states (stability)
• Fractal

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2. Features of Dynamic Systems

• Adaptive
• Attractor states (stability) Focilization
• Fractal A language is composed by several
  smaller components

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2.1 Dynamic Systems and Language

• While language can be conceptualized as
  aggregations of paradigmatic and syntagmatic
  units (e.g. phonemes, morphemes, sentences, etc),
  it is also true that a view of language as a
  dynamic system can be adopted.

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2.1 Dynamic Systems and Language

• In many studies of SLA, the learners language
  development is pictured as a more or less linear
  progress from zero to native like, in gradual
  consecutive steps.

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2.1 Dynamic Systems and Language
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2.1 Dynamic Systems and Language

• However, it has been shown that when people learn
  an L2, the development is not straightforward.

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2.1 Dynamic Systems and Language
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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• What is the mental lexicon?

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• What is the mental lexicon?
• The human word-store is often referred as a
  mental dictionary or more commonly as the mental
  lexicon (Aitchison, 2003. p. 10).

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• According to Aitchison (2003) the mental lexicon
  is partially organized

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• According to Aitchison (2003) the mental lexicon
  is partially organized
• in grouping categories.
• by frequency of usage.
• by initial sounds, word endings, stress patterns
  and stressed vowels.
• by semantic patterns.
• by data about syntactic patterns.

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• One word can be linked to several groups at the
  same time

SEE
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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• As for content, dictionaries have a fixed numbers
  of words that can be perfectly counted. However,
  humans vocabulary is constantly changing, it is
  updated and some information is forgotten.

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• As for content, dictionaries have a fixed numbers
  of words that can be perfectly counted. However,
  humans vocabulary is constantly changing, it is
  updated and some information is forgotten.
• Therefore, the human word store can be considered
  active and dynamic.

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• Recent models have built their theories on
  connections such as neuronal networks.

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon

• Recent models have built their theories on
  connections such as neuronal networks.
• All lexical items are part of one big network.
• Individual words in the lexicon may change
  depending on its degree of activation.
• Activation can increase or decrease over time (de
  Bot, Lowie Verspoor 2005).

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3. The multilingual mental lexicon
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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• The human word store can be considered as a
  dynamic system because it

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• The human word store can be considered as a
  dynamic system because it
• changes due to internal an external factors,
• self organizes,
• is feedback sensitive,
• is adaptive,
• changes over time, and
• has several variables that mutually interact.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• According to the dynamic model of the
  multilingual mental lexicon
• The words that are heard, seen and used more
  frequently will be easily retrieved.
• The words that are often used create more
  associations with other information.
• The activation of one lexical item can affect the
  level of activation of other lexical items it is
  attached to.
• The activation of a word depends on the input and
  output that a speaker has experienced in his
  entire life, and in very recent times.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• If the dynamic model of the multilingual mental
  lexicon is correct, association and
  activation are key elements that will have
  implications for second language acquisition
  development (de Bot, Lowie Verspoor 2005).

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• Association means that a great number of
  connections has to be made, so a word can be
  learned.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• Association means that a great number of
  connections has to be made, so a word can be
  learned.
• The lexical item must be noticed in various
  contexts.
• The learner should pay explicit attention to the
  different characteristics of the word to learn.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• Activation is a kind of practice that makes the
  access to the lexical item more automatic.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective

• Activation is a kind of practice that makes the
  access to the lexical item more automatic.
• If there is rehearsal, the level of activation of
  the different lexical items is increased.
• When the level of activation decreases over time,
  it is important to try to keep the level of
  activation above a threshold level, so the
  increase of activation is more effective, and the
  lexical items are not forgotten.

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3.1 Vocabulary learning from a dynamic perspective
Taken from http//www.visualthesaurus.com
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4. The experiment

• It is common to see English teachers (and
  language teachers in general) say its important
  to study vocabulary however, it is not common
  to see them explaining and showing how to study.
  
• We also do not know how much DST elements such as
  association and activation may actually influence
  the acquisition and development of vocabulary.
  

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4. The experiment

• Research question
• Does the teaching and training in the use of
  two vocabulary learning strategies that help
  incorporate and activate new lexical itemsthe
  keyword method and semantic mappinghave a
  positive effect on the amount of vocabulary
  learned by Dutch learners of Spanish?

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4. The experiment

• The key word method (association activation)
• It is a learning technique that requires a deep
  cognitive process (Brown Perry, 1991 Gu
  Johnson, 1996 Macaro, 2006).

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4. The experiment

• The key word method (association activation)
• It is a learning technique that requires a deep
  cognitive process (Brown Perry, 1991 Gu
  Johnson, 1996 Macaro, 2006).
• This method involves linking the L2 word (e.g.
  pato duck) to an L1 keyword (e.g. pot) that
  looks or sounds like the L2 word, or both, and
  then constructing a mental image or a sentence to
  connect the keyword (pot) to the L2 word (e.g.
  the pot is full of duck).

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4. The experiment

• The key word method (association activation)

POT (L1 word)
PATO (L2 word)
THE POT IS FULL OF DUCK (mental image
to connect the keyword (pot) to the
L2 word)
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4. The experiment

• The key word method (association activation)

An appointment
Anapoima
I have an appointment in Anapoima
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4. The experiment

• Semantic mapping (association)
• It is a mnemonic technique that is based on
  establishing connections based on visual and
  verbal imagery.

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4. The experiment

• Semantic mapping (association)
• It is a mnemonic technique that is based on
  establishing connections based on visual and
  verbal imagery.
• Oxford (1990), defines semantic mapping as ...
  an arrangement of words into a picture, which has
  a key concept at the center or at the top, and
  related words or concepts linked with the key
  concept by means of lines or arrows .

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4. The experiment

• Semantic mapping

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4. The experiment

• Research Methodology
• Participants
• 33 Dutch learners of Spanish
• Dutch native speakers
• First year college students
• All between 17 and 21
• First time studying Spanish

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4. The experiment

• Research Methodology
• Design and analysis
• Two groups Control and experimental
• Intervention experiment with a pre-test and a
  post-test.
• A repeated measures analysis with pre/post test
  as a within subjects factor and a group as a
  between subjects variable was done.

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4. The experiment

• Research Methodology
• Materials
• DiaLang

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4. The experiment

• Research Methodology
• Four phases
• Class,
• Pre-test,
• Training in association/activation techniques,
  and
• Post-test

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4. The experiment

• General Results
• The control group (M 11.4, SE 4.4) obtained
  better results than the experimental group (M
  9.4, SE 2.3) in the pre-test.
• The experimental group (M 16, SE 3.3) did
  better than the control group (M 13.2, SE 4.1)
  in the post-test.
• It was found that the interaction between the
  groups and improvement turned out to be
  significant (F (1, 58) 44.4 plt0.01).

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4. The experiment

• General Results

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4. The experiment

• Discussion

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4. The experiment

• Discussion (Research)
• 1. These findings may be good empirical evidence
  to support the dynamic model of the multilingual
  mental lexicon.
• By using association strategies, the students
  link new info to old info (enhancing the
  vocabulary network).
• The words that are frequently activated can be
  easily retrieved

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4. The experiment

• Discussion (Research)
• 2. There is a reason that can possibly explain
  why the learners in the experimental group
  obtained better scores in the post-test
• They were trained to create semantic networks
  (semantic mapping) and mental linkages (keyword
  method) to learn the new vocabulary as a result,
  they elaborated various- strong kinds of (strong)
  mental connections for the words they had to
  study.

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4. The experiment

• Discussion (Pedagogical)
• 1. Both groups studied under very similar
  conditions and they both progressed.

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4. The experiment

• Discussion (Pedagogical)

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4. The experiment

• Discussion (Pedagogical)
• 2. If there is teaching and training of
  vocabulary learning strategies, students may
  benefit from this kind of dynamic teaching
  approach
• Students reflect and self-evaluate their learning
  methods.
• Students can discover new learning strategies.
• Students learned how to study (and learn) more
  effectively.
• Students can improve their learning processes.

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4. The experiment

• Conclusions

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4. The experiment

• Conclusions
• If the mental lexicon is understood as a dynamic
  system, the teaching of learning strategies that
  foster processes of association and activation of
  new information can have positive effects on the
  amount of vocabulary learned by language
  learners Dutch learners of Spanish.

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4. The experiment

• Conclusions
• If the mental lexicon is understood as a dynamic
  system, the teaching of learning strategies that
  foster processes of association and activation of
  new information can have positive effects on the
  amount of vocabulary learned by language
  learners Dutch learners of Spanish.
• More research using DST as a foundation is
  required
• Real classroom settings contexts that are part
  of the system
• The results can not be seen as direct cause -
  effect links

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Concluding Remarks

• Description of the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST)
• Examples of how DST may apply SLA
• Information about the organization of the
  multilingual mental lexicon and vocabulary
  learning from a dynamic perspective
• Description of the empirical experiment that was
  carried out for this investigation

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Questions