Leiden University Centre for Linguistics & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition
On neural correlates of individual differences in novel grammar learning: an fMRI study
People differ substantially in their ability to learn languages, especially when it comes to second language acquisition (SLA). In my PhD project, “Neural mechanisms and brain structures underlying individual differences in acquisition of vocabulary and grammar of an artificial language. A neurolinguistic study of language aptitude”, I investigate neural correlates of language aptitude – a specific ability for learning languages – which plays an important role in SLA in a variety of settings and learning contexts (cf. Dörnyei & Skehan, 2003; Ellis, 2008; Sawyer & Ranta, 2001).
This talk will concentrate on one of the neuroimaging studies conducted within the project, where we examined the role of language analytical ability (LAA) in acquisition of novel grammar. LAA is defined as one of the components of language aptitude, and is arguably the most important one when it comes to the acquisition of novel grammar.
For the purpose of the fMRI experiment, two groups of participants were formed on the basis of a test measuring LAA in a large group of participants (N = 307): High LAA (N = 22) and Average LAA (N = 20). We investigated whether the neural basis of learning new grammatical rules differs between populations of highly and moderately skilled learners.
Participants performed an artificial grammar learning task during an fMRI scan and data from task’s test phases were analysed. Highly skilled learners performed better than moderately skilled ones and engaged during the task more neural resources in the right hemisphere, in the right angular/supramarginal gyrus and superior frontal and middle frontal gyrus and in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Additional analyses investigating the temporal dynamics of brain activity during learning revealed lateralisation differences in the modulation of activity in the parietal cortex. In particular, learners with the steepest learning curve showed higher values of BOLD activity in the left angular gyrus at the end of the task than at the beginning, which we believe might be tied to the proceduralisation of new language rules.
References:
Dörnyei, Z., & Skehan, P. (2003). Individual differences in second language learning. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Ellis, R. (2008). The Study of Second Language Acquisition (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sawyer, M., & Ranta, L. (2001). Aptitude, individual differences, and instructional design. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and Second Language Instruction (pp. 319–353). Cambridge University Press.