美国卡内基·梅隆大学心理、现代语言及语言技术研究所的BrianMacWhinney教授受邀于2017年5月5日晚做关于多维度二语习得研究的讲座。MacWhinney教授是母语及二语习得、心理语言学及神经语言学领域的领军研究者之一，在国际同行中享有很高的声誉。讲座由双语认知与发展实验室的董燕萍教授主持。
讲座伊始，MacWhinney教授便高屋建瓴地指出二语习得研究同时需要理论及方法论两个维度。理论上来说，他从涌现主义的观点来探索语言研究问题。涌现主义发源于达尔文进化论中的涌现观、竞争观及选择观。就其本质而言，语言呈现多维度结构，它包含具有分层机构的不同子系统，如听说、词汇、句法、心理模型及语篇。从时间维度(timeframe)上看，我们可以从加工、固化、社会传播及基因传播几个角度研究语言。MacWhinney教授通过水分子的化学反应式及蛋白质折叠的四级结构生动地解释了“涌现”这一概念。在这些过程中，结构从不同层次中生成，同时这些生成受到生物学上的限制。由于竞争，不同的时间维度会同时影响实际的语言交流过程。MacWhinney教授因而指出研究者必须结合不同的时间维度以获取实时的语言信息。传统的基于课堂的研究法及实验法缺乏稳定性及真实性，因而他通过融合语料库分析及网络实验的优势，开发了一套基于网络的二语研究系统——TalkBank。在讲座的后半部分，MacWhinney教授向我们演示了TalkBank的几个主要组成部分，包括认知测试、练习指导者、概念指导者、带文字视频、基于语料库的学习以及现实场景中的语言学习。
MacWhinney教授的讲座逻辑严谨、语言生动幽默，既扩展了大家的理论视野，同时简要介绍了二语习得研究的强大工具“TalkBank”。讲座后他与观众进行了热烈的讨论。
Prof. Brian MacWhinney talked about Multidimensional SLA
Professor Brian MacWhinney from Carnegie Mellon university was invited to give a lecture on muldimimensional SLA on the evening of May 5, 2017. As a key figure at the Psychology, Modern Languages, Language Technologies Institute, he specializes in first and second language acquisition, psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics. The talk was charied by Prefessor Dong Yanping, director of the Bilingual Cognition and Development Lab.
In the beginning, Prof. MacWhinney pointed out that the studies of SLA needed both theory and methodology. Theoretically, he addressed the issue from the perspective of emergentism, which had its origin in Charles Darwin’s idea of proliferation, competition, and selection. Language was multidimensional in nature for having hierarchical structures of different subsystems -- audition, articulation, lexicon, syntax, mental model and discourse. In addition, language included timeframes of processing, consolidation, social diffusion andgenetic diffusion. The concept of emergence was vividly illustrated by the chemical equation of the formation of water molecule and the four levels of protein folding, both of which had levels where structure came out with constraints. As timeframes exerted their impact in the moment of communication due to competing motivations, it was necessary for researchers to capture data in actual moments by meshing frames. Methodologies like classroom-based research and lab experiments had their shortcomings of inconsistent administration and lack of authenticity. Prof. MacWhinney therefore developed the SLA web-based system called TalkBank by taking advantages of corpus analysis methods and web experiments. For the later part of the lecture, he demonstrated the components of TalkBank, including cognitive test library, practice tutors,concept tutors, captioned video, corpus-based learning and language learning in the wild.
Prof. MacWhinney’s talk broadened our theoretical horizons and familiarized us with the powerful tool of TalkBank. The audience were intrigued by the underlying logic and his sense of humor.
