Marjolijn Verspoor教授谈“用动态系统研究方法追踪二语习得进程”
荷兰格罗宁根大学英语系主任Marjolijn Verspoor教授应实验室及外国语言学及应用语言学研究中心邀请，于2017年5月22日下午在八教306教室做题为“用动态系统研究方法追踪二语习得进程”的讲座。
讲座主要分为两个部分：第一个部分为Verspoor教授研究的理论基础及成果；第二部分为关于动态系统理论技术操作的小型“工作坊”。讲座伊始，Verspoor教授通过一张图展示了动态系统的运行方式及其中几个重要概念，包括复杂的适应性行为、涌现、正（负）反馈及自组织的局部关系。具体来说，动态系统可分为宏观、中型及微观三个子系统。接着，Verspoor教授通过一段TED视频片段向我们展示了婴儿学会“水（water）”这个英文单词的发音的不同阶段：从类似于“嘎嘎”的无意义发音，到几个月后终于能够较为正确地发出“水（water）”这个读音。由此，Verspoor教授指出了在二语能力发展中几个动态性准则：1）初始条件，对应母语习得中的天分及年龄，语言器官在学习语言最初阶段的缺陷必然对后面的语言发展产生重要影响；2）迭代，在语言用法的重复中体现；3）多变性，显示于应用语言学中的“U”型行为；3）自组织，具体体现在语言的变化中；4）涌现，在一段时间后，会自发地产生新的形式/用法；5）阶段转换，语言学习中存在着不同阶段，如在母语习得中有词汇暴增时期；6）变异，在语言学习路径中体现；7）协作，通过自动化体现；8）吸引状态，一定时期后，学习者的句法及词汇趋于稳定。随后，Verspoor教授具体通过她的几个研究向我们展示了动态分析方法的具体步骤，并得出结论：二语的发展过程是非线性的，具有多变性及变异；基于应用的动态系统认为群体研究及个案研究之间的结论无法直接转换，需要具体问题具体分析。
在“工作坊”部分，Verspoor教授通过Excel表格向观众具体演示了动态分析方法中的蒙特卡洛（MonteCarlo）分析。在操作的同时，Verspoor教授解释了这背后的研究思路。很多听众首次接触这一分析方法，都表示了浓厚的兴趣，Verspoor教授也一一回答了他们的提问。讲座结束时，听众们对Verspoor的细心讲解及方法应用创新报以热烈的掌声。
Prof. Marjolijn Verspoor talked about a DUB approach to tracing L2 development and demonstrated its calculations
Dr. Marjolijn Verspoor, Professor of English Language from University of Groningen, was invited by the Bilingual Cognition and Development lab and the Center to give a talk and workshop entitled “A dynamic usage based (DUB) approach to tracing L2 development” on the afternoon of May 22.
Prof. Verspoor started off by illustrating the underlying mechanism of the dynamic system theory with a diagram, which showed concepts like complex adaptive behaviour, emergence and simple self-organized local relationships.The dynamic system could be studied from the marcro, the meso and micro perspectives. She went on depicting the learning process of the word “water” for babies with a TED video clip. The pronunciation of water went through aprocess from the non-meaningful sound of “Gaga” to the sound that similar to adults’, which was a typical example of the principles of the dynamic system.Specifically, there were several dynamic principles in L2 development: 1)initial conditions, corresponding to L1 aptitude and the starting age of learning; 2) iteration, meaning the repetition and frequency of language structures; 3) variability, evidenced by the U-shape language learning curve; 4) self-organization, related to change; 5) emergence, marked by new forms/uses by language learners; 6) phase shifts, corresponding to learning stages; 7)variation, displaying itself in the learning paths; 8) coordination, embodied in the automatization of language usages; 9) attractor states, signifying the entrenchment of those language usages. These principles were then exemplified by some of her researches. Prof. Verspoor then concluded that the L2 development was characterized by non-linearity and that the findings from group studies and individual studies were not interchangeable.
The lecture was followed by a workshop session, in which Prof.Verspoor demonstrated in detail the Monte Carlo analysis on Excel sheets. In the end, she received loud applause for the clear explanation and the sharing of the technique.
