PhD Project
My PhD project evolved from my MA thesis (2003, in German). The MA thesis dealt with neuroscientific methods in second language acquisition research and the results gained from using these methods. Although, the results are interesting and enlightening regarding the processing of (foreign) languages, the results are not very satisfying for educators, as the variables targeted in the studies (proficiency level and age of acquisition) do not allow to draw conclusions for the language classroom.
In the past few years, two research groups - Jutta L. Mueller and colleagues (Leipzig) and the Osterhout group (Seattle) - dedictaed their work on the impact of learning. But Osterhout's group looked for learning-related changes in the brain, whereas Mueller used highly artificial learning scenarios. For my studies, I use quite natural learning scenarios, one has to admit, however, that the neuroscientific methods demand some restrictions regarding the learning scenarios used in the studies.
On top of that, my PhD project aims on the question whether and to what extend automatization exercises can be used to teach grammar.
In short, the two research questions of my projects are:
- Can automatization exercises be used to learn grammar and to what extent are they useful?
- What is the influence of learning modes on the representation and processing of foreign languages?
For some deeper insight, please refer to my presentation given at the IDT 2009 in Jena (German) or to my poster presented at the Cognitive Science 2009 in Amsterdam (Englisch).
Last update: 17/07/2010, 20:39:12 (CET)