Working memory capacity, noticing, and L2 speech production

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura CorrespondenteO presente estudo investigou a relação entre a capacidade de memória de trabalho, o registro cognitivo de aspectos da L2 e a produção oral da L2 em 30 adultos brasileiros aprendizes de inglês como segunda língua ou língua estrangeira, na Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. O experimento consistiu de cinco tarefas: (a) uma tarefa teve por objetivo medir a capacidade de memória de trabalho através do Speaking Span Test; (b) três tarefas orais (um pré-teste antes do tratamento e dois pró-testes após o tratamento) tiveram por objetivo medir a acurácia gramatical da performance oral dos sujeitos ao produzirem a estrutura alvo (Questões Indiretas); e (c) uma tarefa teve por objetivo medir o registro cognitivo de aspectos da L2 através de um protocolo oral. Os resultados revelam que existe relação estatisticamente significativa entre a capacidade de memória de trabalho, o registro cognitivo de aspectos da L2 e a produção oral da L2. Indivíduos com a capacidade de memória de trabalho maior registraram melhor os aspectos da estrutura alvo e demonstraram melhor desempenho nas tarefas orais de L2, enquanto que indivíduos com uma capacidade de memória de trabalho menor registraram menos os aspectos formais da L2 e tiveram um desempenho menos preciso ao produzir a estrutura alvo nas tarefas orais. The present study investigated the relationship among working memory capacity, noticing of L2 forms, and L2 oral production by thirty Brazilian adult learners of English as a second or foreign language at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. The experiment consisted of five tasks: (a) one task aimed at measuring working memory capacity through the Speaking Span Test; (b) three oral tasks (one pretest before treatment, and two posttests after treatment) aimed at measuring grammatical accuracy through subjects' oral performance of the target structure (Indirect Questions); and (c) one task aimed at measuring noticing through an oral protocol. The results reveal that there are statistically significant relationships among working memory capacity, noticing of L2 forms, and grammatical accuracy on L2 oral performance. Individuals with a larger working memory capacity noticed more L2 formal aspects of the target structure and demonstrated better performance in L2 oral tasks whereas individuals with smaller working memory capacity notice fewer L2 formal aspects and demonstrated poorer performance of the target structure in L2 oral tasks

The role of presentation format on decision-makers' behaviour in accounting

The recent increase in researching presentation format area is resulting in an increase in awareness of the importance of presentation format on decision-makers' behaviour. This paper presents a synthesis of prior research on presentation format in the accounting literature which could be used as bases and references for future research. It reviews and evaluates existing accounting literature that examines the linkages of presentation format on decision-makers behaviour. Finally, future research opportunities in this area are made

An analysis of the application of AI to the development of intelligent aids for flight crew tasks

This report presents the results of a study aimed at developing a basis for applying artificial intelligence to the flight deck environment of commercial transport aircraft. In particular, the study was comprised of four tasks: (1) analysis of flight crew tasks, (2) survey of the state-of-the-art of relevant artificial intelligence areas, (3) identification of human factors issues relevant to intelligent cockpit aids, and (4) identification of artificial intelligence areas requiring further research

THE ROLE OF NOTICING AND WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IN L2 ORAL PERFORMANCE

! is study investigates how noticing of L2 instances in input re-lates to working memory (WM) capacity and to grammatical accuracy inL2 oral tasks. Participants were 30 Brazilian adult learners of English whowere required to perform " ve tasks aimed at assessing (a) WM capacity,(b) grammatical accuracy in oral performance, and (c) noticing of formalaspects of a target structure. ! e results show that there are statisticallysigni" cant relationships among noticing of L2 formal features, grammati-cal accuracy in L2 oral performance and WM capacity. Together, the re-sults can be taken as evidence that learners with a larger WM capacityare also more prone to noticing L2 formal aspects and to performing moregrammatically accurate speech in the L2

Playing with Constraint: Performing the OuLiPo and the clinamen-performer

Approaching a rare example of constraining literature written for performance, this article introduces the ‘clinamen-performer’, a term used to describe the unpredictable and playful behaviours of the performer under constraint. The OuLiPo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, or Workshop for Potential Literature) have been using imposed structural constraints to generate new writing since the 1960s. Following an introduction to the group, this article reflects on the performance of Oulipian Georges Perec’s radio play The Machine by contemporary theatre company Third Angel. The Machine reads as a ‘how to’ of oulipian constraint, and while rule-based structures are well known within contemporary theatre, the specifically analytical and granular devices within this particular radio play present a rare opportunity to understand the effects of constraint on the live performer. The various structures of the text encourage the clinamen-performer to enjoy a game structure at its most liberatingly constrained. The performer simultaneously adheres to the various protocols of the text and the invisible, formal expectations of theatre. The clinamen-performer may dive in and out of the rules and flexibly play with the nuances of delivery, pitch, dialogism and irony, by participating in a competition that offers no obvious prize. Whereas the clinamen represents for the Oulipo an acceptable, usually aesthetically inclined rule-break, as a live performer it represents the recognition of being the conduit between the text and the audience – the ineffable vessel of meaning-making

Effects of Implicit and Explicit Instruction on Learning Adjective Order

This study tests the effect of implicit and explicit instruction in the learning of the order of adjectives for advanced second language learners of English. Ten participants were randomly divided into two groups of five each. The first group was shown grammatically correct and incorrect sentences, but were not given the details as to how the sentences were grammatically correct or incorrect. This was the group that received implicit instructions. The second group was given the same work sheet, but also received explicit instructions detailing the correct order of adjectives.  Following two trails rounds, both groups were given tests with 15 tasks to assess correct placement of adjectives in a sentence.  Results showed that those who received explicit instructions performed twice as well as those who received implicit instructions, making only five mistakes in total (33%), as opposed to ten mistakes made by those who had implicit instructions (66%). The most common mistakes were related to placement of the adjectives used for “opinion” and “physical quality”. The study supported the hypothesis that explicit instruction was more effective than implicit instruction in learning adjective order

Stream segregation of concurrent speech and the verbal transformation effect:influence of fundamental frequency and lateralization cues

Repeating a recorded word produces verbal transformations (VTs); perceptual regrouping of acoustic-phonetic segments may contribute to this effect. The influence of fundamental frequency (F0) and lateralization grouping cues was explored by presenting two concurrent sequences of the same word resynthesized on different F0s (100 and 178 Hz). In experiment 1, listeners monitored both sequences simultaneously, reporting for each any change in stimulus identity. Three lateralization conditions were used – diotic, ±680-μs interaural time difference, and dichotic. Results were similar for the first two conditions, but fewer forms and later initial transformations were reported in the dichotic condition. This suggests that large lateralization differences per se have little effect – rather, there are more possibilities for regrouping when each ear receives both sequences. In the dichotic condition, VTs reported for one sequence were also more independent of those reported for the other. Experiment 2 used diotic stimuli and explored the effect of the number of sequences presented and monitored. The most forms and earliest transformations were reported when two sequences were presented but only one was monitored, indicating that high task demands decreased reporting of VTs for concurrent sequences. Overall, these findings support the idea that perceptual regrouping contributes to the VT effect