Child Second Language Development in Immersion Education

Language acquisition has been the subject of decades of research. Most of the previous research on second language acquisition has centered around adult learners, leaving child learners understudied by comparison. This book focuses on child second language development. The cross-sectional empirical study herein investigates the syntax-semantics interface in English speaking children acquiring German and French as second languages. The author discusses variables such as crosslinguistic influence, the complexity of the learning tasks, cognitive maturity and the learning context. By focusing on child second language acquisition in immersion education, this book not only substantially contributes to the field of second language acquisition but also offers important insights into teaching in an immersion context

QITA

Sprache(n) optimal zu fördern ist das zentrale Ziel frühkindlicher Bildung und des QITA-Kriterienhandbuchs. In den Kitas steigt der Anteil der Kinder mit anderen Erstsprachen als Deutsch. Ebenso wächst die Zahl der Eltern, die sich für ihre Kinder eine Kita aussuchen, in der eine weitere Sprache gezielt gefördert wird. Das QITA-Kriterienhandbuch wurde für diesen mehrsprachigen Kita-Alltag entwickelt. Es benennt Gelingensfaktoren für die mehrsprachige sprachpädagogische Arbeit und den Umgang mit kultureller Vielfalt. In neun Qualitätsbereichen wird der bewusste und gezielte Einsatz von Sprache(n) vorgestellt. Hieran haben Expertinnen und Experten aus der Kindheitspädagogik, aus der Sprachwissenschaft und aus mehrsprachigen Kitas mitgewirkt.Das QITA-Kriterienhandbuch ist für alle Sprachen einsetzbar. Es kann sowohl zur Reflexion der eigenen Arbeit als auch zur Qualitätsentwicklung und Konzepterstellung herangezogen werden. Auch für einen Baustein „Sprache und Mehrsprachigkeit“ ist es trägerunabhängig nutzbar. Prinzipien und Fachbegriffe wie das „Sprachbad“ Immersion und Translanguaging werden vorgestellt

Structural similarity in third language acquisition

Language learners typically experience cross-linguistic influence (CLI) from one or several previously acquired languages when acquiring an additional language. Learners of a second language (L2) are influenced by their native languages in all language domains ranging from phonology, lexicon, and morphosyntax, to semantics, discourse, and pragmatics. In third (and subsequent) language (L3/Ln) acquisition, however, there is more than one potential source of influence, as the learner already knows at least two languages, which both have the potential to influence subsequent language acquisition. This is the reason why existing models of L3/Ln language acquisition have mainly focused on issues related to CLI: (i) the source of CLI (L1, L2, both languages, typologically closest language, language of communication), (ii) the type of CLI (only facilitative or both facilitative and non-facilitative), and (iii) the extent of CLI (wholesale or property-by-property or hybrid). Different models attribute CLI to different factors, and there is still no consensus in multilingual acquisition research. According to existing models of L3 acquisition, the following factors may be the source of CLI: Order and/or manner of acquisition (The L2 Status Factor, e.g., Bardel & Falk 2007; L1 Transfer, e.g., Jin 2009), language use (The Language of Communication Model, e.g., Fallah et al., 2016; Fallah & Jabbari 2018) or some kind of structural similarity (The Typological Primacy Model, Rothman, 2015; The Linguistic Proximity Model, Westergaard et al., 2017; Westergaard 2021a, b; The Scalpel Model, Slabakova, 2017). The five articles in this issue zoom in on this last factor, structural similarity, specifically in phonology and morphosyntax, which are examined at early stages of L3 acquisition as well as in L3 development.publishedVersio

Interactions between lexical and syntactic L1-L2 overlap: Effects of gender congruency on L2 sentence processing in L1 Spanish-L2 German speakers

Bringing together lines of research from sentence processing and lexical access, this empirical study investigates the interplay between lexical (grammatical gender) and syntactic (word order) cross-linguistic overlap in L2 German. Eighty-six L1 Spanish-L2 German and thirty-six monolingual German adults completed a German self-paced reading task with noun phrases (NPs) manipulated by L1-L2 gender congruency (congruent, incongruent, neuter) and L1-L2 adjective-noun word order (pre- vs. postnominal adjectives). The study examines the effects of gender congruency, the type of L1-L2 gender mapping (i.e., presence vs. absence of each class in L1 and L2), and L2 proficiency level. Results show that the detection of ungrammatical word order in L2 German interacts with gender congruency, in that L2 speakers are only sensitive to word order violations for sentences with gender-congruent nouns. The detection of ungrammaticality for sentences containing gender-incongruent nouns only emerges at higher L2 proficiency levels. These findings underscore the role of cross-linguistic lexical overlap in syntactic processing

Monolingual comparative normativity in bilingualism research is out of “control”: Arguments and alternatives

Accepted manuscript, to appeared in Applied Psycholinguistics: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/applied-psycholinguistics.Herein, we contextualize, problematize and offer some insights for moving beyond the problem of monolingual comparative normativity in (psycho)linguistic research on bilingualism. We argue that, in the vast majority of cases, juxtaposing (functional) monolinguals to bilinguals fails to offer what the comparison is supposedly intended to do: meet the standards of empirical control in line with the scientific method. Instead, the default nature of monolingual comparative normativity has historically contributed to inequalities in many facets of bilingualism research and continues to impede progress on multiple levels. Beyond framing our views on the matter, we offer some epistemological considerations and methodological alternatives to this standard practice that improve empirical rigor while fostering increased diversity, inclusivity and equity in our field

Monolingual comparative normativity in bilingualism research is out of “control”: Arguments and alternatives

Herein, we contextualize, problematize, and offer some insights for moving beyond the problem of monolingual comparative normativity in (psycho) linguistic research on bilingualism. We argue that, in the vast majority of cases, juxtaposing (functional) monolinguals to bilinguals fails to offer what the comparison is supposedly intended to do: meet the standards of empirical control in line with the scientific method. Instead, the default nature of monolingual comparative normativity has historically contributed to inequalities in many facets of bilingualism research and continues to impede progress on multiple levels. Beyond framing our views on the matter, we offer some epistemological considerations and methodological alternatives to this standard practice that improve empirical rigor while fostering increased diversity, inclusivity, and equity in our field

Monolingual comparative normativity in bilingualism research is out of “control”: Arguments and alternatives

Herein, we contextualize, problematize, and offer some insights for moving beyond the problem of monolingual comparative normativity in (psycho) linguistic research on bilingualism. We argue that, in the vast majority of cases, juxtaposing (functional) monolinguals to bilinguals fails to offer what the comparison is supposedly intended to do: meet the standards of empirical control in line with the scientific method. Instead, the default nature of monolingual comparative normativity has historically contributed to inequalities in many facets of bilingualism research and continues to impede progress on multiple levels. Beyond framing our views on the matter, we offer some epistemological considerations and methodological alternatives to this standard practice that improve empirical rigor while fostering increased diversity, inclusivity, and equity in our field.publishedVersio

How Carvedilol activates β₂-adrenoceptors

Carvedilol is among the most effective β-blockers for improving survival after myocardial infarction. Yet the mechanisms by which carvedilol achieves this superior clinical profile are still unclear. Beyond blockade of β(1)-adrenoceptors, arrestin-biased signalling via β(2)-adrenoceptors is a molecular mechanism proposed to explain the survival benefits. Here, we offer an alternative mechanism to rationalize carvedilol’s cellular signalling. Using primary and immortalized cells genome-edited by CRISPR/Cas9 to lack either G proteins or arrestins; and combining biological, biochemical, and signalling assays with molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that G proteins drive all detectable carvedilol signalling through β(2)ARs. Because a clear understanding of how drugs act is imperative to data interpretation in basic and clinical research, to the stratification of clinical trials or to the monitoring of drug effects on the target pathway, the mechanistic insight gained here provides a foundation for the rational development of signalling prototypes that target the β-adrenoceptor system

Corticosteroids and regional variations in thickness of the human cerebral cortex across the lifespan

International audienceExposures to life stressors accumulate across the lifespan, with possible impact on brain health. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms mediating age-related changes in brain structure. We use a lifespan sample of participants (n = 21 251; 4–97 years) to investigate the relationship between the thickness of cerebral cortex and the expression of the glucocorticoid- and the mineralocorticoid-receptor genes (NR3C1 and NR3C2, respectively), obtained from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. In all participants, cortical thickness correlated negatively with the expression of both NR3C1 and NR3C2 across 34 cortical regions. The magnitude of this correlation varied across the lifespan. From childhood through early adulthood, the profile similarity (between NR3C1/NR3C2 expression and thickness) increased with age. Conversely, both profile similarities decreased with age in late life. These variations do not reflect age-related changes in NR3C1 and NR3C2 expression, as observed in 5 databases of gene expression in the human cerebral cortex (502 donors). Based on the co-expression of NR3C1 (and NR3C2) with genes specific to neural cell types, we determine the potential involvement of microglia, astrocytes, and CA1 pyramidal cells in mediating the relationship between corticosteroid exposure and cortical thickness. Therefore, corticosteroids may influence brain structure to a variable degree throughout life