Eye-tracking shows that digital training improves L2 learning of stress-suffix associations

Prosody assists us in parsing continuous speech and recognize words. For instance, native speakers use prosodic information such as tone and stress to predict word endings (see Roll et al., 2022, for a review). In contrast, beginning L2 learners struggle perceiving L2 prosodic cues used differently in their L1 (e.g., Sagarra & Sagarra, 2018). Prosody is often neglected in L2 classrooms (Gosselke Berthelsen et al., 2023), but Schremm et al. (2017) found that digital gaming improved L1 non-tonal beginning learners of a tonal L2 acquire L2 tone-suffix associations. Since this improvement could be due to practice effects, tone learning, or only segmentals, we asked L2 learners to complete an eye-tracking pretest/posttest that assessed their ability to apply what they learned in the digital game to new instances, we examined another segmental—lexical stress (oxytone, paroxytone)—, and we explored a suprasegmental—syllabic structure (CV, CVC). Twenty L1 English-L2 Spanish beginning learners played a digital game for 15 minutes per day for ten days. Participants heard the beginning of a sentence cut at the verb’s initial syllable (la amiga pes- ‘the friend weigh-”), selected a present or a past suffix, and received feedback. Before and after training, participants completed an eye-tracking task assessing their ability to use the stress of a Spanish disyllabic verb’s first syllable to predict the verb’s suffix. None of the target verbs in the eye-tracking tasks were part of the training. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) revealed that playing the digital game increased accuracy and decreased reaction times. Furthermore, before playing the game, learners did not use prosodic information to make stress-suffix associations, but after playing the game, learners anticipated word endings in the CVC oxytone condition, which represents the less frequent pattern. This result aligns with previous studies showing that predictive processing is facilitated when cues are associated with fewer lexical competitors. These findings suggest that training can help L2 learners gain more nativelike predictive processing. The data support models positing that L2 learners can acquire segmentals and suprasegmentals different from their L1 and that prosody influences lexical access Keywords: second language learners; prosody; training, prediction. References Gosselke Berthelsen, S., & Roll, M. (2023). Computer-aided L2 prosody acquisition and its potential in second language learning. ASLA:s skriftserie, 30, 157-182. https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/30c68231-a9fc-4e16-bc20-cdc015ebd7e8 Roll, M. (2022). The predictive function of Swedish word accents. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 910787. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.910787 Sagarra, N., & Casillas, J. V. (2018). Suprasegmental information cues morphological anticipation during L1/L2 lexical access. Journal of Second Language Studies, 1(1), 31-59. https://doi.org/10.1075/jsls.17026.sag Schremm, A., Hed, A., Horne, M., & Roll, M. (2017). Training predictive L2 processing with a digital game: Prototype promotes acquisition of anticipatory use of tone-suffix associations. Computers & Education, 114, 206-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.07.00

Computerized training with AI and human voices facilitates L2 prediction of grammatical gender agreement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice generators have gained popularity due to the rapid development of AI technology. However, little is known about the differences in L2 learning between human and artificial voices. This study investigates the effects of computerized training using human or artificial voices on the prediction of grammatical gender agreement by beginning L2 learners of a genderless L1. Monolinguals and advanced L2 learners use lexical and syntactic cues to generate correct predictions during gender agreement computation, but beginning L2 learners underuse lexical cues (Grüter et al., 2012; Hopp, 2016) and struggle making correct predictions. Computerized training facilitated the prediction of verb suffixes based on tones (Schremm et al., 2017) and may also improve the prediction of noun suffixes based on gender lexical cues (a noun’s inherent gender) and syntactic cues (gender-marked articles and suffixes). Seventy-seven beginning English learners of Spanish played a digital game with an AI (n = 39) or a human voice (n = 38) for ten minutes per day for eight days. Participants listened to an article-noun pair (el jamón ‘the ham’), moved a frog to a masculine (sabroso ‘deliciousM’) or a feminine (sabrosa ‘deliciousF’) platform, and received feedback (correct/incorrect + correct utterance). Each participant heard 384 determiner-noun pairs, 96 per condition: [+/- gender-marked article, +/- gender-marked noun]: el queso ‘theM cheeseM’; su queso ‘his/hercheeseM’; el jamón ‘theM hamM’; su jamón ‘his/herhamM’. GLMMs revealed no differences between AI and human voices in accuracy or RTs. This result suggests that AI and natural speech are equally beneficial for L2 grammar learning, and that AI can help create time-saving and cost-effective materials for L2 learning and language experiments. Also, training decreased RTs in all conditions and increased accuracy in all conditions except the condition without gender-marked articles or nouns (su jamón). No accuracy gains in the condition lacking syntactic gender cues indicate that computerized training is effective to learn syntactic, but not lexical, gender cues. This finding supports L2 models claiming that L2 learners’ difficulty acquiring grammatical gender agreement results from a weak and unstable knowledge of lexical gender (Grüter et al., 2012; Hopp, 2013, 2016). Keywords: AI, digital game, computerized training, gender agreement, online learnin

"Diagnóstico sobre las barreras de acceso para la obtención de una vivienda digna desde la política pública de Chile para población migrante".

El derecho a la vivienda ha sido un punto central en el desarrollo de políticas y derechos sociales más recientes como garantía de cohesión social. El presente trabajo de investigación pretende acercar la realidad de los asentamientos urbanos irregulares de Chile, así como la respuesta gubernamental para garantizar una vivienda social adecuada. Igualmente, se pone el foco en los agentes involucrados que acompañan, asesoran e informan a personas migrantes -que viven en dichos asentamientos precarios-, durante el proceso de obtención de vivienda y regularización de la situación migratoria. Existiendo dualidad entre los agentes que intervienen en el ámbito habitacional, perteneciendo al Sector Público y Tercer Sector. Finalmente, el objetivo principal de este proyecto de investigación es identificar y determinar los impedimentos que tiene que hacer frente la población migrante en el proceso de postulación a la oferta pública de vivienda.<br /

The Bi-Loop, a new general four-stranded DNA motif

The crystal structure of the cyclic octanucleotide d contains two independent molecules that form a novel quadruplex by means of intermolecular Watson-Crick A.T pairs and base stacking. A virtually identical quadruplex composed of G.C pairs was found by earlier x-ray analysis of the linear heptamer d(GCATGCT), when the DNA was looped in the crystal. The close correspondence between these two structures of markedly dissimilar oligonucleotides suggests that they are both examples of a previously unrecognized motif. Their nucleotide sequences have little in common except for two separated 5'-purine-pyrimidine dinucleotides forming the quadruplex, and by implication these so-called 'bi-loops' could occur widely in natural DNA. Such structures provide a mechanism for noncovalent linking of polynucleotides in vivo. Their capacity to associate by base stacking, demonstrated in the crystal structure of d(GCATGCT), creates a compact molecular framework made up of four DNA chains within which strand exchange could take place

The Longitudinal Role of Working Memory on Adult Acquisition of L2 Grammar

176 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000.Results from the experiment revealed a lack of significant differences among subjects with low, medium and high WM span, and can be explained along several lines: methodological limitations of the tests (grammar tests and the reading span test); the domain specificity hypothesis; the processing efficiency hypothesis; and the less is more hypothesis.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD