My Researchgate account notified me of a new article I might be interested in, and boy howdy was it right.
Basically, they measured how much participants' pupils dilated when they read neutral vs. negatively charged sentences in either the native language (Spanish) or the L2 (English). Unsurprisingly, but still interesting, they found that the magnitude of difference between neutral and negative sentences was larger for those read in the native language, i.e. the emotional impact was greater. This is not a literature I am familiar with, but how interesting and what potential for replication and exploration. The authors propose a possible explanation being the distanced, formal, academic learning experience of acquiring an L2. My immediate thought goes to testing this with students who've done extensive study abroad. Is the L2 doomed (ok, that might be a bit much) to be more emotionally distant, or does further experience in a more naturalistic context make up the difference? How about heritage languages? Does an L2 learned in a majority language context have more emotional connection? Can the heritage L1 in an L2-dominant bilingual lose emotional connection?The study looked at neutral vs. emotionally negative sentences, but is there a difference for positively charged sentences? The introduction also mentions "taboo words." I'd love to see the differential impact of swearing (hearing and/or saying) in the L1 vs. L2. This would also be a great addition to a course comparing first- and second-language learning or bilingualism more generally. The topic is accessible and makes for an easy hook into discussion incorporating personal experience. Though the specific methodology (eyetracking) would be beyond the capabilities of student pilot projects, it would be relatively straightforward to modify, and the participant groups and stimuli are open to myriad combinations. Reference: Iacozza, S., Costa, A., and Duñabeitia, J.A. (2017). What do your eyes reveal about your foreign language? Reading emotional sentences in a native and foreign language. PLoS ONE, 12(10), 1-10.
0 Comments
|
AuthorThis is a place where I record thoughts on second language research and pedagogical theory Archives
June 2019
Categories |