Stephen van Vlack

Sookmyung Women`s University

Graduate School of TESOL

Human Learning and Cognition

Spring 2006

Week 12 Answers - Terry, Chapter 11 & Lamb, Chapter 18 & Lieberman, Chapter 2

1. What is the Spatial Learning? (T11)

Spatial Learning are considered two different types of knowledge. Route knowledge is based on series of directions or paths through a spatial environment. By contrast, a survey map or a cognitive map is a more abstract representation of an environment, placing specific routes in context with the surrounding area. A cognitive map is a mental image of a place. It was first developed by Edward Tolman in 1948, as an attempt to explain the learning behaviour of rats in mazes. Cognitive maps are formed during purposeful activity, and the process involves integration of images, information and attitudes about the environment. Certain factors are thought to aid in the cognitive mapping process, such as frequency of access to the environment, the distinctiveness of the environment, and the frequency with which certain landmarks are thought about and used in planning of routes. Previous knowledge of environments of the same type can also aid in cognitive mapping, even if one has never been in that particular environment. Certain factors such as gender, subjects like mathematics or science, and age affect spatial abilities.

Schemas in Spatial Memory

Spatial schemas facilitate two prominent effects such as organization and distortion. Cognitive maps exist in psychological space. The mental image reflects distances, locations and other geometrical properties of the psychological space may not have a one to one correspondence with the physical space that is being represented. Distortions are not due to retrieval failures, but to distorted representations. There are many types of distortions such as distance, incompleteness, size, augmentation, and rectilinear normalization that may occur in cognitive maps, and many reasons for each type of distortion. On the other hand, items that are semantically related or which share pre-experimental associations are recalled together during output. It is called organization.

2. What is motor learning and what is an efficient way to learn Motor-Skills? (T11)

Motor-skills learning can be defined as the acquisition of precisely adjusted movements in which the amount, direction, and duration of responding corresponds to variations in which the regulating stimuli (Adams, 1987). In terms of motor is related to physical movements. There are a lot of motor skills learning in daily life. When people typed the computer keyboard or they learn some sports, they might experience how motor-skills work. For example, playing the piano, it is not just fingers moving. In motor way, eyes and fingers are coordinated each others in playing. Cognitively we read and perceive the composition of music. As much as we practice, fingers move freely, and play the music accurately that means press the right tune of keyboards we perceive. The measure of accuracy and speed are the criterion of the motor-skills learning.

Decades of research on motor-skills learning have emphasized two important factors: practice and feedback. Rescorla-Wagner model show the relationship between practice and one measure of skills, the speed of performance. We plot responses speed on the vertical axis and number of training trials along the horizontal axis. Basically, responses become faster with additional practice, but in one-to-one fashion with the number of practice trials. Plotting speed over the log number of trials produces a nice, straight-line increase in speed over trials. At the start of training, there may be rapid, but performance improves much more slowly as proficiency increases. We need a lot of practice to master the skills.

The spaced-practice is advantageous to motor-skills learning. Baddeley and longman had the experiment of the spacing of practice sessions on learning to type. British postal workers were divided into four different groups (1x1, 2x1, 1x2, and 2x2). The first of number refers to the number of sessions per day, the second of the length of the session. The 1x1 group took 12 weeks to complete 60 hours in 12 weeks, whereas the 2x2 group finished in 3 weeks. The spaced groups were less satisfied, because the training session took long time. The first group who had the spaced practice produced the best performance in the rest of groups. There are certain factors that do favor massed schedules. Forgetting may occur thus spacing one trial a day might be more advantages than one trial per week. Massed trial scan lead to fatigue, loss of motivation and attention.

Outcome information is called knowledge of results, short translation as KR. One form of KR is called feedback. Feedback is important in learning and teaching, because feedback give some information about errors and goal performance. Learners can recognize good and poor performance. In one study, the participants learned tracking responses; they were divided in two groups. One group had the consistent and immediate feedback and the other had the partial and delayed feedback. The group who had the consistent feedback made the smaller errors. However in 10 minutes later, both of groups were almost equivalent, and 2 days later in given test, the group who had the partial and delayed feedback had the best performance. Delayed feedback allows the participants to develop their error detection abilities. Learners may rehearse the responses they made and think how their response was accurate. Spaced practice and delayed feedback are the efficient way of motor-skills learning.

Motor-skills learning is almost like speaking skills. In EFL situation, many students have good reading and listening skills, however they have the difficulties to speak out. They do not have a lot of interactions with foreigners in other words lack of feedback and practice. Reading text out loud and self-talk are one of the way to improve the speaking skills to EFL students. Speaking is the muscle moving all of the face, mouth, lips, and tongue. Practice everyday is very important like a lot of frequency, even though they are frustrated and discouraged.

In class students can have indirect feedback. If a teacher and classmates understand the sentences, those are the positive feedback, and if they do not understand, that is negative feedback. That feedback guides to making right expressions to say. Practice everyday is very important like a lot of frequency helps to have the long-term memory, even though they are frustrated and discouraged. These frequent sentences make the strong route in the brain. In certain situation, we might use these frequent sentences than unfamiliar sentences.

3. Define the implicit learning in your own word and how can we, as a language teacher, facilitate implicit learning? (T11)

One of the definitions of learning is that it leads our behavior change. There are two ways of learning, whether we know how we change our behavior or do not know how the change is made. The former is called as an explicit learning and the latter is called as an implicit learning.

Implicit learning is defined as an acquisition of knowledge of pattern without consciousness through a lot of input, in which it forms a pattern. Because the target pattern is not given explicitly to the learners, implicit learning needs cognitively deep process of the given materials of learners. The learners should compare and make an association between previous knowledge and given new information and find the pattern behind the given information. In our daily life, there are many examples of implicit learning, and one of them is learning the first language. It is said that first language acquisition happens through setting parameters of the language with least amount of input (Radford et. el, 1999). In real life, it is hard to see that a child just picks up parameter sets after listening to several sentences of her caregivers. Before a child actually produce a speech, she perceives a lot of input and tries to pick up the patterns of the given language implicitly.

There are three factors of facilitating implicit learning. The first factor is frequency/familiarity. The more frequent the learners encounter materials, the easier for the learners to pick the pattern from materials. A lot of various inputs mean a lot of information, which the learners can use for processing, so that it is much easier for them to pick up the underlying pattern. For facilitating implicit learning, frequent input should be given to learners. The second factor is context, in which the pattern is embedded. The context should be various to let learners make more associations. Through exposure to the various contexts in which same pattern exists, the learner can make deeper processing and it can facilitate more implicit learning. Finally, the distinctiveness can be the third factor for facilitating implicit learning. If the pattern of the input is not distinctive enough for the learners to pay attention, learners cannot learn that pattern. Or if the context or input itself is more distinctive than the target pattern, learners remember or learn not the pattern but the context or the input itself. As a result, it is important the degree of distinctiveness between the pattern and the context, in which the input is embedded.

Knowledge about Implicit learning can be applied into the second language teaching. First, it is well matched with the task- based language teaching (TBLT) approach in that it is using various pedagogic or real life task, so that it let the second language learners to process the given information and to make an association between form and function implicitly. The target language forms are embedded in the given task and while learners' doing the given tasks, they are supposed to pick up the language forms. Knowledge about the implicit learning can be another rationale for using extensive reading of authentic materials in the second language teaching. Authentic materials have a lot of natural language. Without teaching explicitly language itself, learners of the second language can pick up the natural target language pattern implicitly.

Thinking that what proportion the implicit learning is taken in our real life learning experiences; we can conclude how mach amount of implicit learning is needed for the second language learners in the classroom. Then, we can think how we can facilitate their implicit learning using three factors of implicit learning.

4.Why do we need a hierarchical organization in the brain? (La18)

We need hierarchical organization in the brain because without it we would not be able to put together or understand complex movements or other complex actions like cognition. The relations between the different elements of a single gigantic association network for, let`s say a specific concept like kitchen need to be organized hierarchically so they can affect each other appropriately. This is especially true in a parallel processing system which can and often does process in both directions top-down and bottom-up at the same time. What hierarchical means is really that the number of connections increases as the information becomes more abstract and conceptual. So, `lower level` networks will be smaller an have fewer connections moving up to `higher level` networks. The higher the level o the network, i.e., the more abstract and complex it is, the greater the number of connections there will be to other networks. It is only through hierarchical organization that we can explain the efficacy of things like spreading activation. If elements in the brain were not linked hierarchically then we would not be able to see how processing occurs in a non-modular brain. A modular brain does not need hierarchical architecture because all the bits will be dealt with separately but since we know this is not th case then we need some way for information to be connected in some meaningful way.

5. What is the proximity hypothesis and how does it work? (La18)

The basic idea of the proximity hypothesis is that similar types of information in a neural network are going to be located close to each other, i.e., they will be in close proximity. We know that this is way the cortex stores information. A simple scan of the cortex shows that similar types of information are stored together such as visual information and even lexical items related to sight (concrete lexis). The advantages of this are twofold. First, the relevant properties underlying te network are closer at hand which means that certain types of neurons, those with short connections are able to be used more easily. Thus we can integrate more information more easily (using less myelin). Thus we have a greater potential for variability and change with each of the networks. Second, shorter connection means as a well that inhibiting will be easier as well. In effect, we need short connections for diversity and change of the brain. Local networks are not only easier to build but they are more easily able to change. They can be broken down more easily as well and this is really important because the brain is not just about building connections that might be useful or necessary at the moment but it is also about getting rid of connections which are no longer useful. We need local networks for our brains to be flexible on a very basic level.

6. What role does the cortex play in language? (La18)

Most of the focus on brain studies in the past have been on the cortex because it is the cortex, the relative size of it, which seems to be unique to human beings. In essence though there are three major roles of the cortex. They are is that it stores, organizes and connects lots of information related to language. As wonderful as the cortex is as a storage device and organizer there are strong links between the cortex and the other parts of the brain not to mention the entire nervous system. The cortex alone cannot be responsible for language, nor may it be the most interesting or important area for language. The information stored in the cortex interacts with the areas of the midbrian and even the brain stem which store certain types of information, such as emotional information and well as being involved in timing mechanisms. Affect is to a large extent in the midbrain, but the cortex, more specifically the prefrontal cortex, plays a very important role in making sense of the information which comes up from the midbrain. So, in effect the cortex is very inmpoortna tbut not the only part of the brain responsible or necessary for language.

7. What is `motor equivalence` and how does it relate to speech production? (Lie2)

Motor equivalence is the ability of animals and humans to accomplish the same goal using different muscles or different body parts. For example, a person can write not only with their hand, but also with their foot, nose even with their mouth.. Because Language is also a mode of behavior and it depends basically upon complex serial neuronal events, production of speech is a good example of motor equivalence directed toward achieving distal acoustic goals. Competent human speakers can use different groups of muscles to produce a particular speech sound using their alternate motor control programs. Also, in perception of speech, motoric aspects of speech production form a part of the information set that we use to perceive sounds of speech. So we can assume that there are connections between language and motor control.

8. How is speech produced? (Lie2)

Human speech results from the activity of three functionally distinct systems. The subglottal lungs, the larynx, and the Supra-laryngeal Vocal Tract(SVT). Spoken words are produced when air expelled from the subglottal lungs passes through a series of structures within the chest and throat and passes out through the mouth. This air is inaudible until it reaches the larynx, where is converts to audible sound and turning it to phonation, or voicing, by expanding and contracting the vocal folds. The structures involved in that process are as follows: air that leaves the lungs travels up the trachea into the larynx. Two sections of the larynx consist of two thick, muscular folds of tissue known as the vocal cords (to create phonations). When a person is simply breathing, the vocal cords are relaxed (turbulent noise) Air passes through them easily without producing a sound.

When a person wishes to say a word, muscles in the vocal cords tighten up. Air that passes through the tightened vocal cords begins to vibrate, producing a sound. The nature of that sound depends on factors such as how much air is pushed through the vocal cords and how tightly the vocal cords are stretched.

The moving air, in form of a sound, passes upward and out of the larynx. A flap at the top of the larynx, called the epiglottis, opens and closes to allow air to enter and leave the larynx. Once a sound leaves the vocal cords, it is altered by other structures in the mouth, such as the tongue and lips. A person can form these structures into various shapes to make different sounds. Other parts of the mouth also contribute to the sound that is finally produced. These parts include the soft palate (roof) at the back of the mouth, the hard or bony palate in the front, and the teeth. The nose also provides an alternate means of issuing sound and is part of the production of speech. Movement of the entire lower jaw can alter the size of the mouth cavern and influence the tone and volume of the speech. Also, the tongue is the most agile body part in forming sounds. It can form many shapes to make different sounds moving front and back in contact with palate, teeth, or gum. During speech, the tongue moves rapidly and changes shapes constantly to form partial or complete closure of the vocal tract necessary to produce words.

9. What is the linguistic significance of articulatory and acoustic elements and how are they encoded in the brain? (Lie2)

In finding out how articulatory and acoustic elements are encoded, we must analyze some different views. Similar as in reading method, we cannot just use top-down or bottom-up processing; we need to use both to process them in the mind-brain. Bell (1867) with his visible speech system, viewed that articulatory descriptions of speech sounds were appropriated during a period in which the only way that a sound could be reproduced was by a human speaker attempting to say it aloud.

Muller on the other hand (1848), presenting his Source Filter Theory, believed that the phonetic quality of voiced speech sounds was a function of both the laryngeal source and the SVTs shape and length

However, speech must be perceived by ear. There obviously must be acoustic parameters that humans use to identify speech sounds. However humans also talk. We must know the appropriate articulatory gestures, muscle commands, and so that are used to generate speech. At some level this information must be integrated. Motor theory is one theory that supports this claim. It is a theory that the structures of language (phonological, lexical and syntactic) were derived from and modelled on the pre-existing complex neural systems which had evolved for the control of body movement. We perceive speech by sub-vocally modelling speech without producing any overt articulartory movement. In Traditional Motor Theory, Zhinkin(1968) claimed that a person actually moved his tongue an lips and so on to generate and internalize sound that is compared with an incoming speech-sound. What it means is that when hear the word perception we understand the sound by moving our lips or tongue to mimic the sound and then we try find the match between the incoming sound and internal signals that we have. But, Liberman claims that we perceive speech by sub-vocally modelling speech without producing any overt articulartory movement called the Speech Mode In conclusion, human perceives sound sequences in terms of his own motor reactions. However, it does not mean acoustic events are not significant. It rather gives priority to the motor kinesthetic feedback loops in the comprehension-use of language.

10. How does perception of speech, involving articulatory and auditory information, relate to the network model? (Lie2)

Human beings differ with respect to length of their SVTs. Therefore any internal modeling of incoming acoustic speech signals by some neural instantiation of an articulatory-gesture-to-acoustic-signal process must deal with SVT normalized signals. Because every human have different SVTs, theyre suppose to perceive and say the words differently. But when people hear the same word there is an instant neural network made that provides us to perceive the word as the same word. For example, a child cannot physically produce the formant frequency patterns generated by an adult or vice-versa. So, Human listeners interpret speech sounds in terms of their expectations (internalized, neurally instantiated model of speech articulation) concerning the length of the SVT that produced a particular utterance. In other words, human listeners interpret even vowel sounds by means of a perceptual process that involves articulatory modeling. The studies that follow indicate that the process of internal vocal tract modeling most likely involves the neural substract that also regulates speech production.

The McGurk effect perhaps constitutes the most startling evidence that speech perception involves reference to knowledge of speech production and the constraints of the SVT (McGurk and MacDonald, 1976). The McGurk effect shows that an auditory /ba/ paired with a visual /ga/ often produces the percept /da/. Therefore, the visual information conveys information on the lip gestures used to produce speech is integrated with auditory information in normal-hearing, enhancing speech intelligibility. From this, we can see that the speech perception is not a strictly bottom-up process in which only primary acoustic or articulatory information is available to the listener. Also, the production and perception of human speech are intimately related. Speech is a very special process that allows humans to transmit information rapidly. The human brain appears to contain neural representations of equivalent articulatory maneuvers that generate the acoustic signals specifying speech sounds. Speech perception likewise appears to involve knowledge of the articulatory maneuvers that can generate the sounds of speech and the constraints imposed by human speech producing anatomy and physiology. However, auditory processes and constraints also play a direct part in determining the acoustic features that human languages use to convey linguistic information.