January 27, 2019

Guest speaker: David Birdsong (University of Texas at Austin)

The Department of French is hosting a talk by David Birdsong of the University of Texas at Austin, whose research is focused on second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and French. He will be giving a talk on Thursday the 31st of January at 2:00 PM at St. Michael's College, in the Charbonnel Lounge at 81 St. Mary Street: "Different learners, different outcomes: Understanding variability in second language acquisition."

Classic formulations of adult second language (L2) acquisition (e.g. Bley-Vroman 1990) seek explanations for variable attainment among individuals; that is, why different outcomes are to be expected from different learners. This presentation looks at this essential characteristic of L2 acquisition in its multiple forms, and with respect to the learner-internal and external factors that contribute to it. With examples from the learning of English and French, we examine putative sources of L2 variability such as age of acquisition, language dominance, cognitive aging, genetics, and learner types. Transcending 'different learners, different outcomes', we consider relatively understudied instances of learner-independent variability that may reflect the grammatical forms under examination, scaling effects, sample size, and choice of statistical models. The presentation concludes with observations on native-language variability, exceptional L2 learners, and (non) nativelikeness in L2 acquisition and bilingualism.

A reception will follow; all are welcome.

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