The choice of the kernel is critical to the success of many learning algorithms but it is typically left to the user. Instead, the training data can be used to learn the kernel by selecting it out of a given family, such as that of non-negative linear combinations of p base kernels, constrained by a trace or L1 regularization. This paper studies the problem of learning kernels with the same fam...

Recent studies elaborating on the L2 learning experience component of Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009), especially through a narrative identity perspective, mark new direction in motivation research. This paper extends this work by exploring connection between and ideal self components. Emerging from different theoretical origins, these components have proved difficult to reconcil...

  One of the most problematic areas in foreign language learning is collocation. It is often seen as arbitrary and an overwhelming obstacle to the achievement of nativelike fluency. Current second language (L2) instruction research has encouraged the use of collaborative output tasks in L2 classrooms. This study examined the effects of two types of output tasks (editing and cloze) on the learni...

The salient, and often ignored, role that out-of-class learning plays in second/foreign language (L2) learners’ development is overshadowed by classroom research. The main aim of this study is to problematize the role of out-of-class learning in the specific English-as-Foreign-Language (EFL) context of Iran by examination of the ways in which four learners attempted to revamp their English lang...

This study examined the effectiveness of L1 and L2 glosses on incidental vocabulary learning in a multimedia environment. The investigation included the effects of additional pictorial cues in L1 and L2 glosses, and how these additions affect vocabulary learning. The analyses of a mixed design repeated measures 2 (L1, L2) X 2 (picture, no picture) X 2 (immediate test, delayed test) analysis of ...

Why are children better language learners than adults despite being worse at a range of other cognitive tasks? Here, we explore the role of multiword sequences in explaining L1-L2 differences in learning. In particular, we propose that children and adults differ in their reliance on such multiword units (MWUs) in learning, and that this difference affects learning strategies and outcomes, and l...

One major hypothesis of the Speech Learning Model (SLM) is that if the sounds in the second language (L2) are dissimilar to the learners’ first language (L1), learners are more likely to form new phonetic categories for these sounds after receiving sufficient L2 input and achieve native-like proficiency. As for the L2 sounds that are similar to the L1, learners often equate them with L1 categor...

Humans monitor their behavior to optimize performance, which presumably relies on stable representations of correct responses. During second language (L2) learning, however, stable representations have yet to be formed while knowledge of the first language (L1) can interfere with learning, which in some cases results in persistent errors. In order to examine how correct L2 representations are s...

This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2) grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner's first language (L1) background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that...