Luento
Perjantai 11.11.2005 klo 10.15-11.00
Alison Wray
Alison Wray is a Professor in the Centre for Language and Communication Research at Cardiff University, Wales, UK. She gained her doctorate in 1988 from the University of York, UK, with a thesis on the hemispheric lateralisation of language. Her subsequent work in the field of psycholinguistics has focussed on units of language processing, particularly the role that multiword strings (formulaic sequences) appear to play during first language and second language acquisition and in language disability. Her 2002 book Formulaic Language and the Lexicon was awarded the 2003 annual book prize of the British Association for Applied Linguistics. She has also published a number of papers and an edited book on the topic of language evolution, and she has worked for some years as a historical pronunciation advisor to professional early music groups.
About the role of formulaic language in language teaching
Teaching phrases for idiomaticity: some insights into how adult learners (don't) learn
This talk will address some key questions of relevance to language teachers: Why is it so hard to become fully nativelike in a foreign language? Is idiomaticity a product of the accurate mastery of words and rules, or does it entail something else? Is the post-childhood learner doomed to struggle with idiomaticity because of some biological or psychological change since the first language was acquired? If learners are taught phrases, will they be able to remember and use them correctly? Answers will be offered on the basis of a recent theory of how multiword strings (formulaic sequences) appear to be handled in language processing.
Alison Wray
