Event Date
Location: Conference Room 3119, International Center, UC Davis
Every person who encounters or learns another language is faced with the challenge of processing many new words in a short period of time. What are the conditions under which a learner can acquire those words effectively and process them to long- term memory? How do language and memory faculties interact? In the first part of his talk, Ulf Schuetze discusses various spacing techniques and how they are in line with research on the brain. Particular attention is given to technology and how it can assist learners in this process. The second part provides a wider outlook on language learning in the future and focuses on how to trick the brain into thinking the learning environment is real.
ULF SCHUETZE is an Associate Professor of Second Language Acquisition in the Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada, where he is also the Associate Director of the Digital Second Language Learning Lab. The goal of his research in computer-assisted language learning, lexical processing, as well as the sustainability of technology in second language acquisition is to apply it to teaching. His most recent publication, the monograph Language Learning and the Brain: Lexical Processing in Second Language Acquisition (Cambridge University Press, 2017) illustrates the dynamic environment involved when recording and producing words which in turn implies recommendations for effective learning.