Posted on December 22, 2023 by childrenslearninginstitute
Published:
December 22, 2023
Publication:
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics, Chapter 17
CLI Author:
Book Abstract:
The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics provides a comprehensive discussion of a wide range of neurocognitive and neurobiological scientific research about learning second or additional languages.
Eminent global scholars from various disciplines synthesize and cross-fertilize current and past neural research about second language through systematic, in-depth, and timely chapters that discuss core issues for understanding the neurocognition of second language learning, representation, and processing. Handbook sections provide overviews of extant and emerging neuroscience methods, syntheses of neurocognitive research on second language syntax, morphosyntax, lexicon, phonology, and pragmatics, and up-to-date descriptions of theoretical approaches of the neural basis of second language learning. The volume provides additional sections that synthesize research on a variety of topics including factors that affect the neurocognition of second language, the neural mechanisms underlying second language learning, individual differences in the neurocognition of second language, as well as research on understudied languages and populations, such as sign language, child second language learners, and individuals with aphasia.
Chapter Abstract:
When two people are learning a second language, what explains the differences in their ultimate level of second language proficiency? As with many individual differences, the explanation may be a combination of nature and nurture—genetics and environment, but the relationship between genetics and second language acquisition is currently understudied. This chapter provides an overview of the necessary background and theoretical perspectives relevant to this topic. Then the chapter reviews the extant research, which suggests that genetic differences related to dopamine may explain differences in language control, and also finds that dopamine-related genetic differences, in combination with language experience, may be related to bilingual proficiency in adulthood. Based on these initial findings, which lay the foundation for large-scale, genome-wide research on genetic differences in second language acquisition, the chapter proposes future directions for research on genetics and second language acquisition.
Citation:
Vaughn, K. A., Oak, A., & Hernandez, A. E. (2023). Genetic Factors in Second Language Neurocogntion. In K. Morgan-Short & J. G. van Hell (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Neurolinguistics. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003190912-22
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003190912-22
