RESEARCH TOOLS USING MULLINS LIBRARY

1. Criteria: (All must be related to your UAConnect major.)

-Journal Articles:
Name of Journal: Brain potentials reveal unconscious translation during foreign-
language comprehension. Year: 2007. Summary: Whether the native language of
bilingual individuals is active during second-language comprehension is the subject of
lively debate. Studies of bilingualism have often used a mix of first- and second-language
words, thereby creating an artificial “dual-language” context. Here, using event-related
brain potentials, we demonstrate implicit access to the first language when bilinguals
read words exclusively in their second language. Studies of cognitive neuroscience have
suggested that fluent bilinguals can effectively inhibit their first language when
accessing word meaning in their second language based on word form. However, this
finding conflicts with functional neuroimaging data showing overlapping cortical
representation of the two languages. It therefore remains an open question whether or
not bilingual individuals can effectively suppress all interference from their first
language when processing their second language.
-Theses and Dissertations:
Dissertation: Spanish heritage speakers’ experiences and perceptions in an introductory-
level Spanish foreign language classroom; Author: Dayna Jean Defeo; Year: 2011;
Summary: This qualitative case study explores the experiences and perceptions of
heritage speakers of Spanish enrolled in introductory level Spanish foreign language
classes. Drawing from critical race and postcolonial theories, it analyzes observations,
documents, and interviews with seven participants, examining how they identify and
position themselves as language users. The data revealed that participants entered the
foreign language classroom intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, but their interest
was replaced by boredom and frustration over the course of the semester. Students’
existing and negative linguistic self-perception was reinforced by a curricular deficit
paradigm, and they found their relationship to Spanish challenged and marginalized by
the curriculum. Yet despite their frustration in the class, they named tangible personal
benefits including a developed confidence and increased use of Spanish at home and in
the community. Though they generally regarded their learning experiences as negative,
they redefined their relationship to Spanish and developed a critical consciousness in
their own personal reflections. The study makes recommendations for instruction,
curricular modifications, and future research to better address the needs of heritage
speakers in Spanish foreign language classrooms.
-Books:
Author: Michal Paradowski; Year: 2015; Summary: This book is a collection of essays by
experienced educators, teacher trainers and researchers from diverse linguistic, cultural
and professional settings that offer a fresh perspective on the aspects and ways of
teaching skills which are crucial to contemporary language instructions, especially at the
more advanced stages, but which have oftentimes been unjustly neglected in the
classroom.
-Audio: (this was the only audio that came up when searching for foreign language. I
used Foreign Language, Foreign Language Spanish, and Foreign Language Learning as
keywords, and this was the only one that came up)
Name of Audio: Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, Performed by Captain James
Cook; Author: Andew Kippis; Year: 2005
-Video:
Name of Video: Secondary modern foreign languages using ICT; Author: Glasshead
Productions; Year: 2009; Genre: Instructional television programs
-Reference:
Name of reference: Foreign Language: Build the Brain for Reading; Author: Pamela
Nevills; Year: 2011; Reference: Why is foreign language taught in school learned
differently from how the brain is programmed to initially learn language?