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Using Neurocognitive Theory to Develop a New Approach for Teaching German Grammar

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Using Neurocognitive Theory to Develop a New Approach for Teaching German Grammar USING NEUROCOGNITIVE THEORY TO DEVELOP A NEW APPROACH FOR TEACHING GERMAN GRAMMAR THE EFFECT OF COLOR-CODING GERMAN GRAMMAR ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION By C 2009 Traute Kohler Submitted to the graduate degree program in Germanic Languages and Literatures and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy COMMITTEE: ____________________________________________ Prof. William Keel, Advisor Chair of the Dept. of German Languages and Literatures ____________________________________________ Prof. Ruth Ann Atchley, Co-Advisor Chair of the Dept. of Psychology ___________________________________________ Prof. Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm, Co-Advisor Dept. of German Languages and Literature _______________________________________ Prof. Leonie Marx, Committee Chair Dept. of German Languages and Literature ___________________________________________ Prof. Manuela Gonzalez-Bueno Dept. of Curriculum and Teaching Date Defended: November 18, 2009 ii The Dissertation Committee for Traute Kohler certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: USING NEUTROCOGNITIVE THEORY TO DEVELOP A NEW APPROACH FOR TEACHING GERMAN GRAMMAR THE EFFECT OF COLOR-CODING GERMAN GRAMMAR ON LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Committee Chair: ____________________________________________ Prof. Dr. William Keel, Advisor Chair of the Dept. of German Languages and Literature Date approved: December 15, 2009 iii ABSTRACT Traute Kohler Department of German Languages and Literatures, and Department of Psychology, December 2009 University of Kansas The objective of this research project is to find out whether or not color coding has an effect on second language learning, in particular on learning German grammatical features, by using neurocognitive theory to develop a new approach for teaching German grammar. The experiment was conducted in two separate environments, one in a natural setting of a regular beginner’s German class in the German Department (66 subjects), Experiment I; and the other one in a controlled laboratory setting in the Psychology department (82 subjects), Experiment II, both of the University of Kansas. The main goal of this study is to compare the control group (black and white grammatical features in black boxes) with the experimental group (color-coded grammatical features in black boxes), and isolate the effects of color on the acquisition of L2 grammar. The grammatical featured tested were the articles and nouns in the nominative, accusative and dative cases as well as articles and nouns in context with accusative and dative prepositions. These grammatical categories were also tested across time. In the setting of the German class, memory was tested on the day of the first exposure, after one day (which was a repeat exposure), after one week and finally after four weeks. In the laboratory setting of the Psychology Department, memory was tested only after one day. Also the iv application of words in isolation (non-contextualized) and of words embedded in context of full sentences was tested. The results of the experiment across groups (color vs. non-color), across the different grammatical cases, across times of exposure, and across gender of the nouns were calculated according to the percentages of the correct answers given. An analysis of variance statistical analysis (ANOVA) was run for the dependent variable across all five independent variables. When reporting a statistically significant difference, it is understood that this mean difference reflects a p value of .05, which means a 95% confidence interval was used for the analyses. The overall results of the collected data reveal a statistical significant advantage of color over black and white instructional material, with a 16% overall superior performance by the experimental group over the control group in Experiment I, and with 13% overall better performance by the experimental group over the control group in Experiment II. Memory was enhanced significantly by color coding German grammatical features. Even after four weeks of exposure, the experimental group (color) performed better than the control group (black and white) on the first day of exposure. In conclusion, the data of this experiment suggest that color enhancement can make a statistically significant difference in learning and remembering German grammatical material. The overall results of this research study give reason to propose that color enhancement of particular linguistic features can be considered a promising tool for better learning and retention of German grammar. These findings are not limited to German grammar learning alone; they could be adjusted and applied to foreign language learning in general, supported by the use of neurocognitive theory in developing a new approach for teaching foreign languages. v Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. William Keel, Chairperson of the German Department of the University of Kansas, for agreeing to be my advisor. I thank him for his support and encouragement to embark on my doctoral dissertation which bridges the disciplines of German Linguistics and Neurocognitive Psychology. I would like to give special thanks to my advisor Dr. Ruth Ann Atchley of the Psychology Department of the University of Kansas. Her professional expertise, her invaluable guidance and supervision in conducting my research project, especially in statistics, her generous and enthusiastic assistance as well as her editing expertise throughout the writing of this dissertation were of immeasurable help and value to me. Furthermore, I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm for agreeing to be my initial advisor in German. Her expertise in German linguistics and her special professional background in teaching German as a second language were very helpful for writing my dissertation. I would like to thank her for her support and encouragement for my research project. I am also grateful for the support and encouragement from Dr. Leonie Marx, Professor of German Literature and Committee Chair of the Department of German Languages and vi Literatures at the University of Kansas. I value her vast knowledge in literature and poetry, outstanding teaching style, guidance and caring support for her students. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Manuela Gonzalez-Bueno for serving on my defense committee. I thank her for her valuable input and expertise in the field of Education and Teaching. Further, my thanks go to Elizabeth Collison for her computer expertise as well as for her assistance in computing some of my data. She was a great help with technical advice. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Gordon T. Beaham III., a leader in the Kansas City business community, who was instrumental in my initial involvement with the Lozanov teaching method. I thank him for his enthusiasm and support in pursuing the study and, consequently, the teaching of the Lozanov method at my language center Languages on Wings. Last, but not least, I am grateful to my daughter Kristina Kohler for her professional suggestions and proofreading my dissertation. I thank her for her interest, her patience and valuable input. vii Dedication In loving memory of my mother Berta Hildebrandt, who gave me the foundation for a lifelong quest toward new horizons. Through all my years of study, my daughters Dr. Ulrike Kohler and Kristina Kohler, MBA, were my inspiration. I thank them for their encouragement, help and love. I also dedicate this book to my grandchildren, Rebecca and Derek, with the wish that they might always find new horizons to investigate. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACCEPTANCE PAGE ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v DEDICATION vii TABLE OF CONTENT viii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I: Historical Viewpoints of Language and Color 5 A. Historical Viewpoint of Language 5 B. Historical Viewpoint of Color 8 CHAPTER II: Physiology of Language and Color 10 A. Nature and Characteristics of the Physiology for Language Production 10 B. The Functional Localization of Language 11 C. Nature and Characteristics of the Physiology of Color and Color Perception 14 CHAPTER III: Research in the Theoretical Field of Foreign Language Acquisition 18 CHAPTER IV: Methodologies of Teaching Foreign/Second Languages 25 CHAPTER V: Literature Review of L2 Grammar Acquisition 40 A. Literature Review of L2 Grammar Acquisition, including Literature Review of Proposed Prerequisites for Learning, like Noticing, Attention and Awareness of Newly Presented Material A Look at Research in the Field of L2 Input Enhancement 40 ix B. Literature Review of the Effects of the Use of Color in the Teaching-Learning Process 44 C. Literature Review of the Learning Process and Memory 46 D. Literature Review on FD and FI Learners and GEFT Test 54 CHAPTER VI: Experiment on the Effect of color-coded German Grammar 57 Major Goals of the Experiment 57 Methods 58 Participants 58 Stimuli 59 1. Design and Procedure I, General Overview 59 2. Design and Procedure II, Detailed Description Day-by-day 62 A. Design and Procedure: Experiment I, in the Natural Setting of a Normal Environment of German 104 Classes 63 B. Design and Procedure: Experiment II, in a Controlled Laboratory Environment of the Psychology 104 Class 73 CHAPTER VII: Results and Discussions for Analyses, Including All Grammatical Categories 73 A. Data from Experiment I, the Class Room Study 73 1. Study of Article and Noun in Context 73 2. Study of Article and Noun in Isolation 95 3. Results of Group Embedded
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