“Why do we read aloud when learning a foreign language？”

【Abstract】Reading aloud is a useful method in learning and teaching language. This paper explains the effects of reading aloud in learning a foreign language from the perspective of construal. It finds that reading aloud can help learners acquire the construal in the foreign language by activating working memory and can double the input of languages occurrence in both visual and auditory ways， which greatly help learners form the entrenchment of a foreign language and its construal.

【Key words】reading aloud； construal； attention； categorization

1. Introduction

Reading aloud is now a common method in learning and teaching foreign languages and has been found that it can increase phonological awareness， comprehension and learners motivation （Takeuchi， 2012）. This paper takes a perspective of construal in cognitive linguistics and tries to explain why reading aloud can help learners do well in learning foreign languages. Different languages construe things in different ways. According to Littlemore （2009， p.5）， there are four main ways in which our construal of phenomena influences the way we talk about them：attention/salience， perspective， constitution and categorization. This paper mainly focuses on differences in attention/salience and categorization that foreign languages differ from learners first language， and tries to explain in what ways reading aloud can help learners deal with these differences in order to master a new language.

2. Literature review

Researchers have found that reading aloud can help children in elementary schools to form the corresponding connections between written form and phonological features of words and expressions （高霞 朱正才 楊惠中 2006）. Apart from that， reading aloud is usually preferred by successful language learners （Gibson， 2008；Takeuchi， 2012）. Reading aloud can reinforce graphemic-phonemic correspondences in foreign language learning and facilitate the acquisition of prosodic features of a foreign language （Gibson， 2008）. Studies have revealed that reading aloud can activate learners working memory to help them memorize new information （Kadota， 2007）. Some researches indicate that reading aloud in second language activates areas of the brain， particularly the prefrontal cortex， which is closely related to linguistic processing （Osaka， 2008）. Some researchers found that when reading， people actually present the semantic units in their phonological forms （Lawson， 2012）. In another word， meaning of language is encoded phonologically.endprint

3. Reading aloud as a cognitive activity

3.1 Reading aloud

Reading aloud in this paper is considered as the cognitive activity where readers articulate the language and transfer the written form of language into the phonological output with their attention and understandings on the forms and meanings of the language.

3.2 Cognitive aspects involved when reading aloud

There are at least two perceptions involved in reading aloud：the visual and the auditory sense. Some researchers argue that reading aloud is a process that the person both input and output language information using their visual sense and auditory sense （張霞 2006）.

As a loud voice can attract more attention than a low one. Compared to silent reading， reading aloud draws more attention and can better stress the words and phrases. Working memory is another critical aspect of our cognitive capacity， which helps to retain task-relevant information in a highly activated and accessible state over time （Hambrick et al.， 2005）.

4. An Explanation from the Perspective of Construal

4.1 Construal

Cognitive linguists claim that “the words we use to talk about a particular phenomenon can never reflect a purely objective view of that phenomenon， because pure objectivity does not exist” （Littlemore， 2009， p. 13）. Different languages provide different perspective and ways of directing attention to certain aspects of language and reflects different viewpoints. This phenomenon is referred to as construal. IConstrual is defined by Evans and Green （2006， p.536） as “the way a speaker chooses to ‘package and ‘present a conceptual representation， which in turn has consequences for the conceptual representation that the utterance evokes in the mind of the hearer.”

4.2 Construal and Foreign Language Learning

Different languages construe the same phenomenon differently， to learn a foreign language requires the acceptance of the new construal system （Littlemore， p.39， 2009）. As reading aloud involves several cognitive processes， it can help learners notice the differences in the construal system of a foreign language and therefore facilitate the learning and acquisition of that language. Kellerman （1995） argues that its hard for learners to acquire second language construal patterns because they are very difficult to perceive due to the strong influence of their first language construal. Littlemore （2009， p.37） suggests that teachers can explicitly point out some foreign language construal systems in class. It is a useful way for teaching foreign languages.endprint

4.3 Types of construal

The four types of construal are attention/salience， perspective， constitution and categorization.

Perspective refers to the standpoint from which people view the phenomenon and constitution refers to how close we are to a particular phenomenon （Littlemore， 2009， p.25）. These two types are tightly related to the focus a language speaker locates， they can be considered as the types of construal that result from the windowing of attention.

4.3.1 Attention/Saliene

Different language construe different aspects of a phenomenon as salient and background others. The language we are speaking leads us to focus more on some aspects of a phenomenon than on others， and it is considered as a form of entrenchment in cognitive linguistics （Littlemore， 2009， p.16）. Entrenchment is “the degree to which the formation and activation of a cognitive unit is routinized and automated” （Schimid， 2010）. The proficiency of a language is largely dependent on the degree of entrenchment. Many researches have shown that linguistic differences in attention and salience affect human cognition （Littlemore， 2009）. When in classroom learning， learners can acquire the awareness of the construal differences through the explicit explanations given by teachers. And reading aloud serves as an option.

4.3.2 Categorization

Reading aloud can also help foreign language learners get familiar with the ways that a foreign language categorize things. Categorization is the first thing we do with information about the world and the language we use reflects this fact （Littlemore， 2009， p.26）.

Reading aloud as a method of phonological and visual input， can help language learners form a deeper impression of the new language and gradually help to entrench the way the language categorize things. Studies have shown that reading aloud is a combination of several cognitive processes （高霞 朱正才 楊惠中 2006）， and it provides both visual and auditory input of a foreign language.

5. Concluding remarks

Reading aloud is an effective method for foreign language learning. From the perspective of construal， reading aloud can help learners learn and acquire the construal in the following two aspects：

On the one hand， it can activate working memory and lead learners attention to the new ways of speaking in a foreign language. On the other hand， reading aloud input language knowledge in both visual and auditory way. And can gradually help learners form the construal of the foreign language.endprint

References：

[1]Evans，V.& Green，M.（2006）.Cognitive Linguistics：An Introduction.Edinburgh：Edinburgh University Press.

[2]Gibson，S.（2008）.Reading aloud：a useful learning tool？ELT Journal：62（1）：29-36.

[3]Hambrick，D.Z.，Kane，M.J.& Engle，R.W.（2005）.The role of working memory in higher-level cognition.In R.Sternberg and J.E.Pretz（eds）Cognition and intelligence：Identifying the mechanisms of the mind.NewYork：Cambridge University Press，pp.104–121.

[4]Kadota，S.（2007）.Science of Shadowing and Reading Aloud.Tokyo：Cosmopia.

[5]Kellerman，E.（1995）.Cross linguistic influence：transfer to nowhere？.Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 41（3）：251-269.

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[7]Lawson，K.（2012）.The real power of parental reading aloud： Exploring the affective and attentional dimensions.Australian Journal of Education 56（3）：257–272.

[8]Osaka，N.（ed.）（2008）.Neural Correlates of Working Memory.Kyoto：Kyoto University Press.

[9]Schimid，Hans-J?rg.（2010）.Does frequency in text instantiate entrenchment in the cognitive system？In D.Glynn & K.Fischer（eds）Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Semantics： Corpus-Driven Approaches.Birlin/New York：De Gruyter.

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[11]高霞，朱正才，楊惠中.朗读在外语教学和侧试中的作用[J].外语界，2006（2）：64-71.

[12]张霞.朗读与英语教学[J].教育理论与实践，2006，26（3）：40-42.

作者简介：肖宛莹，厦门大学外文学院外国语言学及应用语言学专业在读研究生，研究方向：认知语言学；英汉对比文化研究。endprint