BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL
LANGUAGE CO-ORDINATION
BUREAU DE COORDINATION
LINGUISTIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
Defense Language Institute Foreign
Language Center (DLIFLC)
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October 18, 2011
Richard Brecht, PhD
Executive Director
University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of
Language
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Unique UARC Mission/Role
CASL is charged to deliver independent, empiricallybased research solutions that:
• Improve the human-centric components of military and intelligence
operations that include language performance, analysis and culture
• Underpin leadership decisions on language readiness for the
warfighter and the intelligence analysts who support them
• Elevate language to the stature of math and science as an IC & DoD
core capability
CASL is the only University Affiliated Research Center
devoted to the study of language
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
UARCs
• Essential research, development and
engineering "core" capabilities
• Maintain long-term strategic relationships
with their DoD sponsors
• Operate in the public interest, free from real
or perceived conflicts of interest
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
CASL Core Competencies
• Foreign languages and dialects
• Linguistics
• Disciplines relevant to analysis and critical
thinking (cognitive & neurological sciences)
• Disciplines relevant to the manipulation, use,
and sharing of information of varying
quantities & diverse forms (tools &
technologies, Human-Computer Interaction)
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
CASL Research Staff
Second Language
Acquisition
7%
offsite
18%
28 researchers
Cognitive Science
18%
onsite
38%
61 researchers
11%
onsite
20%
offsite
Linguistics
24%
offsite
44%
71 researchers
20%
onsite
Total CASL Researchers = 160
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Featured CASL Products
Assessment:
•Language Product Evaluation Tool (LPET)
Resources:
•Learning Management System: STARTALK
•African Languages: ALIFA, Pasaglossa
•Under-resourced languages: Grammars,
Dictionaries, Parsers, new Mouton de Gruyter
Series
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Summary Translation
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Language Product Evaluation
Tool (LPET)
• Designed to establish standards for
evaluating language translations, complete
summaries, gists, etc.
• Makes quality control more systematic
• Enables consistent, comprehensive feedback
for skill growth
• Streamlines the reporting process
• Can be migrated into coursework
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Teaching Mandarin Chinese Online
• Learning foreign languages at a distance
• Prototype implementation of “blended”
learning model
• Special challenges of LCTLs
• “Teaching Mandarin Chinese Online: A guide
to implementation from theory to practice,” by
Katharine B. Nielson
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Intermediate Online
Mandarin Chinese
•
•
•
•
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Overview of course content
Resources required for online implementation
Instructions for Course Implementation
Research requirements
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
STARTALK LMS
• Built custom one-stop language Learning
Management System (LMS)
• Combines language related tasks with VoIP and
latest social media technology
• Activities are targeted: based on needs-analysis
• Lessons are here:
http://www.chineseforall.org/ch_2009/
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
African Language Identification
• Initiative to build core and surge capabilities
for 2K+ languages & 1K+ dialects & pidgins
• Language mapping tool with language ID
interface & database of available experts &
resources
• Lexical comparison generator
• Links to additional online language resources
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
African Language Identification
and Familiarization Aid
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Lexical Comparison Generator
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Under-Resourced Languages
• Grammar series: Pashto, Bangla, Dhivehi,
Punjabi, Swahili, Javanese, Burmese,
Bambara
• Morphological parsers: Grammars in Bangla,
Urdu, and Pashto already imported into
morphological parser and being used by USG
professionals nation-wide
• Automatic tools for language analysis: Did
You Mean? In Urdu and two dialects of
Arabic
• Compendium of key words in 19 dialects of
Arabic
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Cognitive Science for Improved
Candidate Selection, Diagnostic
Profiling and Curriculum
Adaptation
Defense Language Institute Foreign
Language Center (DLIFLC)
October 18, 2011
Amy Weinberg, PhD
Deputy Executive Director
University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of
Language
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Presentation Structure
• Predicting Language Success and Diagnosing
Individual Differences:
– Executive Function
– Hi-LAB: Cognitive predictors of high level language
aptitude
– ALAB: Applications to assessing aptitude for learning
English
– Cognitive Profiling
• Improving Readiness to Learn:
– Working memory abilities can be improved through
training
• Individualized Curricula
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Predicting Language Success
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A Causal Model of Language
Proficiency
the working memory system
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Cognitive and perceptual components associated with
language aptitude
and proficiency
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Executive Function:
Working Memory
• Active information storage that allows
attention to be focused for the purpose of
higher level combination, reasoning, or other
subsequent processing.
• Decays quickly
• Varies among individuals
• Affects language processing (e.g. error
recovery)
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Demo: N-Back Training Task
Instructions:
Monitor the identity of a series of letters and
indicate when the current letter is
the same as the one presented 2 trials previously
Example:
U
T
R
T
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Q
N
B
D
C
V
X
Y
L
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N
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B
V
B
X
L
Y
D
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Y
C
Q
C
Results: Composite α = 0.90
Reliable
Stable
Jointly
acceptable
Short-term memory
2 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
Updating
3 of 3
2 of 3
2 of 3
Inhibition
3 of 3
2 of 3
2 of 3
Task-switching
2 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
Novel word memory
3 of 3
1 of 3
1 of 3
Perceptual acuity
3 of 3
2 of 3
2 of 3
Speed
2 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
Semantic primability
1 of 3
1 of 3
1 of 3
Implicit induction
1 of 3
1 of 3
1 of 3
Cognitive construct
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Afghan-LAB:
Aptitude For English
NATO and DLIELC Requirement
Need aptitude instrument to better
predict language learning success
in the DLIELC-Afghan program
Relevance
Need better readiness for
follow-on training and more
DLIELC graduates meeting
graduation requirements
Solution
Quick fix for immediate
implementation followed by more
rigorously developed test
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Executive Function: Induction
Induction
Ability to infer a general conclusion from
particular instances.
Induction in the language domain
Ability to infer the rules generating language
patterns (word or sentence structure)
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Content of the ALAB
Non-linguistic tests assess aptitude for learning
Linguistic tests assess aptitude for language learning
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Content of the ALAB:
Raven’s Test
Choose the picture that completes the large pattern
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Content of the ALAB
Non-linguistic tests assess aptitude for learning
Linguistic tests assess aptitude for language learning
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Linguistic Tests
• ALAB has two linguistic tests: Language
Analysis and Words in Sentences
• In addition to the ALAB instructions, language
and cultural concepts must be adapted and
translated.
• Language Analysis: required transliteration of
an artificial language from Roman to Arabic
• Direct assessment of linguistic ability
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Example:
Language Analysis Test
• Word list:
zorit..............................the farmer
volip.............................the worker
zorit volipu pigom........The farmer pushed the worker.
• Exercise:
The worker pushed the farmer.
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A.
zoritu volip pigom
B.
volip zoritu pigom
C.
zorit volip pigom
D.
volip zorit pigom
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Cognitive Profiling
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Improving Readiness to Learn
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Behavioral
Working Memory Training Study
Goal: Test if training gains transfer to untrained measures
of attention, language, and reasoning
Training Condition
Pre-testing
Training (N = 47)
(20 hours training)
PostTesting
Follow-up
Posttesting
Follow-up
Control Condition
Pre-testing
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No Contact (N = 45)
5 Weeks
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
3 Months
Improvements on
Training Tasks
n-back task
Do training gains transfer to
measures of sentence reinterpretation?
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Accuracy on Comprehension Questions:
“Did the thief hide himself?”
Proportion of Errors
Ambiguous
ns
*
Unambiguous
ns
Pretest
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*
ns
Posttest
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
fMRI activation: PreTraining
No difference in activation prior to training
Pre-training brain activation in the high memory load condition for the vsWM and the
placebo control group. Panel A shows the vsWM group, and panel B shows the
placebo control group. Panel C shows the β values for the right and left IPL.
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
fMRI activation: PostTraining
Less diffuse activation following working memory training
Post-training minus pre-training BOLD brain
activation in the high memory load condition
for the vsWM and the placebo control group.
Panel A shows the Post-Pre for the vsWM
group, and panel B shows the Post-Pre for the
placebo control group. Panel C shows Placebo
control minus the vsWM Post-Pre. Panel D
shows the β values for the right and left IPL.
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Individualized Curricula
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Aptitude-by-Treatment Interaction
Problem
Individuals who are already selected for
intelligence and motivation and have attained
functional ability need to acquire higher levels of
language
Solution
Match cognitive aptitude profile to language
training procedures to optimize training and boost
outcome levels
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
ATI Cycle
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LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
For More Information:
www.casl.umd.edu
Richard Brecht
rbrecht@casl.umd.edu
Amy Weinberg
aweinberg@casl.umd.edu
LANGUAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE TO THE NATION
Research Contacts
For more information on individual research projects
presented here, please contact:
LPET
Erica Michael, PhD
emichael@casl.umd.edu
Under-Resourced Languages
Michael Maxwell, PhD
mmaxwell@casl.umd.edu
STARTALK
Katharine Nielson, MA
knielson@casl.umd.edu
Hi-LAB, ATI
Cathy Doughty, PhD
cdoughty@casl.umd.edu
PASSAGLOSSA
Christopher Green, PhD
cgreen@casl.umd.edu
ALAB, Working Memory
Michael Bunting, PhD
mbunting@casl.umd.edu