Past Event

The nature of the knowledge representations of a second language 

Dr. Xavier Gutiérrez
(University of Windsor)

Research about knowledge representations of language is central in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). While there seems to be agreement in that the development of implicit knowledge of the second language (L2) is the ultimate goal of acquisition, the role of explicit knowledge in this process and its relationship to implicit knowledge are still matters of debate in SLA. In this presentation, I will discuss different aspects of the nature of the knowledge representations of language developed by intermediate-level learners of Spanish (e.g., whether representations are implicit or explicit, the accuracy of explicit representations, and the use of technical metalanguage) and the relationship of these representations to their proficiency in the L2. The discussion will also address methodological issues as well as research and pedagogical implications. 

About the Presenter

Xavier Gutiérrez is an Assistant Professor in the Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department of the University of Windsor, where he teaches general and applied linguistics courses, as well as Spanish language courses. One of his main research interests is the development of knowledge representations of the second language. He has presented and published numerous papers about this topic in national and international conferences and journals.