Research Symposium

23rd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 6, 2023

Shawny Nicolas She/her/hers Poster Session 2: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm/ Poster #16


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BIO


Good day! My research interest revolves around the process of learning a new language. Whether that happens through a conscious and intentional process or an unconscious and unintentional one. How non-native English speakers express their understanding of the English language. Coming from Miami, Fl a busy and growing city, my perspective on go big or go home is always expanding. I hope to have a career that partakes in being the change, or a part of the change I would like to see in our world.

Learning A Second Language Subconsciously

Authors: Shawny Nicolas, Dr. Shaofeng Li
Student Major: Criminology
Mentor: Dr. Shaofeng Li
Mentor's Department: Foreign and Second Language Education
Mentor's College: Michigan State University
Co-Presenters: Logan Jones, Brooke Engler, Darius Frazier, Reese Riezinger, and Stephanie Kulenguskey

Abstract


Second language learning is taught in the majority of schools across the globe in order to communicate and collaborate with one another. This study looks into one specific type: unconscious learning. In the data collection stage, participants in China, who have learned English in many different ways, were surveyed. The participants all looked at the same graphics put in front of them and then told the story they saw in their own words, in English. These results were then taken and rated on 2 factors: comprehensibility and accentedness. The results are then going to be analyzed and compared. The goal is to discover the influence that unconscious second language acquisition has on the language learning process and how these results differ from those in a traditional learning environment.

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Keywords: language, conscious, unconscious