How to study language learning in the lab: It's best to act natural

Abstract: Traditional approaches to investigating the constraints and processes involved in language learning have tended to focus on investigating just the relations among words or phrases or syllables within speech. Our participants in these studies trudge through sequences of rather abstract properties. The careful control that these kinds of studies provide is of course really important. However, there is a cornucopia of other possible sources of noisy information that can help or hinder learners in determining the structure of language. I will talk about our studies that introduce this greater messiness into more naturalistic, multimodal situations to investigate language learning in the laboratory. We find that, not only does this really alter the experience for our participants in learning, but also affects what they learn, transforming our understanding of the way in which environment and language interact in supporting learning.