| Summary: | The original Threshold Hypothesis proposed in 1976 by Cummins as a
reasonable explanation of the data gathered to that date on the
cognitive consequences of learning a second language has gained
widespread acceptance in second language teaching circles, but has
been the subject of considerable debate among second language
researchers. An examination of the critiques of the hypothesis as
well as the responses invoked by these critiques reveals that much
of the criticism is well-founded. Given that the Threshold
Hypothesis proposes that "cognitive" benefits or deficits can
accrue through the learning of a second language, the
conceptualization of cognition underpinning the hypothesis is
important in understanding its inadequacies. Upon examination of
Cummins' work, it is concluded that cognitive processing is
considered by Cummins to be a discrete category of brain processing
operating at the conceptual level.
A fundamental premise of this thesis is that connectionism, which
proposes that cognition is more appropriately described as
operating on a sub-conceptual level, and as being intimately
intertwined and dependent upon what have been regarded as "noncognitive"
aspects of brain functioning such as emotion, attention,
and sensory processing, provides a new and potentially enlightening
perspective on cognitive issues. A critique of connectionism as a
valid model of learning in the brain suggests that it has
considerable validity, but cannot yet describe all types and/or all
processes involved in learning. Nevertheless, it is concluded that
a model of second language learning built upon the conjectures of
connectionism could bring new insights into how second language
learning in immersion situations affects brain processing, and
thereby provide clues which might explain perceived cognitive
benefits and deficits.
The model developed proposes that, under immersion conditions,
second language learners may be undergoing an attentional shift in
information processing towards the visual system, and away from the
auditory. If this hypothesis can be substantiated by empirical
tests, it could explain why second language learners in immersion
situations are in danger of becoming poor readers, and may provide
fertile ground for the development of remedial educational
treatments. This is a wholly theoretical study based on literature
research. === Education, Faculty of === Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of === Graduate
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