ANGLAIS S5
COURS 1
Énoncé et situation d’énonciation
Énoncé : suite phonique ou graphique produite pas un énonciateur
Situation d’énonciation : conditions de production d’un énoncé
Énonciateur :
Temps d’énonciation :
Time : passé/présent/futur ≠ tense : temps grammatical
La relation prédicative
Couplage d’un sujet grammatical et d’un prédicat : S/P :
I must dash off to the gym now
I / dash ti the gym now
Prédicat : ce qui est dit du sujet « S » au moyen de la base verbale et de ses compléments/
IL y a autant de prédicats que de bases verbales
He closed the book get up and stood for a minute watching the play
P1 : He / close the book
P2 : he / get up
P3 : he / stand for a minute watching the play
P4 : he / coach the play
Le prédicat est la partie signifiante qui se place en avant
La prosodie
Rythme et intonation
- rythme : variation en durée et en intensité
- intonation : variation de hauteur des syllabes
La prosodie est porteuse de l’expression verbale de l’affectivité.
Selon la place de l’accent, cela renseigne sur :
- la nature grammaticale d’un mot (preSENT/PREsent)
- formes emphatiques/formes assertives ( I CAN see it/Ican see it)
- préposition/particules adverbiales (I’m waiting for the bus / What are you waintig
for ?)
- noms composés/groupes nominaux
Intonation
Elle détermine :
- l’interrogation/simple constat :
It’s raining, isn’t it ? (ton descendant = constat)
It’s raining, isn’t it (ton montant = question)
- La phrase assertive/question
Discours prosodique (expression speech/discours atone (flat, tomeless)
Mélodies de base :
have you finish your homework ?
Intonation descendante : fall
Intonation montante : rise
Fall : assertion courante : he asked for the adress of a photograph
• Impératif : listen to me
• Question : What are you looking for ?
• Exclammation : What an interesting paper !
• Tags (fausse question) : lovely, isn’t it ?
Rise :
• questions fermées : Do you like apple ?
• Questions expressives : how is your mother ?
Accent d’intensité
3 règles principales :
- Règles du lion : terminaison d’un mot consonne + i + voyelle
Accent sur la syllabe précédant la 1ère consonne
Ex : A ‘’ttenion – hesi’’tation – ex’’ceptionnel, de‘’licious, ex’’perience
But : télévision
- Règle en _ie : mots terminés par _ic : _cat, _ically, _icism, _ics
Accent sur la syllabe précédent le _ic
Ex : do’’mestic, pla’’tonic, ‘’cristicism, antibi ‘’otic
But : politique
- Règle en _ity : mots terminés par _ity
Accent sur l’antépénultième (3ème syllabe à partir de la fin)
Ex : ha’’bility, ambi ‘’guity, co’’mmodity
Règle du lion Règle en _ic Règle en _ity
Con’’venient
Antici’’pation
Be’’havior
Sus’’picious
Stimu’’lation
Sepa’’ration
Auto’’matic
Scien’’tifically
Philo’’sophically
Characte’’ristic
Dy’’namic
Bio’’logically
Responsa’’bility
Impossi’’bility
Assi’’duity
Uni’’versity
Plas’’ticity
Cours anglais n°2
Alphabet phonétique
QuickTime™ et un
décompresseur TIFF (non compressé)
sont requis pour visionner cette image.
La phrase complexe
Intro
Une phrase complexe c’est l’intervention de plusieurs RP (relations prédicatives : couplage
sujet/prédicat (base verbale + complément éventuel))
• Différence entre phrase complexe et phrase composée
- phrase simple : 1 RP
Adults may become dorbiful ( ???) of their ability to learn a new language.
- Phrase composée : au moins 2RP juxtaposés ou coordonnés
After the funeral her brother appropriated their parent’s house and she took the car
har inhertame ( ?)
- Phrase complexe : au moins 2 RP dont une subordonnée
There is a critical period for learning a record language that shuts down around the
orset of puberty (cette seconde partie est dépendante de la première car seule, elle
ne veut rien dire).
- La phrase composée coordonnée : au moins 2 RP coordonnés (and, or, but..)
After the funeral her brother appropriated their parents’ house and she took the car
as her inhertames
They can run after the mouse and eat it.
Autonomie grammatical : 2 propositions autonomes
Solidarité sématique : 2 propositions liées par le sens
Solidarité syntaxique : 1 sujet, 2 propositions
- La phrase composée juxtaposée : au moins 2 RP juxtaposés ( : - ; ) autonomie
plus grande que 2 RP coordonnés.
1/Deux points :
(1) he had to scrap the game : safety work wat not finish
P1 P2
(2) What she meant was : I want you to be weak
P1 P2
Nature de la relation entre P1 et P2 :
(1) justificative : color means « because », P2 explique P1
(2) expansive : color means « explanation » P2 répond à l’attente de P1
2/Virgule
He offered her a seat, lookek, through the prints, praised them and explained they
hadn’t the slightest chance of being published
Relation sémantique étroite entre les propositions = jusxtaposition de segments
mis sur 1 même plan. Association entre les différentes propositions.
3/ Point virgule (semi-color)
He was a good-looking man : he was at the peak of his scholarly career : he was
even feared by his colleagues.
E (énonciateur) regroupe les différents aspects de la personnalité de « he » création
d’un lien entre 3 caractéristiques de He. Le point virgule permet de regrouper
plusieurs propositions indépendantes sans les dissociations (par rapport au point)
Associations Dissociation
Virgule deux points point virgule point
La phrase composée
Tags – les énoncés qui englobent des questions tags sont aussi des phrases composées sans
coordonnant
You like them, don’t you ?
P1 P2
You don’t like them, do you ?
P1 P2
Le lien entre les 2 P est un miroir inversé. P1 annonce, P2 demande confirmation.
Structures corrélatives
Les structures corrélatives en « the more/the more » ,« the less/the less », « the more/the
less », « the less, the more » supposent une binarité obligatoire.
(1) The more you scratch, the more it itches
P1 P2
(2) the less hear about you, the better I feel
P1 P2
(1) augmentation corrélative marquée directement
(2) progression corrélative inversement proportionnelle.
ANGLAIS L3 COURS N°3
Phonology
Semantics
Syntax
Pragnotics
Ign
Speech
Phoneme
Morphene
Vocal
Communicative
Sarcastically
System
Phrase complexe : proposition principale dans laquelle on a une proposition
subordonnée
Phrase simples, composées, complexes
- I.Q tests are traditionally viewed as a quantitative measure of a person’s
intelligence = simple
- Children who score very well as IQ tests are often tracked into programs for the
« gifted » while those ??? do very poorly are traded into « remedial » programs.
Complexe despite their prevalence, the true meaning and import of IQ tests are
subjects of some controversy in the fields of education, psychology and neurosciences
= simple
- Over the past year, the subjects of intelligence, a possible biological basis for
intelligence, and ways to improve intelligence have all received a significant amount
of media attention = simple
- This article is a short review of somme of these studies = simple
- There seem to be two man camps on the sbject of intelligence = complexe
- In one camp are the researchers aho not only support the concept of IQ as a measure
of intelligence, but also believe that there is a biological switch that govern this
intelligence such as a gene or some kind of brain chemical = relative donc complexe
- These reseachers also believe that IQ and this intelligence can be improved by external
means, such as through diefary supplements or specific learning exercices = complexe
- In the second camp are the researchers who reject the concept of a single definition of
intelligence and sufffest instead that human intelligence is too complex.
La phrase complexe : marqueurs de subordination
Conjonctions de subordination :
1/ Surbordonnants apparaissant seuls :
After, (al)though, as, because, before, if, once, since…
2/ Combinaison de plusieurs termes :
- terminés par that : in that, so that, such that, except that, in order that…
- terminés par that facultatif : now (that), provided (that), supposing (that), considering
(that), seeing (that)
- terminés par as : as far as, as long as, as soon as, so long as, so as…
- terminés par than : sooner than , rather than (au lieu de )
- autres : as if, even if, if only, as though, in case…
3/ Conjonctions corrélatives : combinaison de deux marqueurs, une conjonction dans la
subordonnée et un autre terme dans la proposition englobante.
If then ; although..yet/nevertheless ; as…so ; whether…or ; more/less..than as/so…that ;
such..as ; such…that ; no sooner… than
4/ Autres indicateurs de subordination
Marqueurs qui ne sont pas des conjonctions de subordination mais signalent un rapport de
subordination
- Termes en WH
a- Subordonnées interrogatives : I wander WHO it can be
b- Subordonnées exclamatives : I’m surprised HOW beautiful it turned out to be
c- Relatives : this is the man WHO came yesterday
- Relative en THAT
- The man that came yesterday
- The only one that is worth read
- Attention : THAT relatif et conjonction (he said that he would come back)
- Inversion sujet-auxiliaire
- propositions conditionnelles
- Had I known, I would never have come : if I had known
- Were it not for you : if it were not for you
- Absence de verbe conjugué
- Thinking it was too late, he decided to stay home : as he thought it was too late.
- Absence de signe de subordination :
- Conjonctives : he said he would not come : he said that…
- Relatives : he is the man I was telling you about : he is the man whom I was telling
you about.
Anglais L3 cours n°4
Human memory
A set of stories where to put information. A set of processes that act on stories.
3 differents stories :
- this sensory information storie
- the short-term store
- the long-temr store
3 processes
- encoding
- maintenance
- retrieval
Sensory informations store : ignored or paid attention to ignored, writtent over
If paid attention to, encoded to short term store
Short-term store : a mited storage capacity submitted to decay (from 12 to 30
seconds). Interference (new information displaces older information) mental rehearsal
(repeat the information subvocally) / elaboration rehearsal (se répéter le mot dans
notre tête).
Long-term store : large quantity of informations, maintains informations for very long periods
of time.
attention
SENSORY MEMORY WORKING MEMORY LONG TERM MEMORY
encoding
retrieval
rehearsal
Info not attended to forgetting forgetting
Long term memory
Declarative Procedural
Semantic Episodic
Like riding a bike
Your last
birthday party
This target article discusses the verbal working memory system used in sentence
comprehension. We review the idea of working memory as a short duration system in which
small amounts of information are simultaneously stored and manipulated in the service of a
task and that syntactic processing in sentence comprehension requires such a storage and
computational system. We inquire whether the working memory system used in syntactic
processing is the same as that used in verbally mediated tasks involving conscious, controlled
processing. Various forms of evidence are considered: the relationship between individual
differences in working memory and individual differences in the efficiency of syntactic
processing; the effect of concurrent verbal memory load on syntactic processing; and
syntactic processing in patients with poor short term memory, poor working memory, or
aphasia. The experimental results suggest that the verbal working memory system specialized
for assigning the syntactic structure of a sentence and for using that structure in determining
sentence meaning is distinct from the working memory system that underlies the use of
sentence meaning to accomplish further functions. We present a theory of the components of
the verbal working memory system and suggestions as to its neural basis.
(si vous voulez le texte dans son intégralité, je l’ai trouvé ici :
http://www.bbsonline.org/documents/a/00/00/04/41/bbs00000441-00/bbs.caplan.html)
En français :
Cet article discute/s’intéresse au système de mémoire de travail utilisé pour la compréhension
des phrases. Nous passons en revue l’idée que la mémoire de travail correspond à un système
de courte durée où une petite quantité d’informations est simultanément stockée et manipulée
/travaillée pour répondre à une tâche et que le traitement syntaxique de la compréhension de
phrase s’appuie sur un tel système de stockage.
On cherche à savoir si le système de mémoire de travail utilisé dans le traitement syntaxique
est le même que celui utilisé dans les tâches verbales impliquant des traitements conscients et
contrôlés. Les résultats expérimentaux suggèrent que le système de mémoire de travail verbal
spécialisé/attribué à la structure syntaxique d’une phrase… On présente une théorie des
composantes du système de mémoire de travail et des suggestions concernant les bases
neuronales.
LA PHRASE COMPLEXE
- Proposition à verbe fini
- Proposition à verbe non fini
Verbe fini : le verbe dont la terminaison varie en fonction de la personne, du temps, du
nombre (she goes out every night)
Verbe non fini : teminaison est non révélatrice du temps ou de la personne (obstructing the
forr causes delay)
(rien compris !)
LES SUBORDONNÉES À VERBE NON FINI
1. Infinitives en TO : some were forced tu work at night
Elles peuvent aussi être introduites pas « as if to, in order to, so as to »
2. Infinitives sans TO : as always he tried to help her sort things out
Elles peuvent aussi être introduites par « rather than ; sooner than »
3. Propositions en ING : standing there, she fixed him
4. Proposition en ED (participe passé) : embarrassed, she changed the subject
Elles peuvent aussi être introduites par when, althought
Le verbe non fini déclenche nécessairement une dépendance à une proposition à verbe fini.
LES PROPOSITIONS À VERBE FINI
1. les subordonnées relatives : jouent un rôle de complémentation : introduction par
WH, that ou rien
She is known as as processing scientist, the researcher who paved the way for further
experiments. Relative who paved the way for further experiments : expansion du
syntagme normal : « the researcher ».
2 types de relatives : restrictives et non restrictives (appositives) :
- restrictives : identification de l’antécédent permet de créer un sous groupe à l’intérieur
d’une classe de référents : those who don’t understand can ask questions (c’est une
idée ça !)
- appositives : apportent une information supplémentaire sans identifier l’antécédent :
this paper which was written by Delaene in 1997 is the first one to assess the neural
network in L2 moderate subjects : précision apportée après-coup, souvent mise entre
parenthèses.
Type particulier : which : he never rang back, which rather surprised me : rupture intérative :
commentaire de l’énonciateur.
COURS 5
AMNESIA
Amnesia is memomy less, generaly caused by a brain trauma. (amnesia due to psychological
trauma is less well documented)
- retrograde amnesia : less of memory of events prior to the trauma
- anterograde amnesia : less of memory for events occuring after the trauma (the
irability to form new memories)
HM and the study of anterograde amnesia :
- HM had bilateral temporal lobe epilepsy
- As treatment, he had a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy
- This cured his epilepsy but left him whith severe anterograde amnesia. He has been
unable to form new long term memories since the surgery.
HM’s anterograde amnesia :
- HM cannot form new memories of people or events : can’t remember his doctors/
can’t remember his testing sessions
- HM can remember (pretty much) his lige before the surgery : some mild loss for the 2
years prior surgery.
- Normal workinf memory (7+/-2)
- Basically, he got stuck in time, when he had his surgery 1953) : il est resté bloqué au
moment de son opération
However, it turns out that HM’s performance improves on tasks :
- miror drawing task : trace image while looking in mirror, this is hard to do/ HM’s
performance, improves or this task oven though he doesn’t remember over having
done it before.
Bases on HM’S symptoms : multiple memory systems. (en regardant ce qu’il se passait pour
lui, on a réussit à mettre en évidence plusieurs systèmes de mémoire) :
- explicite (déclarative) memory :
conscious / items be verbally expressed
- two systems : episodic (the even of our lives) / semantic (information about the world ;
the meaning of words)
- Implicite (procedural) memory : non conscious ; expressed by improved performance
or task.
LA PHRASE COMPLEXE : CLASSIFICATION DES SUBORDONNÉES
2 types de comparaison :
1/ comparaison d’équivalence (=) ou de non équivalence (+/_)
John is AS gifted AS Peter (équivalence)
John is MORE gifted THAN Peter ( non équivalence +)
John is LESS gifted THAN Peter (non équivalence -)
2/ Comparaison de suffisance (enough/so) ou d’excès (too much)
He is gifted enough to succeed (suffisance)
He is too bright to fail (excès)
Subordonnés comparatives :
- un élément comparé : he is as gifted/ he is too bright
- un élément de comparaison : as Peter/to fail
= AS AS
+ MORE THAN
- LESS THAN
Suffisance ENOUGH TO
Excès TOO TO
Exercices : trouvez le type de subordonnées :
- Children who score very weel on IQ tests are often tracked into programs for the gifted
(while those who do very poorly are tracked into remedial programs
- There seem to be two main camps on the subject of intelligence (P1 verbe non fini /
infinitive).In one camp are the researchers who not only support the concept of I.Q. as a
measure of intelligence, but also believe that there is a biological switch that governs this
intelligence, such as a gene or some kind of brain chemical (P1’ relative, restrictive).
These researchers also believe that I.Q., and thus intelligence, can be improved by
external means, such as through dietary supplements or specific learning exercises. (P1 et
en souligné P14 conjonctive)
In the second camp are the researchers who reject the concept of a single definition of
intelligence and suggest instead that human intelligence is too complex a mesh of qualities
which cannot be measured by a single score on a single test. These researchers also
believe that intelligence can be improved, but only by incorporating a much wider
definition of intelligence than is currently in place in our society. (P1 et en souligné P14
relative restricitive).
instead that human intelligence is too complex a mesh of qualities which cannot be
measured by a single score on a single test. These researchers also believe that intelligence
can be improved, but only by incorporating a much wider definition of intelligence than is
currently in place in our society. (P1 et en souligne P1’ conjonctive)
but only by incorporating a much wider definition of intelligence than is currently in place
in our society. (P2 comparative)
LA PHRASE COMPLEXE : ETUDE FONCTIONNELE DES
SUBORDONNÉES
Etude fonctionnelle : s’intéresse aux propositions subordonnées
Fonctions syntaxiques : sujet/complément/attribut/adverbial
Sujet : althought acquiring the grammar of one’s first language does seem to be subject to a
critical period.
Complement :
- complément d’objet direct : I saw John
- Complément d’attribut : I bought John a nice sweat
- Complément propositionnel : its depends on John
- Complément d’adjectif : she was busy typing a lettre
Adverbial : complément circonstanciel
Renseigne sur la circonstance du procès : lieu, temps, manière…
Les conjonctions ont une valeur sémantique propre
TEMPS After, before, since, until, when, while, as soon as, once
LIEU Where, wherever
CONDITIONNELLE If, unless, provided that, so long as, on condition that
CONCESSIVE Thought, althought, while, whereas, even if, if, when
CAUSE Because, since, as, v-ing
BUT To, so as to, in order to, so that, on order that
CONSEQUENCE So that
COMPARAISON As if, as thought
ANGLAIS L3 COURS 7 (question sur le texte de Schaffausen)
a. he was living on his own
b. b ; he was paralysed
c. He experienced ans attack characterised by less of consciousness, muscles spams
ans rigiding (definition de l’épilepsie)
According to DR Scaville, epilepsy is due to :
a. the morphological asymetry of the hemispheres
b. electrical impulses located in the hippocampus areas
c. electrical impulses spreading throughout the whole brain
The hippocampus, the amygdala and the entorhinal and perihinal cortices are situated
a. in the cortex
b. in both temporal lobes
c. in the brainstem
How can you explain the plural « hippocampi » in « when he lost his hippocampi, Henry
became frozen in 1953 » ? (le pluriel de l’hippocampe)
Lashley’s experiments carried out on animals
a. fit in with the precise nature of henry’a amnesia
b. led him to conclude that biological study of memory is impossible
c. prove that rats and monkeys behave differently
Henry’s amnesia due to his surgery enabled researchers ti uderstand the role of hippocampus
a. in short-term memory
b. in long-term memory
c. in procedural memory
d. in long-term memory formation
HM can no longer
a. play tennis
b. store new pieces of informations
c. remember events prior to 1753
d. retain about seven pieces of information for about thirty seconds
Henry’s case allows researchers to hypothesize that the hippocampus is
unnecessary for the formation of long term memories
necessary for unconscious long-term skill memories
required for the formation of short-term memories
required for consolidation
Today, henry likes
listening to mystery shows
going ice-skating
watching detective shows
doing puzzles
Memory was largely studied befoe henry’s operation : true or false
Henry’s case is now confirmed by other simular cases : true or false
Henry has got lany friends : true or false
He can now live on his own : true or false
SCRIPT : AUDIO
Key word : mental illness, procedure, ice pick lobotomy, emotion
On january 17, 1946 : psychobiologist nomed Freeman launched a radical new era in the
tratment of mental illness in the country.
SCRIPT 2 : si vous voulez écouter le texte, c’est là :
http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/hm-memory
Howard dully’s story
a. How did he go to Washington ? by fly
b. where did he go in Washington ? G.W university
c. What did he want ? to see my files
d. What did he love to do ?
e. What did he find in his file ?
f. What was he must interested by ?
g. What did he want to understand ?
h. How did was he ?
i. Who want to see Dr Freeman ?
j. What happened to Howard ‘s nother ? How old was he then ?
k. What about the relationships between his stepmother (mère adoptive) and him ?
l. What did his stepmother want ?
H Dully s’est fait opérer par Freeman et veut comprendre ce qu’il s’est passé, il va donc
chercher son dossier médical.
m. how did Howard read when Freeman explained ti him what had happened
n. What did her stepmother decide to do ? Why ?
o. Can you explain the term « word of the stock » ? (pupille de la nation)
p. What questions have haunted thoward ?
q. Did Howard dare to speak to his father ?
r. What happened to his stepmother ?
s. What did Howard decide to do ?
t. What couldn’t howard believe ?
Toutes les réponses sont dans le texte n°4
Voca :
Deserve : mériter
Paper-route : ditribution de magazines dans les boîtes aux lettres
Make it stick : soyez ferme !
Thrust : enfoncé
Quiver : frémir
Pathways : route qui relie un endroit à un autre
Sever : couper = out off
Texte 1
This target article discusses the verbal working memory system used in sentence
comprehension. We review the idea of working memory as a short duration system in which
small amounts of information are simultaneously stored and manipulated in the service of a
task and that syntactic processing in sentence comprehension requires such a storage and
computational system. We inquire whether the working memory system used in syntactic
processing is the same as that used in verbally mediated tasks involving conscious, controlled
processing. Various forms of evidence are considered: the relationship between individual
differences in working memory and individual differences in the efficiency of syntactic
processing; the effect of concurrent verbal memory load on syntactic processing; and
syntactic processing in patients with poor short term memory, poor working memory, or
aphasia. The experimental results suggest that the verbal working memory system specialized
for assigning the syntactic structure of a sentence and for using that structure in determining
sentence meaning is distinct from the working memory system that underlies the use of
sentence meaning to accomplish further functions. We present a theory of the components of
the verbal working memory system and suggestions as to its neural basis.
Texte 2
I.Q. tests are traditionally viewed as a quantitative measure of a person's intelligence.
Children who score very well on I.Q. tests are often tracked into programs for the "gifted,"
while those who do very poorly are tracked into "remedial" programs. Despite their
prevalence, the true meaning and import of I.Q. tests are subjects of some controversy in the
fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience.
Over the past year, the subjects of intelligence, a possible biological basis for intelligence, and
ways to improve intelligence have all received a significant amount of media attention. This
article is a short review of some of these studies.
There seem to be two main camps on the subject of intelligence. In one camp are the
researchers who not only support the concept of I.Q. as a measure of intelligence, but also
believe that there is a biological switch that governs this intelligence, such as a gene or some
kind of brain chemical. These researchers also believe that I.Q., and thus intelligence, can be
improved by external means, such as through dietary supplements or specific learning
exercises.
In the second camp are the researchers who reject the concept of a single definition of
intelligence and suggest instead that human intelligence is too complex a mesh of qualities
which cannot be measured by a single score on a single test. These researchers also believe
that intelligence can be improved, but only by incorporating a much wider definition of
intelligence than is currently in place in our society.
Let's start with some of the studies that fall into the first camp of opinion on I.Q as a measure
of intelligence.
In July 1999, researchers at the University of New Mexico announced a study linking levels
of two brain chemicals to performance on I.Q. tests.
William Brooks and his colleagues used brain-imaging techniques to measure levels of
choline and N-acetylasparate (NAA) in the brains of 26 healthy volunteers.
The researchers found that people with low levels of choline and high levels of NAA tended
to have the higher scores on I.Q. tests. The researchers suggested that a manipulation of the
levels of these brain chemicals, such as with dietary supplements, could increase I.Q. scores.
Methods for increasing I.Q. scores abound in the press and are also the focus of a number of
academic articles.
The well discussed and much publicized "Mozart effect" stems from a Wisconsin study that
suggests that listening to Mozart boosts IQ. Although a number of later studies suggest that
the effect may not be as powerful as originally thought, many preschools have instituted
programs such as "Mozart hour" to give their students the music's perceived benefits.
Popular dietary supplements such as gingko biloba and phosphatidylserine are advertised as
brain enhancement products that improve mental functions such as problem solving and
memory, although there is very little scientific evidence to support these claims. There is even
a firm out of Beverly Hills that offers a product called "Brain Gum". Their promise for the
product is encapsulated in their phone number: 1-888 "IQ BOOST".
In the field of child development, Linda Acredolo, a psychology professor at the University of
California, Davis, has found that babies who are taught sign language starting at the age of 11
months tend to have higher average IQs when they reach second grade than their peers who
were not taught sign language (scores were 114 for the sign language proficient, 102 for the
non-signers).
Behavioral experimentation on mice is a traditional tool for the study of gene manipulation on
intelligence. Last September, researchers at Princeton reported that genetically engineered
mice that over-express a particular form of the brain protein called the NMDA receptor
perform better at a number of behavioral tasks than normal mice. The researchers suggest that
this receptor could be a target for treating learning and memory disorders-this creation of a
mouse that performs well on memory tasks has been described as a possible first step in
making human beings "smarter".
One question should be considered: Does performance on I.Q. tests really tell us something
concrete about a person's intelligence? This leads us to the second camp of researchers-those
who argue that traditional I.Q. tests do not tell the whole story.
Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University, proposes the theory of
"multiple intelligences" in which there are at least eight different types of intelligence, all of
which must be taken into account when establishing a vision of a person's abilities and
potential.
Michael Howe, a psychology professor at Exeter University, has spent ten years studying the
development of high achievers, such as Mozart, Michael Faraday and Isaac Newton. In his
book Genius Explained, Howe argues that most "geniuses" don't have some ineffable quality
that promotes their intelligence above that of the general population. He argues that what
distinguished these admittedly remarkable people was incredible persistence and devotion to
their particular field of interest. Howe believes that sheer intelligence as measured by an I.Q.
test won't automatically lead to success without the added qualities of determination and
perseverance.
Another researcher, Dr. Ken Richardson, also argues that the idea of an I.Q. score is too strict
of a limit on the definition of intelligence. In his book The Making of Intelligence he suggests
that the idea of a single cause or kind of intelligence is not supported by our ever-increasing
understanding of the mind and its functions. His main idea is that intelligence is not a static
thing that is coded for us by our genes, but is instead a result of a dynamic interaction between
the mental process with which we represent the world and the culture in which we live.
According to Dr. Richardson, society has as much an influence on our intelligence as do our
genes.
Thomas Edison's famous definition of genius as 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration suggests
that intelligence is as much a product of nurture as it is of nature. However, it is the question
of the origin of that mysterious 1% that fuels much of the interest in I.Q. scores, memory
enhancing drugs, and mind-boosting music. Research results from the "smart mouse" and
from the New Mexico study on brain chemical levels suggest that there may in fact be a
biological quality, be it gene or chemical, that is the seat of that extra brain power that details
the difference between "smart" and "not-smart", "gifted" and "remedial". Researchers like
Gardner and Richardson argue instead that the brain is too plastic and complex for
intelligence to be limited by the actions of a single gene, chemical or concept of I.Q..
All of this intriguing research tells us that, just as in so many areas of science, more time and
study is necessary before we can hope to find a clear answer. In the end, the final answer to
the question of intelligence will most likely be a multi-layered vision of human potential that
combines all of these studies in biology, psychology and cultural context.
Texte 3
Is There a Critical Period for Learning a Foreign Language?
June 2000
by Lisa Chipongian
The Myth of Missed Opportunities
A popular misconception regarding second-language learning is that there is a window, or
critical period, for learning a second language that shuts down around the onset of puberty. In
his article, "Is There a 'Child Advantage' in Learning Foreign Languages?" Brad Marshall
points out the harm this misconception can cause. Adults may become doubtful of their ability
to learn a new language. Their teachers may become skeptical too, tending to "plod through
their classes feeling there is little hope of success." When it comes to learning a foreign
language, many believe that the adult brain is in "a state of shutdown" relative to the child's
"neurological state of readiness."
Early Foreign Language Instruction is "Not a Magical Tool"
In The Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition, David Singleton concedes that in secondlanguage
instruction, "younger = better in the long run." But this is a general rule with plenty
of exceptions. The exceptions include the 5 percent of adult bilinguals who master a second
language even though they begin learning it when they are well into adulthood, long after any
critical period has presumably come to a close.
Both research and the informal observations of those who are in daily contact with secondlanguage
learners suggest that an early start in a second language is neither a strictly
necessary nor a universally sufficient condition for the attainment of native-like proficiency.
Given the enormous variation in people's experience of second languages—even (or
especially!) in the classroom—this ought to be a truism.
As John T. Bruer, author of The Myth of the First Three Years, states: "One of the dangers of
the...emphasis on critical periods, is that it prompts us to pay too much attention to when
learning occurs and too little attention to how learning might best occur." Marshall agrees,
pointing out that learning a foreign language in elementary school—what most researchers
generally agree is the ideal time—is not a "magical tool for creating perfect second-language
speakers." Timing, in other words, is not everything.
Many assume that critical learning periods apply not only to second-language learning, but to
other school subjects, like math and reading. Such beliefs, writes Bruer, have "raised needless
concerns among educators." For instance, once a critical period is over, is "lost academic
ground" irrecoverable? Such concerns arise from a simplistic and over-generalized application
of critical periods to learning. The extreme view that children must learn a foreign language
"early or not at all" grows out of popular images of critical periods as closing abruptly, like
windows slamming shut.
Is There a Critical Period for Learning a Foreign Language? - Page 2
Foreign-Language Learning and Critical Periods
The question of whether or not there is a critical period for learning a foreign language is not
easily answered. But there is certainly no specific age at which the window of opportunity
closes completely. As with the visual system, the language system consists of several features,
and is not, as Singleton writes, a "monolith." Certain features of the language system may be
more related to distinct critical periods than others. According to Ellen Bialystok and Kenji
Hakuta, authors of In Other Words, "The controversy over the optimal age for learning a
second language really hinges on the acquisition of a subset of possible linguistic features and
functions."
The Grammar-Learning Window Never Completely Closes
Although acquiring the grammar of one's first language does seem to be subject to a critical
period which ends around puberty, the issue of whether or not there is also a critical period for
second-language grammar acquisition is more complex. In The Myth of the First Three Years,
Bruer does not state that there is a critical period for second-language grammar learning;
instead, he claims that there "may be some maturational constraints on second-language
grammar learning."
Bialystok and Hakuta complicate the response to whether or not there is an optimal age for
second-language grammar acquisition even further. They point out that learning some
linguistic features, like tense, seems to be affected by age; yet other linguistic structures, like
word order, "are resistant to any effect of the learner's age." In their book In Other Words,
Bialystok and Hakuta state that syntax "remains accessible throughout life, even though the
circumstances of our lives may muddy that access." Overall, "the amazing human ability to
learn grammar," they argue, "remains with us as long as we remain human."
Phonological Acquisition Is Age-Sensitive
Unlike grammar learning, second-language phonological acquisition is subject to a sensitive
period. The decline in "unaccented learning" of a foreign language is progressive, however,
and not characterized by a predictably abrupt change. According to a study by James Flege,
similar and not entirely novel sounds are the ones that are affected by age. In other words,
new sounds are easier to pronounce with native-like accuracy than sounds that are similar but
not identical to those found in one's first language.
According to Bruer, "we know almost nothing about the stages within the critical period for
phonological learning...." We do know, Bruer continues, that "the system remains plastic and
able to tune itself to a second phonology...until early in the second decade of life."
Vocabulary Learning Has No Critical Period
Of vocabulary acquisition in one's first language, Singleton writes, "there is no point at which
vocabulary acquisition can be predicted to cease." There is also, Singleton suggests, no
critical period for learning vocabulary in a second language.
According to the results of a study by Helen Neville using brain recordings, semantic
information seems to be processed in the same way by both speakers of English as a second
language and native English speakers throughout life. In The Myth of the First Three Years,
Bruer relates this consistency in how we acquire vocabulary throughout life to brain
maturation: "how we process vocabulary does not change with brain maturation, as one would
expect it would if it were a form of time-limited, experience-expectant learning. It seems
instead that the neural circuitry we need to process semantic information and learn vocabulary
comes on-line early in development and does not change as we mature."
Conclusion: "Younger = Better in the Long Run"
It may be that the image of a window slamming shut as an analogy for the effect of age on
one's ability to acquire a foreign language should be replaced by Bruer's analogy of a
reservoir that "gradually evaporates." This analogy suggests a progressive rather than abrupt
decline in ability over time. Regarding critical periods in second-language acquisition,
Bialystok and Hakuta suggest that the difference between child and adult learners is more
quantitative (or a matter of degree) than qualitative: "Overall...the evidence of a critical period
for acquiring a second language is, at best, confusing." Although the evidence, argue
Bialystok and Hakuta, indicates that the learning process is the same for both adults and
children, and that second-language learning is not necessarily subject to biological critical
periods, they do state that "on average, there is a continuous decline in ability with age."
Older beginners often show an initial advantage over younger beginners in learning a new
language; however, over time the younger beginners usually overtake the older beginners.
There seems then to be, according to Bialystok and Hakuta, a "tortoise-and-the-hare effect";
or as Singleton has put it, "younger = better in the long run." For this reason, we should by no
means discount the importance of learning a second language early. As Bruer states, "The
brain and early childhood literature is correct to emphasize that second-language learning is
increasingly important and that often American schools provide too little language instruction
too late."
What should be questioned or re-evaluated are the underlying assumptions that side-step the
issue of how best to teach foreign languages. The "age at which one first encounters a second
language," explains Singleton, "is only one of the many determinants of the ultimate level of
proficiency attained in that language." We must not neglect other considerations, including
what neuroscience is now telling us about how second languages might best be taught and
learned.
Texte 4
The Day His World Stood Still
by Joanna Schaffhausen
When twenty-seven year old Henry M. entered the hospital in 1953 for radical brain surgery
that was supposed to cure his epilepsy, he was hopeful that the procedure would change his
life for the better. Instead, it trapped him in a mental time warp where TV is always a new
invention and Truman is forever president. The removal of large sections of his temporal
lobes left Henry unable to form any new personal memories, but his tragic loss revolutionized
the field of psychology and made "H.M." the most-studied individual in the history of brain
research.
Henry grew up outside of Hartford, Connecticut, and was by all accounts an amiable young
man with above average intelligence. He liked to go ice skating and to listen to mystery shows
on the radio, which he enjoyed because he could often deduce the villain ahead of the
program detective. Then on his sixteenth birthday, Henry had his first grand mal seizure
during a celebratory trip to the city with his parents. After that point, the paralyzing seizures
arrived with increasing frequency, until by the summer of 1953, he was experiencing as many
as eleven episodes per week. He was unable to hold a steady job, and his prospects for
independent living seemed dim. There were not many effective treatments available for
epilepsy in 1953, so it was with a mixture of hope and trepidation that Henry's family turned
to Dr. William Scoville and his experimental surgery.
The Day His World Stood Still - Page 2
The Fateful Surgery
The idea behind the surgery was simple. Seizures, as Scoville correctly reasoned, are caused
by uncontrolled electrical impulses that start in a localized area and then spread throughout
the rest of the brain. If one could remove the part of the brain where the seizures originated, it
should be possible to cure the epilepsy. Henry had the most common form of the disease,
called temporal lobe epilepsy, which meant that his seizures began in the tissue located on
either side of his brain. Dr. Scoville removed a large chunk of Henry's right and left temporal
lobes, which was a crucial decision because the brain is symmetrical and thus most important
structures are duplicated. Altogether, Henry lost about a fist-sized portion of his brain, which
encompassed (on both sides) the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the entorhinal and
perirhinal cortices. As it turns out, the hippocampus is crucial for memory storage. When he
lost his hippocampi, Henry became frozen in 1953, remembering very well the events before
his operation but unable to create any new memories. He describes the experience like this:
"Right now, I'm wondering, have I done or said anything amiss? You see, at this moment
everything looks clear to me, but what happened just before? That's what worries me. It's like
waking from a dream. I just don't remember."
What Henry Can Remember, And What He Cannot
At the time of Henry's surgery, the study of memory was mostly limited to philosophical
writings and introspective probing like the kind practiced by Sigmund Freud. In the 1930s,
Karl Lashley began a systematic quest to find the exact location of memory in the brain. He
taught rats and monkeys a variety of tasks, then destroyed a part of their brain, reasoning that
if the animals could not remember after the lesion, then he must have found the place where
memories reside. After years of frustration, Lashley concluded that nothing short of near
complete destruction of the brain caused the animals to forget their tasks, and it seemed that
biological study of memory was not possible.
Then word began to spread of patient H.M., who had very localized brain damage but extreme
memory deficits. Scientists were very interested in the precise nature of Henry's amnesia and
began a careful study of which parts of his memory had been erased by the surgery and which
parts remained intact. As noted before, he had good recall of facts learned before his
operation, meaning that his long-term memory was unharmed. Also, Henry was able to hold
information in storage for very short periods of time. Most people can retain about seven
pieces of information (a telephone number, for example) in memory for about thirty seconds,
and Henry scored normally on these kinds of tasks. Thus, his working memory (or scratchpad
memory) seemed unaffected by the loss of his hippocampus. The main problem for Henry
was converting short-term memories into permanent storage, a process called consolidation.
Based on the patterns of Henry's memory loss, researchers formed the following hypotheses
about memory formation:
1.) Short-term memories are biologically different from long-term memories because they do
not require the hippocampus for formation.
2.) Long-term memories are stored throughout the brain, but the hippocampus is necessary for
the information to reach long-term storage. Once the memory is permanently stored, however,
the hippocampus is no longer required. Said another way: the hippocampus is important for
long-term memory formation, but not for memory maintenance or retrieval.
This would explain why Henry can remember the events prior to his surgery but not store any
new memories afterward. Even with thousands of repetitions, he is unable to learn new facts.
His doctors must reintroduce themselves each morning, and Henry is never sure where he is
for very long. Yet even as they marvel at the extent of his memory loss, researchers have
found one other kind of memory task that Henry can perform normally: skill learning.
Often termed "procedural memory," skill learning is a kind of unconscious memory. You
might recall your tennis lessons very well, but when you hit the ball over the net, there is no
conscious awareness of each muscle group involved in the task. Your backhand is simply
automatic. For Henry, these kinds of motor skills are also automatic. He does not remember
learning them, but his performance improves over time. Learning to trace a star using a
reflection in the mirror, for example, is a task that most people do not do well the first time
they try it. But with practice, it becomes quite easy. Henry shows the same kind of
improvement on the star-tracing task, even though each time he tries it, he claims to have
never attempted it before. Thus, skill learning appears to be a special kind of long-memory
that does not require the hippocampus.
Henry Right Now
Study of Henry's case has led to some very seminal findings about memory. Specifically, it
seems that the hippocampus is required for the formation of conscious, long-term memories,
but not for unconscious, long-term skill memories or short-term recall. Perhaps even more
importantly, Henry has vividly illustrated that there is a biological basis for memory and that
it is possible to use biological techniques to study a subject as elusive as memory.
As for Henry's current status, he lives in a nursing home in Hartford and still travels
occasionally to MIT for memory testing. He enjoys doing crossword puzzles and watching
detective shows on television. His life is peaceful, if not completely happy. He worries often
that he has done something wrong, and it is not possible for him to make any real friends
since he cannot remember a person from ten minutes to the next. At times, he seems to have a
sense of humor about his condition, as in the following anecdote taken from his biography,
Memory's Ghost: The Strange Tale of Mr. M. and the Nature of Memory, by Philip Hilts:
When walking down the corridor at M.I.T. with Henry, Dr. Suzanne Corkin made the usual
kind of small talk. "Do you know where you are, Henry?"
Henry grinned. "Why, of course. I'm at M.I.T.!"
Dr. Corkin was a bit surprised. "How do you know that?"
Henry laughed. He pointed to a student nearby with a large M.I.T. emblazoned on his
sweatshirt. "Got ya that time!" Henry said.
Mainly, though, he leads a life of quiet confusion, never knowing exactly how old he is (he
guesses maybe thirty and is always surprised by his reflection in the mirror) and reliving his
grief over the death of his mother every time he hears about it. Though he does not recall his
operation, he knows that there is something wrong with his memory and has adopted a
philosophical stance on his problems: "It does get me upset, but I always say to myself, what
is to be is to be. That's the way I always figure it now."
Often, Henry will express the hope that others can learn from his unfortunate situation, as he
told Philip Hilts in an interview several years ago:
"Well, what I keep thinking is that possibly I had an operation. And somehow the memory is
gone...And I'm trying to figure it out...I think of it all the time. I don't remember this, and why
I don't remember that."
"Is that worrisome?" Hilts wanted to know.
"Well, it isn't worrisome in a way, to me, because I know that if they ever performed an
operation on me, they'd learn from it. It would help others."
Sadly, the very nature of his memory loss prevents Henry from ever knowing the incredible
contribution he has made to the field of psychology, but his tale stands as an important
prologue to the ongoing story of memory research. Long after Henry passes on, "H.M." will
be studied as the man whose unwitting sacrifice first vividly illustrated the important link
between memory and brain.
Langue et Affaires Anglais
Lecture 1 : Business organization in Britain and the USA.
1. Introduction : What is a business? - The 3 sectors of the economy - Business strategy.
The purpose of this lesson is to discuss the main business organizations of britain and america.
Brief definition of a business and give an overview of the 3 sectors of the economy.
What is a business ? : An organized effort to produce goods or services which can be supplied to satisfy the needs and wants of customers in exchange of a reward or payment which will give the producer or supplier an adequate return on his investment. There are many different types of businesses. Some are small local firms, others are large companies make trade internationally or nationally. Some may produce or sell goods whereas others provide a service. Some do both such as computer stores that offer advice and maintenance to customers. Some organizations are classified as businesses even though we may not think of them in this way. ( football clubs or charities ) Businesses exist for a purpose.
A business needs : funds. Finance is usually the hardest thing to obtain.
A business needs : customers and suppliers who provide many of the inputs such as raw materials.
Premises : ex : an office or a factory. Management and organization. A business may also need to protect its ideas or products through patents and copyright which make it illegal for other firms to copy directly the business idea or invention ; or by keeping new products secret until they are ready to launch ; by focussing on retaining key staff .
A business needs to have clear objectives. An objective is a target that a business sets itself. Difference between long and short term targets. The targets must be regularly reviewed so that the business can measure its progress. There are several objectives :
-Survive in the market ,
-Break-even = cover costs ,
-High motivation amongst its employees,
-Maximize profits,
-grow in size , export ,
-diversify and sell different products ,
-Make returns to shareholders ( actionnaires ) of limited companies.
2. Types of business.
Introduction : Public sector and private sector
A) Sole traders
B) Partnerships : The general partners . The sleeping partners . The salaried partner.
C) Limited company.
Introduction : Definition of a limited company.
- Private limited companies.
- Public limited companies.
D) Franchising
E) Types of businesses in America
F) Mergeers and acquisitions
G) Groups parent companies and subsidiaries.
H) Multinational and conglomerates
I) Blue chips
Conclusion.
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