Tohoku University Cognitive Neuroscience Application Center

How can neuroscience help us understand how languages are learned, used, and assessed?
This seminar invited participants to explore the intersection of applied linguistics, testing, and cognitive neuroscience. Through three talks combining fMRI, eye-tracking, and assessment frameworks, we examined how the brain supports vocabulary learning, task performance, and adaptive instruction.
We were delighted to welcome Prof. Andrea Révész (University College London, UK) and Dr. Sathena Chan (University of Bedfordshire, UK), who are visiting Tohoku University to share their recent work on second language learning, testing, and cognitive processes. Together with Dr. Ryuya Komuro (Tohoku University), this seminar offered a unique opportunity to bridge theoretical, experimental, and neurocognitive perspectives on language learning and assessment.

---

Language, Testing, and the Brain: A Neurolinguistic Approach to Learning and Assessment
📅 Date: Friday, November 14, 2025, 13:00–15:40
📍 Venue: Tohoku University, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Smart Aging Building 3F
💻 Format: Hybrid (On-site + Zoom) Program

13:00–13:40
Dr. Ryuya Komuro (Tohoku University, JSPS PD)

Measuring L2 vocabulary learning gain: A neurolinguistic perspective

This talk presents an fMRI study investigating the neural mechanisms underlying vocabulary learning. University students learned secondary meanings of English homographs (e.g., shell = to bombard) in a within-participant design. Based on recent findings, he will discuss how acquiring a new meaning involves dynamic interactions among memory, semantic, and control networks in the brain. 13:40–14:30
Dr. Sathena Chan (University of Bedfordshire, UK)

The socio-cognitive approach to high-stakes language assessment

High-stakes language assessment refers to tests or evaluation where the results have significant consequences for test-takers. Examples include English proficiency tests like IELTS, TOEFL, EIKEN where scores directly impact important life decisions or opportunities. In this talk, I will discuss the socio-cognitive framework (SCF) (Weir, 2005; Weir & Chan, 2019) which informs the development, research and validation of high-stakes English tests. The SCF combines social, cognitive and evaluative dimensions of language, linking these to the contexts and consequences of test use. In the talk, I will explain the key components of SCF including test taker characteristics, context validity, cognitive validity and scoring validity. Drawing from my previous research regarding the cognitive validity of various English tests, I will illustrate how different research methods help to establish the dynamic relationship between task design, cognitive processes and performance in language tests. I will conclude with suggestions for future research. 

☕️ 14:30–14:50 Coffee Break 14:50–15:40
Prof. Andrea Révész (University College London, UK)

Adaptive learning through eye-tracking: Exploring the gaze-contingency paradigm for L2 instruction

Eye-tracking methodology is becoming increasingly popular as a tool to capture cognitive processes. Through this technology, however, it is also possible to design systems that can interact with eye movements. This gaze-contingency affordance holds particular promise in fostering L2 acquisition during reading tasks. It is generally assumed that, to optimize L2 development, attention needs to be drawn to linguistic features. Some researchers also argued that this is best achieved during task-based performance in response to learner behaviours. In this presentation, I will describe a series of studies that have begun to explore the extent to which interactive, gaze-contingent eye-tracking can facilitate attention to and development in L2 knowledge in the context of reading. In particular, I will describe and discuss three studies focusing on vocabulary learning of different types of lexical features (single words, collocations), by adults and children, and learners with differential cognitive abilities. I will discuss the implications of the results emerging from these studies with respect to attentional models and optimal conditions for vocabulary learning through reading.
Organizer: Cognitive Neuroscience Application Center(CogNAC)
Co-organizers: Jeong Laboratory, Graduate School of International Cultural Studies; Human Brain Science Research Division

On-site participants: 25, Online participants: 10 (excluding duplicates)