VI-B

State College Area School District Michael S. Hardy, Assistant Superintendent

To: Dr. Robert O’Donnell

From: Mr. Michael Hardy

Date: March 10, 2016

Subject: Research Proposal “Lexical and Sentence Processing in Novice Second Language Learners: Psycholinguisitic and Neurocognitive Investigations”

Enclosed please find a research proposal submitted by Janet van Hell, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, Co-Director, Center for Language Science at Penn State University. This research proposal has been reviewed and approved by Penn State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The purpose of this study is to better understand how children and adults learn a second language, Spanish, in a classroom setting.

Jon Downs, Director at the Delta Program is in support of this project and will be in attendance at the School Board Meeting on March 14, 2016, should you have any questions. We recommend approval of this research proposal.

Attachment

c: Jon Downs

January 4, 2016

Dear Mr. Hardy, We are writing you with the request to review our research proposal entitled "Lexical and sentence processing in novice second language learners: Psycholinguistic and neurocognitive investigations". Our understanding is that, upon approval, you will forward our proposal to the SCASD School Board for their approval. In a nutshell, the overall purpose of our project is to better understand how children and adults learn a second language, Spanish, in a classroom setting. Our research group is particularly interested in second language learning and the brain, and how developmental differences in learners may influence the learning of Spanish in the classroom. We focus on beginning learners of Spanish at three different ages: K-2, Middle School, and young adults. The results from this research will help us to better understand what types of linguistic information children use in the early stages of second language learning, and will provide evidence-based information on the effects of world language instruction to inform educational practice and policy. The present proposal seeks approval to invite Middle School students who are taking Spanish classes in the Delta Program to participate in this research project. Dr. Jon Downs, Program Director at the Delta Program, has met with us and consented to have us come to the Delta Program to work with his staff and students. Students in K-2 already participate in this research project through our collaboration with the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School (see letter of support CEO Dr. Levent Kaya). Young adults already participate in this research project through our collaboration with Juniata College (see letter of support Dr. Kathryn Westcott) and Penn State University. Our research is designed to have minimal interruptions to schools and classrooms, and we offer a number of outreach activities to schools that participate. The students will be tested in a mobile lab (an R.V.) that we bring to each school in order to minimize impact on daily operations. Only students whose parents/caregivers have given parental consent will participate, and we provide detailed information to students and their parents/caregivers about the procedures and the goals of the research. To ensure the children’s safety and maintain confidentiality, we follow strict research protocols for working with children in accordance with Penn State’s Institutional Review Board (approved IRB-protocol for this study: IRB #00041301; approval letter added to this document). Additionally, all researchers have completed Mandated Reporter training at

Janet van Hell, Ph.D. (814) 867-2337 (Phone) Department of Psychology jgv3@psu.edu College of the Liberal Arts The Pennsylvania State University 414 Bruce V. Moore Building University Park, PA 16802-3104

Penn State University and maintain compliance on clearances for working with children (including background checks for abuse of children and criminal records and FBI fingerprinting). One of the missions of our research is to engage students in scientific research and pique their interest in relevant STEM fields, and connect World Languages to STEM research. To do this, we know it is important to provide science learning opportunities to children to broaden their perspectives on educational possibilities in STEM fields, and how STEM-techniques are used in the humanities and in education. We regularly give classroom demonstrations of our research, including tours of the mobile lab, participate in Science Fairs, and present our research to parents or teachers during in-service trainings. In the remainder of this document, you will find:

1) Detailed proposal 2) Letter of support of Dr. Levent Kaya, CEO Young Scholars of Central

Pennsylvania Charter School (YSCP collaborates with us on this project) 3) Letter of support of Dr. Kathryn Westcott, Professor at Juniata College (Juniata

College collaborates with us on this project) 4) Copy of approval letter Institutional Review Board (IRB) Penn State for this study

(please note that Janet van Hell's official first name is Adriana, as used in the IRB approval letter).

We would be happy to address any questions you may have at this point. Regards,

Dr. Janet van Hell Dr. Katharine Donnelly Adams Professor of Psychology and Linguistics Postdoctoral Researcher Co-Director, Center for Language Science kda11@psu.edu jgv3@psu.edu

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Detailed Proposal Lexical and sentence processing in novice second language learners: Psycholinguistic and neurocognitive investigations Principal Investigator: Janet van Hell, Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, Penn State) Co-PI: Ping Li, Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State) Research Team: Katharine Donnelly Adams, Ph.D. (postdoctoral researcher), Sarah Grey, Ph.D. (postdoctoral researcher), Fatemeh Abdollahi (4th year graduate student), Kaitlyn Litcofsky (5th year graduate student) Purpose of the Study: The overall purpose of this study is to better understand how children and adults learn world languages in a classroom setting, and how individual differences among learners (related to age, proficiency in the first language, language aptitude, and motivation) may influence the rate and success of second language learning. More specifically, our project seeks to track changes in the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying word and sentence processing in novice classroom second language (L2) learners at three ages: K-2, middle school, and young adulthood. We specifically focus on students who are taking Spanish classes. The study includes behavioral measurements (reaction times, accuracy, questionnaires) and measurements of naturally occurring brain activity while children reads words or sentences on a computer screen. Brain activity is measured by placing a cap! with electrodes on the student’s head that measure naturally occurring electrical activity from! assemblies of neurons (electroencephalogram, or EEG); see section Procedures to be followed for a more detailed description. The results from this research will help us to better understand what types of linguistic information children use in the early stages of second language learning, and will provide evidence-based information on the effects of world language instruction to inform educational practice and policy. The present proposal seeks approval to invite Middle School students who are taking Spanish classes in the Delta Program to participate in this research project. Dr. Jon Downs, Program Director at the Delta Program, has given his initial approval to the project. Students in K-2 already participate in this research project through our collaboration with the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School (see letter of support CEO Dr. Levent Kaya). Young adults already participate in this research project through our collaboration with Juniata College (see letter of support Dr. Kathryn Westcott) and Penn State University. This study is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Science, Program in Cognitive Neuroscience; Award # 1349110. Duration NSF award: June 1, 2014 – March 31, 2018.

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Background of the Study Being able to speak more than one language is a key to success in a wide range of professional and! academic fields. Many children learn a foreign language at school, sometimes as early as in! Kindergarten. Despite educational professionals’ call for research-based insights into the effects of ! foreign language instruction, we know ! remarkably little about the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the initial stages of foreign/second! language (L2) learning in the school context. The few studies that examined the initial stages of L2 !learning in classroom learners focused mainly on adult learners enrolled in university-level foreign language classes (e.g., Gullberg & Indefrey, 2010;! McLaughlin et al., 2004; Talamas et al., 1999; Tokowicz & MacWhinney, 2005; for a review, see Van Hell & Tokowicz, 2010), but research !findings from adults do not necessarily generalize to child L2 learners. Because first language! development is a protracted process and continues into adolescence (e.g., Nippold, 2006), child L2 learners have to integrate novel !L2 words and sentences into a system that is still developing. Child L2 learners may also attach! novel L2 information to different language codes than highly literate adults. Moreover, because children are still developing their working memory and executive control functions, children may use different! cognitive pathways from adult L2 learners to develop lexical and syntactic fluency in the L2.! For example, in the early stage of L2 learning, adult L2 learners tend to translate the words from the second language into the first language (native language) in order to understand the L2 word (Van Hell & Kroll, 2013). Our initial studies with first and fifth grade children in Centre County and the Netherlands, respectively, indicate that children may actually process the meaning of words in the second language without translating the word back into the first language (Poarch, Van Hell, & Kroll, 2015. As of yet, we don’t know how children in middle school perform, and whether they learn the second language as adults do (by translating to their first language) or as elementary school children do (without translating to their first language). The results from this research will help us to better understand what types of linguistic information children use in the early stages of second language learning, and will provide evidence-based information on the effects of world language instruction to inform educational policy and practice. Our research is designed to have minimal interruptions to schools and classrooms, and we offer a number of outreach activities to schools that participate. The students will be tested in a mobile lab (an R.V.) that we bring to each school in order to minimize impact on daily operations. Only students whose parents/caregivers have given parental consent will participate, and we provide detailed information to students and their parents/caregivers about the procedures and the goals of the research. To ensure the children’s safety and maintain confidentiality, we follow strict research protocols for working with children in accordance with Penn State’s Institutional Review Board (approved IRB-protocol for this study: IRB #00041301; see Appendix). Additionally, all researchers have completed Mandated Reporter training at Penn State and maintain compliance on clearances for working with children (including background checks for abuse of children and criminal records and FBI fingerprinting). One of the missions of our research is to engage students in scientific research and pique their interest in relevant STEM fields, and connect World Languages to STEM

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research. To do this, we know it is important to provide science learning opportunities to children to broaden their perspectives on educational possibilities in STEM fields, and how STEM-techniques are used in language and educational research. We regularly give classroom demonstrations of our research, including tours of the mobile lab, participate in Science Fairs, and present our research to parents or teachers during in-service trainings. For example, we collaborated with Rick Polka and the SCASD World Languages Department for professional development on childhood bilingualism and second language learning, and we demonstrated our research (including live demonstrations of the measurement of brain waves with brain waves projected on the wall) during STEM Fairs at PFMS and Bellefonte High School in 2015. Procedures to be Followed All procedures described below are approved by the Penn State IRB, protocol ##00041301. 1) Students will receive a letter of invitation to participate in the study and to visit the R.V. lab facility. Parents are requested to contact us (by email) if their child is interested to participate in the study. Parents who contact us will receive a second letter with a detailed explanation of the research procedures and the goals of the study, a consent form (to be completed and returned to the researchers), and a one-page screening survey for us to determine if their child is eligible to participate in the current study; students are! pre-screened to verify satisfaction of inclusion criteria typical of EEG language research (no neurological or language disorders; have normal or corrected-to-normal vision; be right-handed). Participating students will also receive detailed information about the research procedures and the study goals. 2) Students whose parents/caregivers have given parental consent to participate will be tested individually. Students will be walked from school to the R.V. (parked near the school) and vice versa. Students will be welcomed and given a brief tour of the lab facilities and equipment in the R.V. The student will provide assent prior to participation. 3) Once the assent form !is signed, students complete the Language History Questionnaire. 4) A cap! with electrodes will be placed on the student’s head. The naturally occurring electrical activity from! assemblies of neurons (electroencephalogram, or EEG) will be detected at the scalp with a standard !electrode configuration (Jasper's 10-20 configuration), with an additional electrode behind the! ear (on the mastoid bone, this

serves as reference). To measure eye blinks one electrode will be placed beneath the eye, and one next to the eye (trials during which the student has blinked need to be adjusted in the later analysis to obtain a better signal). A small amount of conductive gel is !placed in the “cup” of each electrode to serve as a link between the scalp and the electrode.!

Figure 2. Demonstration picture of the EEG technique and placement of the electrode-cap (Janet van Hell and her daughter – daughter gave permission for using picture) 5) Once the cap is in place, participants will be given instructions for the tasks and a

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button box for responses. 6) Participants will complete the primary experimental task and !then secondary behavioral tasks. (Specific tasks are described below.) For all tasks, practice trials will precede !experimental blocks. Breaks will be given throughout as needed. 7) Button press responses will be recorded to evaluate reaction !times and accuracy. EEG signals time-locked to the onset of the stimuli will be recorded for later analysis.! 8) After the conclusion of the EEG task, electrodes will be removed, and the participant will be given !a break. 9) Then behavioral tasks will be administered. 10) Once these tasks are completed, the participant will be debriefed and compensated before leaving. The EEG measurement will take place in one session. Total testing time of this session will be 1-1.5 hour (depending on student's progress and time constraints): 15 minutes for consent process and language background questionnaire, 15 minutes for application of the cap, 30-60 minutes for EEG and behavioral tasks (including self-timed breaks), and 5 minutes for debriefing. If needed, a second session (0.5-1 hour) will be scheduled to complete remaining behavioral tasks (and debriefing will be postponed to this second session. Primary EEG Task:! All students will be presented with the same core materials. Stimuli will be presented on a computer screen. Students will perform one of the !following tasks: translation recognition task (indicate if the second word is a correct !translation of the first word), lexical decision task (indicate if a letter string is a word or not), or a sentence reading task (sentences will be presented and !student must indicate whether sentences are grammatically acceptable or not). Secondary Behavioral tasks. These include: 1) Measures of proficiency in Spanish and in English; 2) measures of cognitive resources; 3) measure of attitude and motivation to learn a foreign language. Completing this test battery takes about 60-70 minutes. Proficiency measures will include the Peabody! Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Formulated Sentences subtest of the Comprehensive Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF), both !in English and Spanish. The PPVT presents 4 numbered photos on the screen, and !upon a one word description from the experimenter, participants indicate which photo is ! described through number naming. In the Formulated Sentences subtest of the CELF, the experimenter shows the participant a picture and gives them a word. The participant must make up a sentence using the word about the picture. Cognitive resource tasks will measure executive! control (Attentional Network Task, ANT) and working memory (Operation Span, the Number Repetition subtest of the CELF. In the ANT task, participants ignore a series of flanker items (congruent (>>>>>), neutral (-->--), or incongruent) to press a button corresponding to a target. In the Operation Span task, participants see a word, which they are asked to remember, and are then asked to solve a mathematical problem quickly and accurately. This pattern repeats four or five times, and then the participant is asked to recall the words or letters. Attitude and motivation to learn a foreign language will be assessed using the Attitude

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and Motivation Test!, consisting of 11 multiple-choice questions. ! Discomforts and Risks to Participants: Behavioral testing: There are no risks in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. Additionally, any discomfort will be minimal and no more than what one would experience in daily life. Students will be given breaks within and between tasks, but may also choose to end the study at any time. EEG/ERP testing: There are no risks in participating in this research beyond those encountered in everyday life, as the method being used to record brainwaves is safe and non-invasive. The following discomforts may be associated with this type of research, but they are not common: 1. The elastic electrode cap may produce some pressure on the forehead, much like a

tight baseball cap. A participant's head will be measured to ensure that the proper cap size is used and participants will be asked to indicate if the cap is too tight, and every effort will be made to ensure that this is not the case.

2. Some participants also experience mild discomfort when the Q-tip is used to make a connection between the skin and electrode with the gel, like the sensation of a vigorous hair brushing.

3. A small fraction of participants (less than 1%) have skin allergies that make them sensitive to the electrode gel and/or skin cleanser used in this research. These allergies typically result in a mild redness that goes away on its own once the gel or cream is removed. A small amount of gel may remain in a participant's hair until it is washed, and when the gel dries it will harden (like hair gel). The gel washes out easily with shampoo and water.

Participants will be asked to tell the experimenter at any time if they are experiencing discomfort; every effort will be made to make them comfortable. If a participant reports discomfort that cannot be attenuated, they will be invited to terminate their session and be compensated for their time. Minimization of Risks: 1. Our research design has been approved by the Penn State IRB board and has been

designed by senior researchers with many years of design experience. 2. All research personnel has completed EEG and behavioral research training, as

well as ethical conduct training. 3. Any research assistants on the applicants’ team will be trained not only on IRB

protocol for treatment of human subjects, but also on the procedures regarding identifying information.

4. All research personnel has gone through recommended clearances: PSU background check, FBI fingerprint test, and the mandated reporter training.

5. All procedures and activities will comply with PSU requirements for working with children (AD39 and AD72).

6. Prior to participation participants will be screened to ensure that they are not included in our study if their results cannot be used.

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7. Participants will be asked to tell the experimenter at any time if they are experiencing discomfort; every effort will be made to make them comfortable.

8. If a participant reports discomfort that cannot be attenuated, they will be invited to terminate their session and be compensated for their time. !

Benefits of Research to SCASD and Field of Education: Potential benefits to participating students: The experimenter will explain the process of collecting EEG data during cap application and at the debriefing after the experiment is completed. The experimenter will also explain the nature of the experiment and the goals so that students can learn more about cognitive neuroscience studies of language processing. Students will also be allowed to look at their own EEG data if they wish to see what brain waves look like. The experimenter will answer all of the student's questions and offer to provide additional information about the results of the study at the termination of the project. Our experience is that students are interested in learning more about research on language processing and research techniques that are used to study this. Moreover, students in the process of acquiring a foreign language are often pleased to share their language-learning experience with us. As described above, we regularly give in-class presentations on brain and language science and live demonstrations of measuring brain waves using EEG. We would be happy to organize such presentations at the Delta Program, in consultation with students and faculty. Potential Benefits to SCASD and Field of Education This study will lead to a better understanding of how second language learners manage phonological, lexical-semantic, and syntactic information across languages, and use of the EEG technique will provide an invaluable opportunity to observe the time-course of language processing in the brain. Results of this type of research may ultimately lead to the development of better teaching strategies for language learners. In addition, attaining a clearer understanding of linguistic processing in the brain has implications for theories of native and second language learning, forms of memory representation, and the relations between language and thought. Our research team frequently contributes to parent meetings, teacher meetings, science fairs, and other outreach activities during which we provide information about brain research, second language learning, and world language pedagogy. Duration of the Study: Proposed Start Date: March/April, 2016 Expected End Date: June, 2017 Statement of Confidentiality: The following provisions will be used to maintain confidentiality:

• Password protected computer files • Locked file cabinets • Locked offices • Identification coding system

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Consent forms and all other personally identifying information will be stored in a locked filing cabinet that only individuals involved with the research can access. With respect to the language history questionnaire which will be administered using GoogleDocs, the survey responses will be output to a spreadsheet in a password protected Microsoft Excel format. Only researchers involved in this study will have access to the password protected output spreadsheet for these surveys. Personal identifiers will be stripped from all experimental data. All materials will be identified only by participant number. Labels for study data will consist of a three-digit number. Participants will also be informed about the steps used to maintain confidentiality of their data. Use of Codes, Master List In order to safeguard confidentiality and security of data files, accounts containing data will be password protected. All identifying student information will be stored separately from their data files, and will be stored on the secure Penn State server in a Microsoft Excel file locked with a password known only to the PI, and associated researchers. Storage of Data and/or Specimens All data will be de-identified before analysis and interpretation and reported as group values and will not be identifiable as individual participant’s information. No identifying information will be released to federal or other agencies, except as required by law. Participating students will not be specifically identified in any publication of research results or correspondence as a result of their participation. Data will be stored with the participant’s three-digit number on the secure Penn State server in a password-protected directory that is only accessible to the PI and associated researchers. Hard copies of the data (questionnaire) will be stored in the locked laboratory of the PI in a locked filing cabinet. All information will be stored for the length of time required by federal regulations/funding source and then destroyed [minimum of 3 years]. Right to Ask Questions: All participants have the right to ask questions before, during, and after study participation. Researchers will provide all participants with information about the study prior to participation, and encourage participants to ask questions. After study participation, researchers will review the study’s purpose and questions with participants. Compensation for Participation: Participating students will personally receive a small gift and a $20 gift certificate in exchange for their participation. Parents will be provided compensation in the form of a photograph of their child during the ERP portion of the experiment. The photograph will be taken once the ERP cap has been properly affixed, and will be printed and sent home with the participant as a keepsake for them and their families. This has been a small token of compensation that participants have greatly enjoyed in experiments previously run by the PI. Parental permission will be obtained prior to awarding gifts. Voluntary Participation: All participation in the research is voluntary. Dr. Jon Downs at the Delta Program has

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given his initial approval to the project, and researchers will continue to work with him and his staff throughout the project. Informed consent will be obtained from all research participants. Parents/caregivers will sign consent forms prior to their children’s participation. Prior to their participation, children will give their written assent to participation. All participants have the right to discontinue participation at any time. Study point of contact: Janet van Hell, Ph.D Professor of Psychology and Linguistics Co-Director, Center for Language Science Pennsylvania State University 414 Moore Building Phone: 814-867-2337 Email: jgv3@psu.edu SCASD point of contact: Jon Downs, Ph.D Program Director, Delta Program 814-231-1000 jmd16@scasd.org Literature References Gullberg, M. & Indefrey, P. (2010). The earliest stages of language learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-

Blackwell. McLaughlin, J., Osterhout, L., and Kim, A. (2004). Neural correlates of second-language word learning:

minimal instruction produces rapid change. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 703-704. Nippold, M. A. (2007). Later language development: School-age children, adolescents, and young adults

(3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Poarch, G. J., Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2015). Accessing word meaning in beginning second language

learners: Lexical or conceptual mediation? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 18 (3), 357-371. Talamas, A., Kroll, J. F., & Dufour, R. (1999). Form related errors in second language learning: A

preliminary stage in the acquisition of L2 vocabulary. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2, 45-58. Tokowicz, N., & MacWhinney, B. (2005). Implicit and explicit measures of sensitivity to violations in

second language grammar - An event-related potential investigation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 173-204.

Van Hell, J. G., & Kroll, J. F. (2013). Using electrophysiological measures to track the mapping of words to concepts in the bilingual brain: a focus on translation. In J. Altarriba & L. Isurin (Eds.), Memory, Language, and Bilingualism: Theoretical and Applied Approaches (pp. 126-160). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Van Hell, J. G., & Tokowicz, N. (2010). Event-related brain potentials and second language learning: Syntactic processing in late L2 learners at different L2 proficiency levels. Second Language Research, 26, 43-74.

YOUNG SCHOLARS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA CHART ER SCHOOL

Address: 1530 Westerly Parkway State College, PA 16801 Phone: (814) 237-9727 E-mail: info@yscp.org www.yscp.org

September 11, 2015 Dr. Robert J. O’Donnell, Superintendent Board of State College Area School District 131 W Nittany Ave, State College, PA 16801 Dear Dr. O’Donnell and School Directors, It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Dr. Janet Van Hell and her research team. Dr. Van Hell has led research projects at our school, Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School, and their impacts on the school have been positive for teachers, students, and families. In the 2011-12 school year, we began collaborating with Dr. Van Hell on the topic of child second language development. Early in our collaboration, Dr. Van Hell was a panelist for our 2012 Education Dialogue Night: Foreign Language Learning in Early Childhood Education. Dr. Van Hell shared her research, including current research findings in bilingualism, on the developmental course of learning a second language early in life. Her presentation was very informative and accessible to both parents and professionals. Since that time, Dr. Van Hell and her research team have participated in several professional development sessions at our school. The teachers are always engaged and appreciate the opportunity to learn about the research being conducted at our school. Dr. Van Hell and her research team have been conducting research projects at our school since 2013. After administrative approval, the research team takes the time to explain the research to each classroom. The children enjoy learning about their brains and having a chance to see real brainwaves when a member of the research team demonstrates the EEG equipment. When parents enroll their children in the research studies, the research team works with the classroom teachers to find times that will not disrupt learning and classroom activities. We have limited space available for researchers at our school, so we appreciate Dr. Van Hell’s RV mobile lab. The RV allows the research team to work with students at

the school but not in the building. We have parking limitations at our school, but the research team was able to schedule their visits at times that would not affect busses and pick-up/drop-off. In sum, our school has greatly enjoyed and benefited from working with Dr. Van Hell and her team. I am happy to recommend her research projects for approval by the State College Area School District. Sincerely,

Levent Kaya, PhD CEO-Principal Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School

1700 Moore Street, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 16652-2196 Phone 814-641-3656 • Fax 814-641-3695 • E-mail westcott@juniata.edu

October 26, 2015

Dear SCASD School Board, It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Dr. Janet Van Hell and her team to conduct research in the State College Area School District. Over the years, several members of our faculty have collaborated with Dr. Van Hell on her research in second language learning and bilingualism. In the 2014-2015 academic year I worked with Dr. Van Hell’s post-doctoral scholar, Dr. Katharine Donnelly Adams, to arrange for Juniata College students to participate in research on second language learning. After approval from Juniata’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), we arranged for the research team to work with students on our campus, collecting the data for their ongoing research project. The research team was extremely flexible in identifying convenient times and spaces for the collection of data, so there was no interference with our daily operations. Faculty members, students, and staff found the research team consistently professional in their interactions. In addition, the students who participated in the research project reported that they found the experience enriching. As a result, we are working with Dr. Van Hell’s team again this year. In conclusion, I recommend Dr. Van Hell’s research projects for approval by the State College Area School District. Sincerely,

Kathryn M. Westcott, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology

ID00000026

IRB$Program$Office&for&Research&Protections&

Vice&President&for&Research&The&Pennsylvania&State&University&205&The&330&Building&University&Park,&PA&&16802&

Phone&:&(814)&865I1775&Fax:&(814)&863I8699&Email&:&orprotections@psu.edu&&Web&:&www.research.psu.edu/orp

APPROVAL OF SUBMISSION

Date: October 30, 2015

From: Joyel Moeller, IRB Analyst

To: Adriana van Hell

Type of Submission: Continuing Review

Title of Study: Lexical and sentence processing in novice L2 learners: Psycholinguistic and neurocognitive investigations

Principal Investigator: Adriana van Hell

Study ID: PRAMS00041301

Submission ID: CR00002740

Funding: National Science Foundation

IND,IDE, or HDE: Not Applicable

Documents Approved: • Summer Participation2.docx (2), Category: Other • Email Recruitment Adults.doc (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • LHQ.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • School Information Session (contact).docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • Sentence Acceptability task.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Adult Consent BioMed Mobile Novice L2 Paid_NWM.pdf (0.02), Category: Consent Form • Lexical Decision task.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Email Response Recruitment (contact).docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • 2nd letter to parents.docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test _ 2 (KBIT-2).docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Simon.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Adult Debriefing Form.doc (0.01), Category: Other • Word Learning Task.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Novice L2 learning SUBMITTED.pdf (0.01), Category: Sponsor Attachment • Paren Consent Child Assent CogNeuro BioMed Ages 5

to 17NWM (5).pdf (5), Category: Consent Form • Parent consent Child Assent form for pilot data collection (2), Category: Consent Form • Mini-AMTB.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Formulated Sentences from the Comprehensive Test of Language Fundamentals.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Corsi Block Tapping (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Adult email recruitment.docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • In class recruitment.doc (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • Certificate of Translation -- Spanish.docx (0.01), Category: Other • Certficate of Translation --German.docx (0.01), Category: Other • Adult Consent BioMed Novice L2 SUBJECT POOL Spanish VersionNWM.pdf (1), Category: Consent Form • Number Repetition from the Comprehensive Evaluation of Language Fundamentals.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Sentence Reading Span task.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • German Proficiency.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • First letter to parents.docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • Adult Recruitment Flyer Intro Spanish.ppt (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • Adult Language History.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Translation recognition task.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • L2 Lexical Protocol (15), Category: IRB Protocol • Operation Span Task.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Certificate of Translation -- English to Spanish.docx (0.01), Category: Other • Spanish Adult Recruitment Flyer.pdf (0.01), Category: Recruitment Materials • Adult Consent BioMed Paid Novice L2 Spanish VersionNWM.pdf (1), Category: Consent Form • Child Language History.docx (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • PPVT.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Email recruitment for pilot data collection (to parents) (0.01), Category: Recruitment Materials • Adult Consent BioMed Novice L2 Paid (2)NWM.pdf (1), Category: Consent Form

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IRB$Program$Office&for&Research&Protections&

Vice&President&for&Research&The&Pennsylvania&State&University&205&The&330&Building&University&Park,&PA&&16802&

Phone&:&(814)&865I1775&Fax:&(814)&863I8699&Email&:&orprotections@psu.edu&&Web&:&www.research.psu.edu/orp

• 3rd letter to parents.docx (1), Category: Recruitment Materials • TROG.doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • ANT .doc (0.01), Category: Data Collection Instrument • Adult Consent BioMed Novice L2 Subject PoolNWM.pdf (0.02), Category: Consent Form • Adult Recruitment Flyer.ppt (1), Category: Recruitment Materials

Review Level: Expedited

IRB Board Meeting Date:

On 10/29/2015, the IRB approved the above-referenced Continuing Review. This approval is effective through 10/29/2016 inclusive. You must submit a continuing review form with all required explanations for this study at least 45 days before the study’s approval end date. You can submit a continuing review by navigating to the active study and clicking ‘Create Modification / CR’. If continuing review approval is not granted before 10/29/2016, approval of this study expires on that date. To document consent, use the consent documents that were approved and stamped by the IRB. Go to the Documents tab to download them. In conducting this study, you are required to follow the requirements listed in the Investigator Manual (HRP-103), which can be found by navigating to the IRB Library within CATS IRB (http://irb.psu.edu). These requirements include, but are not limited to:

• Documenting consent • Requesting modification(s) • Requesting continuing review • Closing a study • Reporting new information about a study • Registering an applicable clinical trial • Maintaining research records

This correspondence should be maintained with your records.

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Informed Consent Form for Biomedical ResearchParent Consent/Child Assent (5-17 years)The Pennsylvania State University

Title of Project: Cognitive and Neural Processes in Language Learners

Principal Investigator: Dr. Janet van Hell414 Moore BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802 814-867-2337; jgv3@psu.edu

1. Purpose of the study: The purpose of this research study is to study how the brain processes language. This project is designed to learn specifically about how people who speak two languages learn to manage the information from both of their languages. In addition, we will be comparing the performance of child second language learners to adult second language learners.

2. Procedures to be followed: You will be asked to answer questions about your child's language history. Your child will participate in several different activities, and during these activities your child may be audiotaped and/or videotaped. The activities include:

a. Tests of understanding and speaking language (both English and Spanish). i. A test in which they read or hear sentences in English and/or Spanish, and respond

as to whether the question was a correct or incorrect sentence through button presses. During this test they will be wearing a cap through which we will measure naturally occurring brain activity. The equipment is completely safe and has undergone rigorous safety examinations. The measurement involves placing a cap on the child’s head, which looks much like a swimming cap with holes in it. In each hole a safe non-irritating gel will be filled, and a non-invasive electrode will be placed on to the hole. Again, these electrodes will have no interaction with your child’s head, but rather through the gel will measure naturally occurring electrical activity. This cap will only be worn for this test.

ii. A picture naming task, where a picture will appear on the computer screen and your child will name the picture in either Spanish or English.

iii. A vocabulary test, in which a page with 4 pictures will be presented to your child. Upon hearing a word (in either Spanish or English), your child will select which picture matches that word.

iv. A test for reception of grammar, in which a page with 4 pictures will be presented to your child. Upon hearing a sentence (in either Spanish or English), your child will select which picture matches the sentence they just heard.

v. A test for translation abilities, in which your child will hear or read two words, and answer whether the second word was a translation of the first.

b. Tests of attentional switching and control.i. A test to measure cognitive control, in which your child will see arrows and/or lines

on a computer screen. The arrows can either all be facing in the same direction or in different direction from the center arrow, or lines can be surrounding the center arrow. Your child will tell us which direction the center arrow is facing.

ii. A test to measure cognitive control, in which a red square or blue square will appear in the center, left, or right on the screen. Your child will respond with a designated button press with the color of the box.

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c. A test to see how much your child can remember.i. A test in which your child will listen to or read sentences in English and Spanish,

and will be asked to remember the last word in each sentence. After each sentence they will answer a comprehension question about the previous sentence. After a set of sentences, your child will be asked to repeat, in order, the last words in each sentence they heard.

d. A test to see how your child feels about language learningi. A test in which your child will see questions related to Spanish, and their motivation

in learning it. Your child will either read or be read questions, and will select an answer from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.

3. Duration: Based on your child’s language history profile s/he may be invited to participate in language and attention testing after 60 hours of classroom Spanish instruction and another follow-up testing session after 100 hours of Spanish classroom instruction. Your child will be asked to take part in two to four testing sessions. All sessions will last no longer than one hour.

4. Discomforts and Risks: Overall, there are no risks in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. You and your child don't have to answer any questions or do any activities that you don't want to.

During the test utilizing the cap, the method being used to record brainwaves is safe and non-invasive. The following discomforts may be associated with this type of research, but they are not common:1) The elastic electrode cap may produce some pressure on the forehead, much like a tight

baseball cap. A participant's head will be measured to ensure that the proper cap size is used and participants will be asked to indicate if the cap is too tight, and every effort will be made to ensure that this is not the case.

2) Some participants also experience mild discomfort when a Q-tip is used to make a connection between the skin and electrode with the gel, like the sensation of a vigorous hair brushing.

3) A small fraction of participants (less than 1%) have skin allergies that make them sensitive to the electrode gel and/or skin cleanser used in this research. These allergies typically result in a mild redness that goes away on its own once the gel or cream is removed. A small amount of gel may remain in your child’s hair until it is washed, and when the gel dries it will harden (like hair gel). The gel washes out very easily with shampoo and water. Your child will be asked to tell us at any time if they are experiencing discomfort; every effort will be made to make them comfortable. If your child reports discomfort, and does not want to continue, the session will stop. Your child will still receive compensation (as detailed below), for participation in this testing.

5. Benefits: If you request it, you will receive a report of your child's performance on the tests. This may help you better understand your child's strengths and needs. This research may help us to better understand language learning, so we can help all children learn language better.

6. Statement of Confidentiality: Your child’s participation in this research is confidential. All possible steps have been taken to assure your child’s privacy. Information that could be used to identify you or your child (such as name and address) will be stored securely and separately from other information about your child, which will be designated by a code number. This information will only be accessible to the investigators listed on the cover page, and their research staff. Only this code (and never their name) will be used when analyzing or reporting the data. Your child’s

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data and consent form will be kept separate. Your child’s consent form will be stored in a locked location on Penn State property and will not be disclosed to third parties.

The sessions will be recorded on video- and audio-tape. These tapes will also be designated by a code number, and will be stored in a locked cabinet, which is in an office or laboratory that is also kept locked. The tapes will be stored simply for your child’s protection, and will be destroyed after research is completed.

In the event of any publication or presentation resulting from the research, no personally identifiable information will be shared. The results of the research, including but not limited to your child’s images, may be published and presented at lectures and professional meetings, but your child will not be identified in any such publication or presentation.

The following may review and copy records related to this research: The Office of Human Research Protections in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Institutional Review Board and the PSU Office for Research Protections.

Please note that the investigators are obligated by ethical standards to report to the appropriate agencies any concerns for a child's well-being.

7. Right to Ask Questions: Please contact Dr. Janet van Hell at 814-867-2337 with questions, complaints or concerns about this research. You can also call this number if you feel this study has harmed you. If you have any questions, concerns, problems about your rights as a research participant or would like to offer input, please contact The Pennsylvania State University’s Office for Research Protections (ORP) at (814) 865-1775. The ORP cannot answer questions about research procedures. Questions about research procedures can be answered by the research team.

8. Injury clause: In the unlikely event your child becomes injured as a result of their participation in this study, medical care is available but neither financial compensation nor free medical treatment is provided. By signing this document, you are not waiving any rights that your child has against The Pennsylvania State University for injury resulting from negligence of the University or its investigators.

9. Compensation: If your child is invited to take part in the testing sessions, they will receive a small gift and a $20 gift certificate to the Penn State Creamery in exchange for their participation. In addition, your child's classroom will receive a gift for all students to enjoy, such as a book or a new piece of educational software. You will be provided compensation in the form of a photograph of your child during the cap portion of the experiment. The photograph will be taken once the cap has been properly affixed, and will be printed and sent home with your child as a keepsake for them and your family.

10. Voluntary Participation: Your child does not have to participate in this research. They can end your participation at any time by telling the person in charge. You and your child do not have to answer any questions you do not want to answer. Refusal to take part in or withdrawing from this study will involve no penalty or loss of benefits you would receive otherwise.

Participating parents must be 18 years or older. You will be given a copy of this form for your records.

Your signature is needed as a participant, because you will answer some questions about your child.

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______________________________________ _____________________PARTICIPANT SIGNATURE DATE

Your signature is also needed on behalf of your child.

I give permission for my child (print name), ______________________________, to participate in this research.

______________________________________ _____________________PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN SIGNATURE DATE

I certify that I have explained the nature and purpose of this research study to the above individual and I have discussed the potential benefits and possible risks of participation in the study. Any questions the individual has about this study have been answered and any future questions will be answered as they arise.

______________________________________ _____________________SIGNATURE OF PERSON OBTAINING CONSENT DATE

PRAMS00041301Approval: 10/29/2015Approval End Date: 10/29/2016