ABSTRACT
The theoretical orientation of my department at Concordia was largely "cognitivist", a term we use in the field of second language acquisition to refer to a perspective that regards the individual human mind as the locus of second language learning and development. Immanuel's work, also cognitivist in orientation, was therefore appealing to my supervisor, who immediately saw its value and encouraged me to pursue this line of research. The Barshi Navigation Paradigm provided me with the means to begin to investigate this question. Immanuel's work, also cognitivist in orientation, was therefore appealing to my supervisor, who immediately saw its value and encouraged me to pursue this line of research. Immanuel's work helped shape my work; however, his research questions predated the methodological choices. The paradigm is elegant in its simplicity and its effectiveness. Financially, it's economical to use perfect for a graduate student with limited funding for research.
