Metacognitive language proficiency

For a while, I thought that language proficiency is about whether the processing is automatic or controlled. Native language processing tends to be more automatic, and nonnative language processing tends to start with conscious processing, and as one gets better, the performance becomes more automatic.

In my case, I know that my Korean is largely automatic and I know that my English still has some conscious tendencies.

However, depending on the situation, even native speakers have to make conscious effort in their language activities for better performance. Writing a dissertation, giving a speech, debating, persuading a potential client, etc., etc. The higher the level of processing, the more attentional resources are required for better delivery.

So is this like a U-shaped function? You start out with conscious processing, then it becomes automatic, then you get to do higher-level conscious processing?

Perhaps you could consider the higher level, deliberate processing of language as part of metacognition and differentiate it from the awkward second language performance. Yeah, both require conscious effort, but one is above the mundane requirements of making the utterances appear to be correct (grammar, accent, use of vocab, etc.) , while the other focuses on mostly that.


Will need to look more into metacognition and language to see if this is a viable point.

The horrors of R-L confusion

So far, the funniest examples of r-l minimal pairs I'd heard were "rice/lice" and "election/erection." I got another one.

I was talking with another Korean friend about kalbitang, which I could loosely translate as beef rib stew. My friend told me how her American roommate seemed disgusted by the dish when she had first described it to her. I was puzzled. What's so disgusting about ribs? Then she explained: she had meant to call it "rib soup" but what her roommate heard was "lip soup."

...yeah, I must admit, I enjoy tripes, tongues, kidneys, hearts, etc., etc., but the idea of eating cow "lips" did not appeal to me either.

How quaint are the quest chains in WoW.

Was talking with my husband about a particular achievement in World of Warcraft, and wanted to explain that in order to do it, you have to do a series of quests.
"You have to do a quain to do that."
was what came out of my mouth.

...quest + chain, no doubt.

toilet and twilight.

We were cleaning up the apartment because my father-in-law is coming.
Got the kitchen, dining room, and the living room done.
Before going to bed, hubby reminded me to clean up my bathroom tomorrow.
And he added something that sounded to me like: "Make sure the toilet looks invisible."
What?
What he had actually said: "Make sure that the Twilight books are invisible."
(My parents-in-law abhor vampires.)

I guess I was tired.