Summary of My PhD Thesis

My doctoral thesis is an investigation of how Greek L1 speakers conceptualize and describe everyday events when learning English as a foreign language, with the objective of improving English language instruction through insights from cognitive linguistics. The project adopts a cognitively grounded approach to language instruction, drawing on theories of event cognition (e.g., Radvansky & Zacks, 2014), cognitive semantics (e.g., Talmy, 2000a, 2000b), and typological variation in event encoding across languages (e.g., Slobin, 1996, 2004). The overarching goal is pedagogical: to identify some of the conceptual challenges Greek speakers face when learning English and to develop practical classroom tools and materials that address those challenges directly.

In contrast to previous research which has often integrated cognitive linguistics principles into second language teaching by focusing on conceptual metaphors and vocabulary learning (e.g., Fang, 2014; Masuda et al., 2015), this project emphasizes cognitive facilitation for learners through targeted instruction based on event structure awareness. The thesis responds to an increasing interest in how language-specific cognitive habits shape L2 learning, and how cognitive models can improve learning outcomes (e.g., Ellis & Wulff, 2019; Schwieter, 2023; Schwieter & Benati, 2019, pp. 109-208 and 475-646).

The thesis asks how conceptual contrasts between Greek and English influence learners’ use of English, and how this knowledge can be translated into cognitively informed teaching practices. The methodology combines comparative linguistic analysis and classroom-based experimentation. First, descriptions of audiovisual input (footage of real-life recordings (accessible online on databases such as EPIC-KITCHENS-100, 2018)) provided by native Greek and English speakers are analyzed for patterns related to motion, agency, spatial configuration, and transitivity. These findings then inform the design of cognitively based pedagogical interventions implemented with Greek EFL learners, who are either older adolescents (14+) or university students (18-25). Age-appropriate adaptations ensure that tasks are developmentally aligned: teenagers benefit from more structured and collaborative activities, while adult learners engage in deeper metalinguistic reflection. The interventions include a variety of tasks: conceptual maps, fill-in-the-frame sentence templates, event sequencing timelines, force dynamics visuals, and card-sorting for syntactic structure. Learners also engage in self-evaluation and reflection to promote metacognitive awareness. These tools enhance both learners’ linguistic accuracy and their conceptual awareness when constructing English event descriptions.

The thesis offers both theoretical and practical contributions: it offers empirical insight into Greek-English event encoding differences; it also proposes a cognitive-pedagogical model for event-based L2 instruction and provides a replicable, classroom-tested toolkit for educators working with learners from typologically distinct linguistic backgrounds.

References
Ellis, N. C., & Wulff, S. (2019). Cognitive Approaches to Second Language Acquisition. In J. W. Schwieter & A. Benati (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning (pp. 41-61). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108333603.003

Fang, X. (2014). Conceptual metaphor and vocabulary teaching in the EFL context. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 4(2), 375-378. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2014.42030

Masuda, K., Arnett, C., & Labarca, A. (Eds.). (2015). Cognitive Linguistics and Sociocultural Theory: Applications for Second and Foreign Language Teaching. De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614514442.

Radvansky, G. A., & Zacks, J. M. (2014). Event Cognition. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199898138.001.0001

Schwieter, J. W. (Ed.). (2023). Multilingualism: Consequences for the Brain and Mind. MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-8038-8.

Schwieter, J. W., & Benati, A. (Eds.). (2019). The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108333603.

Slobin, D. I. (1996). From “thought and language” to “thinking for speaking”. In J. J. Gumperz & S. C. Levinson (Eds.), Rethinking Linguistic Relativity (pp. 70-96). Cambridge Univeristy Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243770191

Slobin, D. I. (2004). The Many Ways to Search for a Frog: Linguistic Typology and the Expression of Motion Events. In L. Verhoeven & S. Strömqvist (Eds.), Relating events in narrative: Typological and contextual perspectives (Vol. 2, pp. 219-257). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410609694

Talmy, L. (2000a). Toward a cognitive semantics: Concept Structuring Systems (Vol. 1). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/6847.001.0001

Talmy, L. (2000b). Toward a cognitive semantics: Typology and process in concept structuring (Vol. 2). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/6848.001.0001

Database (one example)
Damen, D., Doughty, H., Farinella, G. M., Fidler, S., Furnari, A., Kazakos, E., Moltisanti, D., Munro, J., Perrett, T., Price, W., & Wray, M. (2021). The EPIC-KITCHENS Dataset: Collection, Challenges and Baselines. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 43(11), 4125-4141. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPAMI.2020.2991965

EPIC-KITCHENS-100. (2018). https://epic-kitchens.github.io/2025

Indicative Bibliography
Anagnostopoulou, E. (1993). Discourse linking and subjects in Modern Greek. Linguistics in the Netherlands, 10(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1075/avt.10.03ana

Athanasopoulos, P. (2009). Cognitive Representation of Colour in Bilinguals: The Case of Greek Blues. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(1), 83-95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136672890800388X

Athanasopoulos, P., & Albright, D. (2016). A Perceptual Learning Approach to the Whorfian Hypothesis: Supervised Classification of Motion. Language Learning, 66(3), 666-689. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12180

Athanasopoulos, P., & Bylund, E. (2013). Does Grammatical Aspect Affect Motion Event Cognition? A Cross-Linguistic Comparison of English and Swedish Speakers. Cognitive Science, 37(2), 286-309. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12006

Bacelar Valente, M. (2022). Do All Languages Share the Same Conceptual Structure? Cognitive Semantics, 8(2), 159-180. https://doi.org/10.1163/23526416-08020001

Beck, C., & Butt, M. (2024). The rise of dative subjects: Relative prominence in event structure. In C. Sevdali, D. Mertyris, & E. Anagnostopoulou (Eds.), The Place of Case in Grammar. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198865926.003.0010

Beckett, G. H. (2024). A Paradigm Shift for Language Education: Project-Based Learning and Teaching (1 ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032700205

Beréndi, M., Csábi, S., & Kovecses, Z. (2008). Using conceptual metaphors and metonymies in vocabulary teaching. Applications of Cognitive Linguistics, 6, 65. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110199161.2.65

Cohn, N., Paczynski, M., & Kutas, M. (2017). Not so secret agents: Event-related potentials to semantic roles in visual event comprehension. Brain and Cognition, 119, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2017.09.001

Fendel, V. B. (Ed.). (2024). Support-verb constructions in the corpora of Greek: between lexicon and grammar? https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100154.

Koutsoukos, N. (2021). Denominal verb formation in English and Modern Greek. Languages in Contrast, 21(1), 138-161. https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.19020.kou

Mattheoudakis, M., & Maligkoudi, C. (Eds.). (2025). Exploring Modern Greek as a Second, Foreign, and Heritage Language: In Greece and Beyond. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003319306.

Montero-Melis, G., Jaeger, T. F., & Bylund, E. (2016). Thinking Is Modulated by Recent Linguistic Experience: Second Language Priming Affects Perceived Event Similarity. Language Learning, 66(3), 636-665. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12172

Rodríguez, Y. V., & Elizaincín, A. (Eds.). (2024). Language Conflict in Educational Settings: International perspectives (1 ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003376521.

Tsitoura, M. (2022). Conceptual Metaphor Theory in English language teaching: Developing EFL learners’ metaphor awareness. Selected papers on theoretical and applied linguistics, 24, 804-817. https://doi.org/10.26262/istal.v24i0.9222

Ziaeetabar, F., Safabakhsh, R., Momtazi, S., Tamosiunaite, M., & Wörgötter, F. (2024). Multi sentence description of complex manipulation action videos. Machine Vision and Applications, 35(4), 64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00138-024-01547-x