THE ROLE OF AWARENESS IN L2 DEVELOPMENT: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PEDAGOGY

Cognitive psychology and cognitive science appear to agree that attention to stimuli is needed for long-term memory storage and that little, if any, learning can take place without attention.  One strand of psycholinguistic research that has drawn quite a lot of interest, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective, is the role awareness plays in second language acquisition (SLA). To promote a further understanding of the role of awareness may potentially contribute to L2 development. This article will (1) briefly describe current theoretical approaches to the role of awareness in language learning, (2) review recent studies that have employed verbal reports to investigate the effects of awareness on L2 development, and (3) provide, based on the review, some awareness-raising pedagogical tasks for the L2 classroom setting. Keywords: attention, awareness, detection, feedback, L2 development, noticing, task-essentialnes

WCF processing in the L2 curriculum: A look at type of WCF, type of linguistic item, and L2 performance

Whether type of written corrective feedback (WCF) impacts L2 learning has been investigated for decades. While many product-oriented studies report conflicting findings, the paucity of studies adopting both a process-oriented and curricular approach (e.g., Caras, 2019) underscores the call for further research on: a) the processing dimension of L2 writers’ engagement with WCF in this instructed setting (Manchón & Leow, 2020), b) from an ISLA applied perspective (Leow, 2019a; Leow & Manchón, 2022), and c) any potential relationship with subsequent performances. Also, whether type of linguistic item (e.g., morphological vs. syntactic) plays a role in the processing dimension also warrants further probing. This preliminary quasi-experimental study explored the cognitive processes of 10 adult L2 writers with minimal previous exposure to Spanish interacting with WCF (both direct and metalinguistic) on morphological and syntactic errors. Think aloud data gathered from three compositions written within the natural writing conditions of a foreign language curriculum were transcribed, coded for depth of processing (DoP) (Leow, 2015), and correlated with subsequent performances on the target items. The results revealed: 1) a higher DoP for metalinguistic WCF, 2) differences in processing of linguistic items, 3) similar DoP over time, and 4) a beneficial relationship between DoP and subsequent performances. Recommendations for future research underscore the importance of acknowledging variables within the instructed setting that may impact a pure effect of WCF on L2 development

Deconstructing the I and SLA in ISLA: One curricular approach

Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) has been referenced in the larger field of the SLA literature for over two and a half decades. Currently, there are several theoretical underpinnings accounting for processes assumed to play a role in ISLA and quite an impressive number of studies have empirically addressed some aspect(s) of ISLA. Recently, a lengthy and relatively cohesive treatise of this substrand of SLA research in relation to both theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical perspectives has been published in two books (cf. Leow, 2015a; Loewen, 2015), and a new model of the L2 learning process in ISLA has been proposed (Leow, 2015a). These publications are timely and important given that the concept of ISLA not only needs to be clearly defined but also situated contextually. To this end, this article (a) revisits current definitions of ISLA in the SLA literature with the aim of identifying specific features of ISLA that underlie such definitions, (b) deconstructs ISLA by probing deeper into what comprises the terms instructed and SLA in ISLA, (c) provides a brief summary of the cognitive processes and variables postulated by the theoretical underpinnings of ISLA and pertinent empirical research, (d) recommends that ISLA be observed from one curricular approach together with its empirical and pedagogical ramifications, and (e) provides some measure of direction future ISLA research may follow

The Role of Awareness in L2 Development: Theory, Research, and Pedagogy

Cognitive psychology and cognitive science appear to agree that attention to stimuli is needed for long-term memory storage and that little, if any, learning can take place without attention. One strand of psycholinguistic research that has drawn quite a lot of interest, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective, is the role awareness plays in second language acquisition (SLA). To promote a further understanding of the role of awareness may potentially contribute to L2 development. This article will (1) briefly describe current theoretical approaches to the role of awareness in language learning, (2) review recent studies that have employed verbal reports to investigate the effects of awareness on L2 development, and (3) provide, based on the review, some awareness-raising pedagogical tasks for the L2 classroom setting

Input enhancement and L2 grammatical development: What the research reveals

The role of input enhancement (IE; Sharwood Smith, 1991, 1993) in L2 grammatical development remains a controversial issue in the SLA field.Adding to the inconclusive findings is the broad definition of the term “input enhancement” found in the SLA literature and the various methodological approaches taken to its operationalization and measurement. On the one hand, some instructional strands of research appear to share Sharwood Smith’s broadest definition of input enhancement, which conflates the independent variable enhancement with other instructional independent variables. On the other hand, other strands of research methodologically tease out the variable enhancement and compare the effects of this variable to its absence on L2 development. This chapter examines these two substrands coexisting within the concept of input enhancement to provide a clearer picture of the role of input enhancement in L2 grammatical development. More specifically, the chapter critically assesses Sharwood Smith’s concept of input enhancement, which appears to have undergone a theoretical change from its original notion of consciousness- raising in relation to the role of awareness in his postulation and also a change from a product to a process perspective. It also critically evaluates separately the two substrands, placing a strong emphasis on the research methodologies employed in these studies in relation to their internal and external validities; it then compares the differences between these substrands. Finally, the chapter provides informed suggestions, based on the appropriate robustness of research findings, that teachers may wish to consider to understand and evaluate the potential contribution that input enhancement may have regarding learners’ L2 grammatical development

The effects of simplification, linguistic item, and language experience on second language learners' attention to form contained in the input

Cognitive theory postulates that during the early stages of second language acquisition (SLA), constraints on adult second language (L2) learners' information processing mechanism are largely responsible for what is attended to in the input. Recently, some psycholinguistic studies have begun to investigate the domain of input processing in an effort to understand what L2 learners attend to in the input and how they process this input. Some studies specifically address the concept of intake, which is distinct from input. Intake is defined in this study as that part of the input that has been attended to by L2 learners while processing input.The present study addresses three important issues that can contribute to a better understanding of the cognitive processes L2 learners use while processing written input, namely, the effects of simplification, type of linguistic item, and L2 language experience on learner's attention to form contained in the input.Forty-nine second L2 learners of Spanish in the first semester of university study and 88 learners in the fourth semester received one of the following 4 conditions: a simplified or unsimplified reading passage with the present perfect form or a simplified or unsimplified reading passage with the present subjunctive form. The dependent variable used to measure learners' attention to form was the mean gain scores obtained on a pre- and post test. The task was a multiple-choice recognition assessment task.A significant main effect was found for simplification, with no other significant main effects nor significant interactions. Subjects exposed to the simplified reading passage allocated significantly more attention to the linguistic items in the input than those learners exposed to the unsimplified reading passage. Sample mean gain scores for the non-significant interaction between passage and language experience were submitted to t-test comparisons which reveal that simplification is responsible for a significant difference in attention between the first semester learners.These results address the role of simplified written input at the level of intake in SLA, and provide information on the type of linguistic form L2 learners attend to in written input and how different levels of language experience process this input.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio