Selected Topics in Applied Linguistics: How to Choose a Theory. I offer a critical exploration of some of the conditions involved in Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA), as well as of the paradoxical approaches in the theoretical questions, methods, categories, and perspectives of ISLA.
The discussion proceeds with a very short overview of prevalent theories of ISLA generally. Then I add a contrastive look in more depth at only two “theories” and their possible applications in language programs. I emphasize some of the discussions in our profession concerning processing instruction, e.g. (VanPatten "Processing Instruction") or VanPatten ("Why Explicit Knowledge Cannot Become Implicit Knowledge" ), and the multiliteracies framework, e.g. (Paesani, Allen and Dupuy). I conclude with an invitation to a set of questions we might pose to any theory, framework, or approach as we consider its efficacy and applications for our own specific contexts
