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The Effect of L2 Input and Cognitively Stimulating Tasks on Second Language Acquisition
Abstract
Linguistic input is considered to be the most important prerequisite for the acquisition of a second language. Over the past decades, theories within a cognitive-interactionist framework have identified numerous aspects of L2 input and of the context in which the L2 is embedded and encountered, which provide cognitive stimulation during the acquisition process, induce widespread neural activities, and ultimately facilitate long-term retention. Among these are a high amount of rich and varied comprehensible L2 input with frequent repetitions, which are embedded in authentic topics with meaningful communicative goals, the activation of prior experiences and autonomous action-oriented problem-solving activities, multi-sensory learning, positive emotions, authentic interactions with an L2 speaker including various opportunities for the negotiation of meaning, form, and corrective feedback, raising awareness of linguistic elements within meaningful contexts (Focus on Form), and fostering learners’ L2 output (Long 2015, Ellis & Shintani 2014, Böttger 2016). Even though these principles derive from well-established foreign language teaching frameworks, analyses have shown that they are used more frequently in bilingual L2 programs than in regular EFL primary programs (Bruhn & Kersten 2018). In a study of 210 children aged 3-6, Kersten et al. (in prep.) found that L2 input quality had significant effects on the learners’ L2 lexical comprehension, and on the rate of development of their L2 grammar comprehension.
Elaborating on these findings, the current study investigates the impact of L2 input quality and of cognitively stimulating activities on the L2 acquisition of 183 primary school learners in bilingual and EFL primary programs. L2 input quality is operationalized using the Teacher Input Observation Scheme (TIOS, internal consistency α=.905), which includes scales on Cognitively Stimulating Tasks, Verbal Input, Non-verbal Input, and Support of Leaners’ Output.
More specifically, the study focuses on the research questions: Does the use of techniques and activities as operationalized in the TIOS differ between EFL teachers and teachers in bilingual teaching programs? Does L2 input quality as operationalized in the TIOS predict lexical and grammatical L2 comprehension of young L2 learners of English?
To answer these questions, the TIOS was used to rate 18 videotaped lessons in EFL programs (9 lesson) and bilingual immersion programs (9 lessons) by two raters. L2 lexicon and grammar comprehension of N=183 students (aged 8-10) of the respective teachers (n=83 EFL students; n=100 immersion students) were tested with the help of the BPVS III and the ELIAS Grammar Test II.
Statistical analyses (correlations, multiple regression, and multilevel modeling) suggest that the TIOS scores explain 21-22% of the variance of L2 lexical and grammar comprehension. Task characteristics, verbal input and the total TIOS score highly correlate with all L2 results. Teachers in bilingual programs outperform EFL teachers significantly in the use of tasks characteristics, verbal input, and non-verbal input. The multilevel analysis reveals a significant positive influence of task characteristics on L2 comprehension, and a negative influence of output supporting strategies. Results are discussed with respect to the program differences and to the effects of the cross-sectional setup of the study. Future research calls for a stronger differentiation between input effects at different levels of L2 proficiency, and for longitudinal study designs. (This paper is an updated version of the conference presentation.)
Böttger, H. (2016). Neurodidaktik des frühen Sprachenlernens. Stuttgart: UTB.
Bruhn, A.-C., Kersten, K. (2018). Operationalizing teacher input: Empirical evidence on the effect of input on the L2 acquisition of young learners. Paper presented at EUROSLA 2018.
Ellis, R., Shintani, N. (2014). Exploring Language Pedagogy through Second Language Acquisition Research. London: Routledge.
Long, M. (2015). Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kersten, K., Steinlen, A.K., Schüle, C. (in prep.) Social variables, preschool program, and L1-input quality affect foreign language acquisition: Evidence from bilingual preschools.
... This study also concludes that input quality has a significant positive effect on the growth of receptive L2 grammar knowledge. Kersten et al. (2019) come to similar findings using the TIOS. They investigate the effect of L2 input from ten teachers in regular and immersion programs on receptive L2 lexicon and grammar acquisition of 169 learners (3 rd and 4 th grade). ...
... All the aforementioned teaching techniques operationalized in the TIOS are derived from general foreign language frameworks, especially from communicative language teaching. Never-theless, in a study of 17 primary school teachers, Kersten et al. (2019) find that the nine immersion teachers use significantly more of the these techniques in their instruction than the eight teachers in mainstream schools in their FLT. Here, the variance among the regular teachers is significantly higher than among the immersion teachers. ...
Human language and cognition do not develop independently of each other but are intricately intertwined in various ways. This contribution presents the interplay between linguistic and cognitive abilities of learners at the individual level and relates them to the level of external contextual factors in social and educational environments. In empirical research, it is important to differentiate between so-called proximal and distal external factors: A causal effect on the individual learner can be primarily assumed through the direct stimulation of proximal factors, i.e., in personal interaction (Proximity of Stimulation approach, Kersten 2020, 2023). Therefore, external factors should be differentiated and special attention should be given to the proximal factors as direct influencing factors in empirical studies. This contribution begins with some terminological clarifications. In the following section, the connections between individual linguistic and cognitive development are discussed using selected variables in both directions (internal perspective). Initially, findings regarding the influence of multilingualism on cognitive abilities are examined, followed by the influence of cognitive abilities on L2 acquisition in the reverse direction. Finally, the contribution focuses on external contextual factors. Findings on family contextual factors such as linguistic and social background are presented. Lastly, educational contextual factors are explored, particularly discussing whether and how instructional factors can contribute to creating conducive conditions for mutual development in both domains, cognition and language, and potentially compensating for disadvantaged learner groups (cf. Kersten 2019). [This is the translated version. The published paper can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371984714_Der_Zusammenhang_von_kognitiven_Fahigkeiten_und_Zweisprachigkeit_im_fruhen_L2-Erwerb_Individuelle_und_externe_Variablen]
... Such external factors are particularly relevant in the context of L2 learning in the classroom. They include characteristics of classroom activities that serve as a matrix for L2 input, language modifications, and other scaffolding techniques (Kersten 2020;Kersten et al. 2019), for example, embedding language in meaningful tasks that stimulate the learner's construction of knowledge (Wolff 2002) and relate to their own prior world knowledge, non-verbal support, interactional strategies, and the stimulation of the learner's L2 output. All of these modifications of the external context stimulate the learner in the form of different types of sensory data (Kersten in press). ...
... In a pilot study, Kersten et al. (2019) reported internal consistency of α = 0.905 (Cronbach's alpha) for the whole scheme (38 items, excluding items with too many missing data) and interrater reliability of two independent raters of r = 0.882* (Krippendorff's α, based on 687 cases, 1374 decisions, item-based IRR Pearson's r = 0.687* − 1.000**, p < 0.05, Conradi and Lietzau 2019). ...
Input is considered one of the most important factors in the acquisition of lexical and grammatical skills. Input has been found to interact with other factors, such as learner cognitive skills and the circumstances where language is heard. Language learning itself has sometimes been found to enhance cognitive skills. Indeed, intensive contact with another language has been found to sometimes boost cognitive skills, even in intensive instructed settings, such as immersion programs (bilingual advantage hypothesis). In this paper, we report a cross-sectional study to assess grammar learning of 79 fourth grade German students learning L2 English in two immersion schools. Verbal teacher input was assessed using the Teacher Input Observation Scheme (TIOS, Items 14–25), and the learners’ L2 grammar comprehension was tested with the ELIAS Grammar Test II. Cognitive skills, including phonological awareness, working memory, and non-verbal intelligence, were determined using standardized assessment procedures. The results show that verbal input quantity and quality correlated significantly with the learners’ L2 grammar comprehension. None of the cognitive skills moderated the effect of input on grammar comprehension but all predicted it independently. The combination of L2 input and phonological awareness was found to be the most robust predictor of L2 grammar comprehension.
... It includes 41 instructional strategies used in the L2 classroom, which are derived from the research presented here. It operationalises these strategies as L2 teaching techniques, which are defined as "description of how a communicative behaviour or activity is carried out in the classroom at a given moment as the actual point of contact with the learner/s" (Kersten et al. 2019, p. 23, compare also Cook, 2008, p. 235, Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011. ...
... More research is needed to shed light on these differential effects and the role that particular scaffolding techniques play. Kersten et al. (2019) carried out a pilot study with 17 L2 teachers in regular EFL and bilingual primary schools in Germany using the TIOS to operationalise L2 instructional techniques. EFL programs started at grade 1 or grade 3 with two lessons of English per week, while in the bilingual immersion schools all subjects except for German were taught in English starting in grade 1. Nine lessons were videotaped in each type of program (one teacher taught a class in both programs). ...
Linguistic input is considered one of the most important prerequisites for the acquisition of a foreign language. In recent decades, theoretical approaches within a cognitive-interactionist framework (Long, 2015) have identified various aspects of L2 input and characteristics of instruction that predict learners’ L2 outcomes. Teaching principles relate (1) to characteristics of communicative activities in which the L2 is embedded and encountered by the learners, and (2) to the quality of L2 input, L2 interactions and learners’ L2 output (Ellis & Shintani, 2014). They are in line with task-based and content-based L2 teaching approaches. This chapter starts out with the theoretical underpinnings to L2 instructional principles (Gass et al., 2020, Kormos, 2011, Leow, 2015, Truscott & Sharwood Smith, 2019). Based on two graphical illustrations on characteristics and processes in ISLA and internal knowledge construction, it introduces the roles of sensory input and individual perception, the internal meaning-making process, prior knowledge and selective attention. Consequences of this type of information processing for instruction are discussed with respect to the instigation of noticing, salience, cognitive activation and depth of processing.
The second part of the paper gives an overview of characteristics of teachers’ linguistic behavior which includes how teachers modify verbal input in the L2 both lexically, structurally and prosodically, how they shape communicative interactions in terms of authenticity, negotiation of meaning, feedback and focus on form, and how they create opportunities for productive L2 output of the learners. Linguistic input is typically supported by different types of non-verbal scaffolding techniques and is embedded in communicative-instructional activities that have the potential to facilitate L2 acquisition. Especially scaffolding techniques which foster comprehensible input are crucial in early stages of SLA. Instructional characteristics of activities comprise autonomous action-oriented problem-solving (construction of knowledge), the activation of learners’ prior experiences, the stimulation of multiple senses, and a positive learning environment. The goal of these instructional principles is to pro-vide comprehensibility and cognitive stimulation during the L2 acquisition process, induce wide-spread neural activity and ultimately facilitate long-term retention.
All of these principles are derived from the above mentioned theoretical framework and operationalized as ‘teaching techniques’ in the Teacher Input Observation Scheme (TIOS, Kersten et al., 2018) which serves as a structuring matrix for the second part of the paper. Techniques are defined as “description of how a communicative behavior or activity is carried out in the classroom at a given moment as the actual point of contact with the learner/s”. This operationalization has specific measurement implications for research studies as it provides a systematic basis of multidimensional categories of L2 teaching techniques. In terms of teaching practice, the classification of these techniques allows for L2 classroom observation, teacher training and teachers’ self-evaluation. The paper closes with empirical and practical examples on the effect of such teaching techniques in preschool and primary school classrooms.
The TIOS can be downloaded at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340096869_Teacher_Input_Observation_Scheme_TIOS_and_Manual.
Revised, non-final version, to appear in: The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 2021 (2). (accepted)
... In particular, different aspects of input quality seem to play an important role in language acquisition (for reviews see Graham et al., 2017;Loewen & Sato, 2018). Recent studies also indicate that teachers in bilingual programs perform significantly better than regular school teachers in terms of cognitive stimulation, scaffolding, their drive to improve their teaching, investing time and implementing innovations Kersten 2020;Kersten et al., 2019;Wegner, 2022). In addition to the quality of input, numerous findings also show that the quantity of input in another language, i.e., the intensity and duration of L2 contact in bilingual school contexts, can have positive effects on young learners' linguistic (Gebauer et al., 2012;Graham et al., 2017;Unsworth et al., 2014) and cognitive development (Nicolay & Poncelet, 2015;. ...
Despite increasing awareness towards language-sensitive teaching and a growing number of multilingual children, studies still find a strong focus on monolingualism in many German schools. Specific needs of multilingual children are not always adequately supported, and their resources and potential often not fully exploited.
However, numerous studies have shown that intensive bilingual instruction characterized by a high use of cognitively stimulating teaching techniques can have positive effects on the cognitive and linguistic development of young (multilingual) learners (Kersten, 2020). Therefore, the question arises whether early intensive bilingual support can have positive effects on the self-perception of young learners beyond linguistic and cognitive aspects. Since language and personality development are closely interwoven and the linguistic environment is central to learners’ development, it can be assumed that children’s linguistic self-concept influences language development on the one hand, and is influenced by language-intensive bilingual contexts on the other (Zaunbauer et al., 2013). In general, research on self-concept shows that preschoolers still assess their self-concept in a relatively undifferentiated and unrealistically positive way, but that it becomes more realistic with increasing cognitive and linguistic development (Roebers, 2007).
Accordingly, this longitudinal study investigates the effects of bilingual schooling on the development of verbal self-concept and linguistic skills, focusing on the following research questions:
1. Do children in monolingual and bilingual settings differ in their development of German verbal self-concept?
2. How is children’s German verbal self-concept related to their German language proficiency?
To that end, the verbal self-concept of N=78 mono- and multilingual learners in monolingual (German) and bilingual (German-English) settings was investigated longitudinally from preschool to the end of 1st grade, and related to their German language proficiency using a cross-lagged panel design. Verbal self-concept was operationalized via a standardized questionnaire (6 items) on all participants’ languages; German language skills were assessed with standardized grammar and lexicon tests (TROG-D; SET 5-10); additionally, family’s language and socioeconomic background were elicited with a parent questionnaire.
Preliminary results of several statistical analyses (i.a. repeated measures ANOVA) show that children in monolingual and bilingual settings do not differ in their development of German language proficiency. However, children in bilingual institutions rated their German verbal self-concept significantly lower than children in monolingual institutions at both testing times. This could indicate that children in bilingual contexts have already developed a more realistic self-concept or a higher metalinguistic awareness and are therefore already able to assess themselves in a more reflective and differentiated way (Roebers, 2007). Further results will be discussed with regard to language-sensitive teaching contexts and the learners’ linguistic and social backgrounds.
Keynote. Die Entwicklung von Sprache und Kognition ist auf vielfältige Weise dynamisch verflochten und wird von verschiedenen sozialen Kontextfaktoren geprägt. Die Zweitspracherwerbsforschung (SLA) hat dabei bisher vor allem den Zusammenhang einzelner Variablen in den Blick genommen. Neuere, interdisziplinäre Ansätze sehen SLA zunehmend als ein komplexes System und fokussieren umfassender auf das Zusammenspiel diverser Faktoren (Mitchell et al., 2019).
Basierend auf diesen Ansätzen (Douglas Fir Group, 2016; Lerner, 2002; Sharwood Smith, 2017; van Geert, 1991) leitet dieser Beitrag ein Modell zu Einflusszusammenhängen in SLA ab, das individuelle sprachlich-kognitive, soziale und schulische Variablen kombiniert. Dabei kommt ‚proximalen‘ externen Faktoren eine besondere Bedeutung zu, weil diese proximalen, konkreten Interaktionen in Familie und Schule Effekte auf die Lernenden besser begrün-den können als übergeordnete ‚distale‘ Faktoren wie der Sozialstatus oder das Schulprogram.
Der Beitrag fokussiert vor allem Effekte von familiären und schulischen Interaktionen auf die mehr-/sprachliche und kognitive Entwicklung. Dem sprachlichen Input kommt hierbei eine besondere Rolle zu. Inputqualität, operationalisiert als kognitiv stimulierende sprach- und verständnisfördernde Techniken (Kersten, 2021), begünstigt Entwicklungsprozesse durch neuronale Aktivierung, Verarbeitungstiefe und Anregung assoziativer Netzwerke von Vorwissen und aktiver Wissenskonstruktion, die gleichzeitig eng mit den sprachlichen Repräsentationen der Lernenden verknüpft sind.
Mit einem Blick auf schulische Faktoren werden die Effekte von Inputqualität auf die mehrsprachliche und kognitive Entwicklung diskutiert und Evidenz für einen potenziellen Chancenausgleich für benachteiligte Lernergruppen gezeigt. Ein besonderer Fokus liegt hierbei auf Kindern mit einer anderen L1 als Deutsch sowie auf der Rolle bilingualer Programme für diese Zusammenhänge (Kersten, 2023).
Human cognition develops in interaction with numerous environmental factors. The social environment is an important context in which development is shaped. Previous studies have shown children’s socioeconomic status (SES) to be an important predictor for various cognitive variables as well as academic achievement. In this paper, we investigate the relation between children’s SES and nonverbal intelligence, working memory, and phonological awareness, and how institutional programs may mitigate the influence of children’s backgrounds in two studies involving two different language-promoting preschool programs. Study 1 investigates effects of a phonological awareness training program, while Study 2 focuses on bilingual vs. monolingual preschool programs. Neither program showed significant effects with regard to changing relations between SES and cognitive skills. As for relations between cognitive skills and parental background, we found contrasting correlations between the studies. Results are discussed with respect to methodological as well as theoretical issues.
Factors shaping human cognitive and linguistic development are intertwined and found within a nested structure of conceptual levels. Proximal levels contain concrete stimuli to the learner, while distal variables only exert indirect effects, and often represent container variables made up of numerous proximal ones. The Proximity of Stimulation Hypothesis holds that effects are best explained using proximal factors with immediate effects on the learner. This study examines the impact of exemplar influencing variables at different conceptual levels on L2 lexical and grammar reception, working memory and phonological awareness. Structural equation modeling with mediator analyses accounted for the hierarchical data structure of 93 L2 learners of English in German conventional and bilingual primary schools. Results supported the proximity hypothesis in that the effect of both distal variables, SES and L2 program, on internal variables was partially mediated by proximal variables (parental language/literacy support and teacher’s input quality, respectively). L2 program also predicted L2 lexicon and phonological awareness without a mediating effect, showing the effectiveness of bilingual teaching programs. Additionally, parental language/literacy support predicted L2 lexicon, teachers’ patience predicted L2 grammar and phonological awareness, and children’s degree of multilingualism predicted L2 grammar. Phonological awareness correlated with L2 grammar, corroborating the interconnectedness of cognitive-linguistic development and a cognitive advantage hypothesis. [Video: https://youtu.be/F2eCeU7IYNc]
[Video: https://youtu.be/F2eCeU7IYNc] Factors shaping human cognitive and linguistic development are intertwined and found within a nested structure of conceptual levels. Proximal levels contain concrete stimuli to the learner, while distal variables only exert indirect effects, and often represent container variables made up of numerous proximal ones. The Proximity of Stimulation Hypothesis holds that effects are best explained using proximal factors with immediate effects on the learner. This study examines the impact of exemplar influencing variables at different conceptual levels on L2 lexical and grammar reception, working memory and phonological awareness. Structural equation modeling with mediator analyses accounted for the hierarchical data structure of 93 L2 learners of English in German conventional and bilingual primary schools. Results supported the proximity hypothesis in that the effect of both distal variables, SES and L2 program, on internal variables was partially mediated by proximal variables (parental language/literacy support and teacher’s input quality, respectively). L2 program also predicted L2 lexicon and phonological awareness without a mediating effect, showing the effectiveness of bilingual teaching programs. Additionally, parental language/literacy support predicted L2 lexicon, teachers’ patience predicted L2 grammar and phonological awareness, and children’s degree of multilingualism predicted L2 grammar. Phonological awareness correlated with L2 grammar, corroborating the interconnectedness of cognitive-linguistic development and a cognitive advantage hypothesis.
Human cognitive and linguistic development are intrinsically intertwined and take place within a nested structure of contextual levels. These comprise learner-internal factors (cognitive-linguistic skills) as well as external levels, i.e. the individual’s engagement with the proximal social world (families, classrooms etc.), and increasingly distal levels such as society and cultural contexts (Douglas Fir Group 2016, Lerner 2002). Consequently, factors on all levels have been identified as predictors for SLA. However, SLA researchers deplore that our understanding of the interplay between learner-internal and learner-external resources is still limited (Han 2019). This study investigates in how far the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and L2 program (distal external variables) on internal cognitive and L2 skills are mediated by proximal external factors such as type of parent-child interaction and quality of classroom instruction. We carried out a longitudinal study with N=93 L2-learners of English (age 7;6-11;6; 46%f) from German regular and bilingual primary schools with an L2-intensity between 7,5%-85% of the curriculum. Learners were tested twice over the course of one year for working memory using WISC IV (in German) and receptive lexical and grammatical L2 skills using BPVS III and ELIAS Grammar Test II. A parent questionnaire yielded data on parental occupation (HISEI) and parent-child interaction (PISA 2018). L2-instructional quality was operationalized with the Teacher Input Observation Scheme. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SPSS AMOS 26) to account for the nested structure of variables. Results suggest that the effect of the distal variables SES and L2 program on working memory and receptive L2 skills is mediated by specific parent-child interactions and by quality of teachers' L2 input in the classroom (model fit: probability level =.109; CFI=.978; RMSEA=.055). In addition, we found a multilingual advantage for L2 grammar learning. Results indicate that stimulating home and school interaction might level the playing field for socially disadvantaged children.
This study explores the relationship of early immersion education, socioeconomic background, and cognitive gains of young learners. We examine the possible advantages of early bilingual education and the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES) for the cognitive development of children. Participants (N=39) were students at regular (German) or immersion (German-English) primary schools in Germany. The study employed a longitudinal design with school program and socioeconomic status as between-subjects factors, and L2 proficiency and cognitive variables as within-subject factors. The pre- and posttests consisted of tests of English vocabulary and grammar and tests of working memory capacity, non-verbal intelligence, and phonological awareness. Participants also completed a parental questionnaire assessing their socioeconomic background based on HISEI indicators (Highest International Socioeconomic Index). Repeated measures ANOVAs and regression analyses revealed that the participants from the immersion school outperformed their peers from the regular schools on all L2 (English) proficiency and cognitive variables on the posttest. Furthermore, our data revealed that SES is significantly more influential in participants who follow regular school programs than in those who are enrolled in immersion schools. Overall, our data provide support for the benefits of early immersion programs in leveling the playing field for children of low socioeconomic status.
In this chapter, we assess the extent to which profile effects, that is domain-particular patterns of cognitive and linguistic predictors in early natural L2 acquisition, extend to classroom learners . Specifically, we test the relative impacts of cognitive and linguistic factors on achievement in the early foreign language acquisition of English vocabulary and grammar among German primary-school students . Using linear-mixed effects regression modelling, this chapter maps profile effects in the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar in native German-speaking students and bilingual students speaking a minority L1 other than German at the end of grades 3 and 4. The data reveal distinct profiles in ( a ) linguistic domain, ( b ) mode, i.e. productive versus receptive skills, ( c ) stages in development and ( d ) group, i.e. monolingual versus bilingual students , with both cognitive and linguistic factors contributing to English skills.
The wide range of languages and purposes now served by immersion worldwide is illustrated by case studies of thirteen programs. Immersion, a relatively new approach to bilingual education, originated in Canada. It uses the target language as a medium of instruction in order to achieve "additive bilingualism" -- a high level of second language proficiency. The wide range of languages and purposes now served by immersion worldwide is illustrated by case studies of thirteen programs presented and discussed in this paperback edition. The introductory chapter defines immersion education theory and practice and shows how this approach differs from other forms of bilingual education.
Based on a synthesis of classroom SLA research that has helped to shape evolving perspectives of content-based instruction since the introduction of immersion programs in Montreal more than 40 years ago, this book presents an updated perspective on integrating language and content in ways that engage second language learners with language across the curriculum. A range of instructional practices observed in immersion and content-based classrooms is highlighted to set the stage for justifying a counterbalanced approach that integrates both content-based and form-focused instructional options as complementary ways of intervening to develop a learner’s interlanguage system. A counterbalanced approach is outlined as an array of opportunities for learners to process language through content by means of comprehension, awareness, and production mechanisms, and to negotiate language through content by means of interactional strategies involving teacher scaffolding and feedback.
This book offers a broad-based account of bilingual processing, drawing on research findings and current thinking from various domains across cognitive science. The theoretical approach adopted is the Modular Cognition Framework in which language processing is characterized as an interaction between dedicated linguistic systems and the other modules of the human mind. The latter provide the 'internal context' of bilingual processing. This internal context involves goals, value, emotion, self, and representations of the external context. The book combines all these elements into a coherent picture of the bilingual's internal context and the way it shapes processing. It then shows how some central concepts in cognitive science and bilingualism fit in with – and follow from – this view. These concepts include working memory, consciousness, attention, effort, codeswitching, and the possible cognitive benefits of being bilingual. The book should be of interest to professionals in the field as well as postgraduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Interaction is an indispensable component in second language acquisition (SLA). This review surveys the instructed SLA research, both classroom and laboratory-based, that has been conducted primarily within the interactionist approach, beginning with the core constructs of interaction, namely input, negotiation for meaning, and output. The review continues with an overview of specific areas of interaction research. The first investigates interlocutor characteristics, including (a) first language (L1) status, (b) peer interaction, (c) participation structure, (d) second language (L2) proficiency, and (e) individual differences. The second topic is task characteristics, such as task conditions (e.g. information distribution, task goals), task complexity (i.e. simple or complex), and task participation structure (i.e. whole class, small groups or dyads). Next, the review considers various linguistic features that have been researched in relation to interaction and L2 learning. The review then continues with interactional contexts, focusing especially on research into computer-mediated interaction. The review ends with a consideration of methodological issues in interaction research, such as the merits of classroom and lab-based studies, and the various methods for measuring the noticing of linguistic forms during interaction. In sum, research has found interaction to be effective in promoting L2 development; however, there are numerous factors that impact its efficacy.
This collection brings together leading names in the field of bilingualism research to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Studies in Bilingualism series. Over the last 25 years the study of bilingualism has received a tremendous amount of attention from linguists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists. The breadth of coverage in this volume is a testament to the many different aspects of bilingualism that continue to generate phenomenal interest in the scholarly community. The bilingual experience is captured through a multifaceted prism that includes aspects of language and literacy development in child bilinguals with and without developmental language disorders, language processing and mental representations in adult bilinguals across the lifespan, and the cognitive and neurological basis of bilingualism. Different theoretical approaches – from generative UG-based models to constructivist usage-based models – are brought to bear on the nature of bilingual linguistic knowledge. The end result is a compendium of the state-of-the-art of a field that is in constant evolution and that is on an upward trajectory of discovery.