Individual Differences and Processing Instruction; James Lee; Alessandro Benati

Edited by

James F. Lee [+–]

University of New South Wales

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James F. Lee is Deputy Head of the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. His research focuses on second language reading comprehension and input processing. He is the author of Tasks and Communicating in Language Classrooms and is the co-author of Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, both with McGraw-Hill.

Alessandro Benati [+–]

University College Dublin

Professor Alessandro Benati (School of Education, University College Dublin) has held academic positions in several British and overseas institutions. He is known for his work in second language acquisition, and he published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called processing instruction. His research on processing instruction has been recently driven by the use of new online measurements (e.g., eye tracking, and self-paced reading). Alessandro has coordinated national and international high-impact research projects which have been influential in determining educational policy and had an impact in providing effective language teacher training programs. He is the author and co-author of several research monographs, peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals, and editor and co-editor of book series and scientific journals such as Cambridge Elements in SLA and Instructed Second Language Acquisition. He was a member of the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework for England (REF 2021), AHRC Panel, and he is an Honorary Professor at Your SJ University (UK), University of Hong Kong (China), Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University (Australia), and Visiting Professor at Anaheim University (USA)

Prelims

Acknowledgements [+–] vii – viii

James F. Lee,Alessandro G. Benati FREE

University of New South Wales

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University of Portsmouth

Professor Alessandro Benati is Professor of Second Language Acquisition and Head of School of Languages and Area Studies at the University of Portsmouth. He is internationally known for his research in second language learning and teaching, with special emphases on processing instruction. He is a pioneering researcher in the area of second language acquisition (SLA) and has built a reputation on two fronts. On one front, he is a premier Italian language scholar producing the most empirical work on the teaching and acquisition of Italian in the world. On the other front, he is a scholar in the more general field of instructed SLA, with an emphasis on the effects of formal instruction on the acquisition of grammatical properties by second language learners. He has a strong publications record with 12 established monographs, chapters and articles in international journals (Language Awareness, IRAL, and Language Teaching Research).

Preface [+–] ix – xi

James F. Lee,Alessandro G. Benati FREE

University of New South Wales

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University of Portsmouth

Part 1: Theoretical Issues

1. Individual Differences in Instructed Second Language Learning: Working Memory, Aptitude and Age Differences [+–] 3 – 18

Alessandro G. Benati £17.50

University of Portsmouth

This collection of essays builds on the authors’ previous work and aims to open an additional branch of research in processing instruction, and to stimulate further research. This is the first collection of studies that empirically addresses the role that individual differences, such as age, gender, and native language background, might play in the results generated by processing instruction. In this chapter, three major areas of inquiry within the theoretical and empirical framework concerned with the effects of individual differences on second language learning will be briefly presented. The author will examine working memory, language aptitude and age from a cognitive and psycholinguistic perspective. The concepts of working memory, aptitude and age differences will be explained and the relevance of these factors to second language acquisition highlighted.

2. Foci and General Findings of Research on Processing Instruction: Moving beyond Limitations [+–] 19 – 48

James F. Lee £17.50

University of New South Wales

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This chapter is comprised of two distinct parts: a review of research findings on processing instruction and an assessment of the limitations of that research. First, the author reviews the existing research on PI, organized according to the seven different research foci that have guided the research; these are PI’s research strands. In doing so, the author aims to establish that the previous research has both breadth and depth. Two questions guide the review. What research has been carried out in each of these areas? What are the general findings of that research?

Part 2: Empirical Studies

3. The Effects of Language Background on the Results of Processing Instruction on the Spanish Subjunctive/ Indicative Contrast after the Adverb cuando [+–] 49 – 82

James F. Lee,Erin McNulty £17.50

University of New South Wales

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Dickinson College

Assistant Professor of Spanish

In this chapter, the authors study the subjunctive/indicative Contrast after the Adverb ‘cuando’.

4. Age and the Effects of Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of English Passive Constructions among School Children and Adult Native Speakers of Turkish [+–] 83 – 104

Alessandro G. Benati £17.50

University of Portsmouth

In this chapter, the authors provide further evidence in support of the Age Hypothesis and the Native Language Hypothesis by measuring the effects of processing instruction on the acquisition of English passive constructions among school-age and adult native speakers of Turkish. Processing instruction was used in this study to alter one of the processing strategies captured by VanPatten’s (1996) First Noun Principle (P2).

5. The Age Factor on the Primary, Secondary and Cumulative Transfer-of-Training Effects of Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of French as a Second Language [+–] 105 – 130

Cecile Laval £17.50

University of Greenwich

In this chapter the author will provide further evidence in support of the Secondary Transfer-of-Training Hypothesis, the Cumulative Transfer-of-Training Hypothesis and the Age Hypothesis by measuring the effects of processing instruction on the acquisition of past imperfective aspect, subjunctive mood and causative constructions in French with school-aged children (9–10 years old).

6. Processing Instruction and the Age Factor: Can Adults and School-age Native Speakers of German Process English Simple Past Tense Correctly? [+–] 131 – 152

Tanja Angelovska,Alessandro G. Benati £17.50

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

University of Portsmouth

This study addresses the question of whether age plays a significant role in the effectiveness of a type of grammar instruction called ‘processing instruction’ (VanPatten, 1996, 2004, 2007).

7. Exploring Possible Effects of Gender and Enhanced vs. Unenhanced Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of Case Marking in L2 German [+–] 153 – 184

Zoe Agiasophiti £17.50

University of Greenwich

This study combines the two instructional methods, namely PI and IE, using TTIE with colour enhancement and explores whether and to what extent they can have a positive impact on second language acquisition.

8. The Effects of Processing Instruction and Traditional Instruction on Two Different School-age Learners: The Case of English Present Simple Tense Third Person Singular [+–] 185 – 210

Marina Mavrantoni,Alessandro G. Benati £17.50

University of Athens

University of Portsmouth

The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent to which two different approaches to grammar instruction affect young learners of different ages in the acquisition of a specific grammatical feature, namely the third singular person of the English present simple tense.

9. Individual Differences and Processing Instruction [+–] 211 – 228

James F. Lee £17.50

University of New South Wales

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In this chapter the author considers the differential benefits to learners of receiving processing instruction as we move closer to identifying the characteristics of the ‘some learners’ the author referred to. The chapter begins with the research published before this volume emerged (Part I) and then move to consider the findings presented in this volume of research (Part II). Finally, the author suggest avenues for future investigation (Where to Now?).

Index

Index [+–] 229 – 232

James F. Lee,Alessandro G. Benati FREE

University of New South Wales

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University of Portsmouth

Reviews

"Individual Differences and Processing Instruction makes a significant contribution to L2 research on processing instruction by carefully examining the role of individual differences on results generated by this pedagogical intervention. A clear strength of the volume is its breadth in relation to the range of individual variables that are investigated, the linguistic forms and structures that are included and the number of first and second languages that are examined. A must-read for researchers and students interested in instructed second language acquisition in general and processing instruction in particular.'
Teresa Cadierno, University of Southern Denmark

This particular volume is highly original in bringing together empirical studies that examine how the outcome of processing instruction is influenced by individual differences.
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Individual Differences and Processing Instruction

James F. Lee [+–]

University of New South Wales

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Alessandro Benati [+–]

University College Dublin

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