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Key Terms for Language Teachers - A Pocket Guide - Alessandro Benati
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)
Description
While we accept that input is indispensable for acquisition, output might have a facilitative role. Output, as part of interaction, may enhance acquisition.. However, the research has yet to convincingly demonstrate that output and interaction assist in the development of formal features of the language related to syntax and there is no evidence that it plays any significant role in the properties of language governed by Universal Grammar. There is evidence that interaction may facilitate the acquisition of lexical items (words) and their meanings, and there is also evidence that it may promote acquisition of certain transparent surface features of language such as certain verb and noun inflections.