Examining the Processability Theory

1996 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 75-88
Author(s):  
Björn Hammarberg
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Dynamic View ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Processability Theory ◽  
Grammatical Structures

The Processability Theory (PT), originating from the German ZISA Project and recently revised by Pienemann (1993, in prep.), claims that the order of grammatical development in a second language is determined by a hierarchy of psycholinguistic constraints on the processability of grammatical structures. The present paper discusses some problematic aspects of this theory and argues for a dynamic view of L2 acquisition in which factors which drive acquisition ahead are also taken into account. It is suggested that a Principle of Perceived Communicative Value (PCV) plays a part in conditioning the order of L2 development. The relative role of processability and communicative value factors is investigated here in a case where they compete. The acquisition of adjective agreement in L2 Swedish is chosen as a test case to examine predictions about the order of development derived from PT and PCV. This permits the comparison of a phrasal (NP) and inter-phrasal (subject-predicative) syntactic domain as well as the comparison of different morphological categories (gender and number). Longitudinal data are gathered from a corpus of conversations with six adult learners reflecting successive stages of development for each individual from the beginning stage to an advanced level. The results indicate that the nature of the morphological category is decisive in determining acquisition order, which means that PCV is effective and overrules PT in those cases where the two are in conflict. On the other hand, if the same morpho-logical category is compared in different syntactic domains, PTs prediction that phrasal agreement comes before inter-phrasal agreement is borne out. This suggests that the two principles of processability and communicative relevance interact, and that a theory of processability is neither sufficient nor invalid, but needs to be placed in the context of a wider model of L2 development. It lends support to the dynamic view of L2 acquisition discussed in the paper.

Study abroad and the SLA of variable structures: A look at the present perfect, the copula contrast, and the present progressive in Mexico and Spain

Probus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kanwit ◽  
Kimberly L. Geeslin ◽  
Stephen Fafulas
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Grammatical Structures

AbstractThe present study connects research on the L2 acquisition of variable structures to the ever-growing body of research on the role of study abroad in the language learning process. The data come from a group of 46 English-speaking learners of Spanish who participated in immersion programs in two distinct locations, Valencia, Spain and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Simultaneously, we tested a group of native speakers from each region to create an appropriate target model for each learner group. Learners completed a written contextualized questionnaire at the beginning and end of their seven-week stay abroad. Our instrument examines three variable grammatical structures: (1) the copulas

Visual acquisition of Swedish in deaf children

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krister Schönström
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Processability Theory ◽  
Swedish Data

This article examines the Swedish L2 development of deaf children by testing the validity of Processability Theory on deaf learners of Swedish as an L2. The study is cross-sectional and includes written data from 38 pupils (grades 5 and 10) from a school for deaf and hearing-impaired pupils in Sweden. The primary language used by the pupils is Swedish Sign Language with Swedish being considered their L2. The Swedish data have been analyzed through the lens of Processability Theory (PT). The results show that the grammatical development of deaf learners is similar to hearing learners of Swedish as an L2. The results therefore suggest that PT is applicable even for deaf learners of L2 Swedish.

Unconventional Expressions: Productive syntax in the L2 acquisition of formulaic language

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig ◽  
David Stringer
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Formulaic Language ◽  
Elicited Imitation ◽  
Current Usage ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Independent Process ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Simulation Task

This article presents a generative analysis of the acquisition of formulaic language as an alternative to current usage-based proposals. One influential view of the role of formulaic expressions in second language (L2) development is that they are a bootstrapping mechanism into the L2 grammar; an initial repertoire of constructions allows for statistical induction of abstract grammatical categories, such that formulaic language is the data source from which syntactic rules are derived. This study brings evidence to bear on this debate from three studies of the acquisition of conventional expressions by L2 learners of English. A total of 271 learners and 58 native speakers completed either an oral conversation-simulation task or an aural-written elicited imitation task. The data show that while learners exhibit knowledge of both contextualized use and the lexical core of conventional expressions, production data reflect the morphosyntactic knowledge of learners at particular stages of development. Formulaic language does not drive the acquisition of syntax; rather, the acquisition of syntax as an independent process drives changes in the production of conventional expressions. Their gradual transformations allow for insights not only into the acquisition of syntax, but also into the nature of multi-word expressions in the mental lexicon.

Awareness, different learning conditions, and second language development

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELENA M. ROSA ◽  
RONALD P. LEOW
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
On Line ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Problem Solving Task

This study investigated the role of awareness in different learning conditions in relation to second language (L2) development. Adult learners of Spanish were exposed to past conditional sentences in one of five versions of a computerized problem-solving task that vary in their degree of explicitness. By employing both on-line and off-line data elicitation procedures, two main issues were addressed: whether exposure to L2 input under different conditions had a differential impact on learners' awareness and whether different levels of awareness influenced learners' ability to recognize and produce new exemplars of the target structure immediately after exposure to the input and over time. Results indicated that higher levels of awareness were not only associated with more explicit conditions but were also substantially more effective than lower levels.

scholarly journals The Role of Working Memory in Attentional Allocation and Grammatical Development under Textually-enhanced, Unenhanced and No Captioning Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-25
Author(s):  
Minjin Lee ◽  
Andrea Révész
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Written Production ◽  
L2 Development

This study investigated the extent to which individual differences in working memory (WM) mediate the effects of captions with or without textual enhancement on attentional allocation and L2 grammatical development, and whether L2 development is influenced by WM memory in the absence of captions. We employed a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design, with 72 Korean learners of English randomly assigned to three groups. The groups differed as to whether they were exposed to news clips without captions, with textually-enhanced captions, or with unenhanced captions during the treatment. We measured attentional allocation with eye-tracking methodology, and assessed development with an oral production, a written production and a fill-in-the-blank test. To assess various aspects of WM, we employed measures of phonological and visual short-term memory (PSTM, VSTM) and the executive functions of updating, task-switching, and inhibitory control. We found that, in both captions groups, higher PSTM was associated with higher oral production gains. For the enhanced captions group, PSTM was also positively related to gains on the written production test. Participants in the no-captions group, however, showed a positive link between VSTM and oral production gains. Attentional location only correlated positively with updating ability and PSTM under the enhanced captions condition. These results, overall, indicate that WM can moderate the effects of captions on attention and L2 development, and various WM components may play a differential role under various captioning conditions.

EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ATTENTIONAL MANIPULATIONS ON SECOND LANGUAGE GRAMMAR DEVELOPMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard I. Issa ◽  
Kara Morgan-Short
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Input Enhancement ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Chance Performance ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

AbstractThe role of attention has been central to theoretical and empirical inquiries in second language (L2) acquisition. The current eye-tracking study examined how external and internal attentional manipulations (Chun, Golomb, &Turk-Browne, 2011) promote L2 grammatical development. Participants (n= 55) were exposed to Spanish direct-object pronouns under external or internal attentional manipulations, which were implemented through textual input enhancement or structured input practice, respectively. Results for both manipulations indicated that (a) learner attentional allocation to the form was affected; (b) L2 gains were evidenced, although only the internal manipulation led to above-chance performance; and (c) L2 gains were related to attention allocated to the form under the external manipulation and to a lesser extent the internal manipulation. Overall, findings may inform theoretical perspectives on attention and elucidate cognitive processes related to L2 instruction.

scholarly journals Input frequencies in processing of verbal morphology in L1 and L2: Evidence from Russian

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Tkachenko ◽  
Tatiana Chernigovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Verbal Morphology ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Grammatical Structures

In this study we take a usage-based perspective on the analysis of data from the acquisition of verbal morphology by Norwegian adult learners of L2 Russian, as compared to children acquiring Russian as an L1. According to the usage-based theories, language learning is input-driven and frequency of occurrence of grammatical structures and lexical items in the input plays a key role in this process. We have analysed to what extent the acquisition and processing of Russian verbal morphology by children and adult L2 learners is dependent on the input factors, in particular on type and token frequencies. Our analysis of the L2 input based on the written material used in the instruction shows a different distribution of frequencies as compared to the target language at large. The results of the tests that elicited present tense forms of verbs belonging to four different inflectional classes (-AJ-, -A-, -I-, and -OVA-) have demonstrated that for both Russian children and L2 learners type frequency appears to be an important factor, influencing both correct stem recognition and generalisations. The results have also demonstrated token frequency effects. For L2 learners we observed also effects of formal instruction and greater reliance on morphological cues. In spite of the fact that L2 learners did not match completely any of the child groups, there are many similarities between L1 and L2 morphological processing, the main one being the role of frequency.

Learnability of Grammatical Sequencing: A Processability Perspective of Textbook Evaluation in EFL Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-257
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Tang
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Learning Sequence ◽  
Partial Agreement ◽  
Textbook Evaluation ◽  
Teaching Objectives ◽  
Textbook Series ◽  
Developmental Readiness ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Grammatical Structures

Abstract This study conducts an acquisition-based evaluation of four primary-school English textbook series used in China. The evaluation aims to determine whether the sequencing of grammatical structures in the series is compatible with the L2 learning sequence stipulated in Processability Theory (PT). The results show a partial agreement between the sequencing of structures as teaching objectives in the series and the PT-based processability hierarchy. The sequencing of structures in the initial stages is consistent with the learning sequence of L2 English stated in PT. However, several structures in the intermediate or high stages are taught in a deviant way against their sequencing in PT. The deviant grading of those structures is possibly associated with the theme-based guidelines adopted in the textbooks. It appears that concerns with the utility of grammatical structures in a given context take precedence over concerns for L2 development. A number of suggestions are offered to textbook writers in terms of the role of input, the learners’ developmental readiness, and the issue of heterogeneity in L2 classrooms.

scholarly journals Corrective Feedback in SLA: Theoretical Relevance and Empirical Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Jin Chen ◽  
Jianghao Lin ◽  
Lin Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
History Of ◽  
Controversial Topic

<p>Corrective feedback (CF) refers to the responses or treatments from teachers to a learner’s nontargetlike second language (L2) production. CF has been a crucial and controversial topic in the discipline of second language acquisition (SLA). Some SLA theorists believe that CF is harmful to L2 acquisition and should be ruled out completely while others regard CF as an essential catalyst for L2 development. The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in empirical research on the effectiveness of CF. This article, with an aim to provide an informed knowledge of the potential role of CF, briefly traces the history of research on CF and proposes some recommendations for further studies. It starts by surveying a range of theoretical stances on the role of error and error correction (also known as CF) in SLA. It then moves into detailed discussion of three issues on CF heatedly debated either within a cognitive or a sociocultural framework. By examining the empirical findings, some possible topics for further studies are uncovered.</p>

scholarly journals De rol van de Processability Theory van Pienemann in de verwerving van het Nederlands als tweede taal bij Poolse studenten

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kucfir
Keyword(s):  
Stage Iv ◽  
Stage Iii ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Dutch Language ◽  
Processability Theory ◽  
Grammatical Structures

De rol van de Processability Theory van Pienemann in de verwerving van het Nederlands als tweede taal bij Poolse studenten Pienemann’s Processability Theory PT hypothesizes that the grammatical structures of a second language are acquired in an order that is universal for all languages. The main aim of this article is to investigate the validity and reliability of this theory for the acquisition process of Dutch as L2 by Polish students. PT was tested on a group of 15 first-year Dutch philology students at the Uni­versity of Wrocław, after 300 hours of intensive Dutch language course. The oral production test checked the acquisition level of three Dutch grammatical structures, representing consecutive stages of L2-development: agreement between adjective and noun stage III, agreement between verb and subject stage IV and word order in subordinate clauses stage V. Pienemann’s hypothesis seems to be valid for the acquisition of Dutch language as L2 only if the criterion of one correct use of a grammatical structure is taken into consideration. When it comes to the two other criteria 50% and 90% of correct use the structure representing stage III seems to be acquired after the structures representing stages IV and V, which forms a counter-evidence for the Processability Theory.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document