John Truscott

The Case for "The Case Against Grammar Correction in L2 Writing Classes": A Response to Ferris

Abstract Ferris (1999) rejects my case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes (Truscott, 1996) and attempts to build her own case for the practice. This paper responds to her criticisms. I argue that these criticisms are both unfounded and highly selective, leaving large portions of my case unchallenged and, in some cases, even strengthening them. If the case for correction has any appeal, it rests on a strong bias—that critics must prove beyond any doubt that correction is never a good idea, while supporters need only show that uncertainty remains.

Noticing in second language acquisition: a critical review

This article examines the Noticing Hypothesis – the claim that second language learners must consciously notice the grammatical form of their input in order to acquire grammar. I argue, first, that the foundations of the hypothesis in cognitive psychology are weak; research in this area does not support it, or even provide a clear interpretation for it. The problem of interpreting the hypothesis is much more acute in the area of language acquisition. Partly because the hypothesis is not based on any coherent theory of language, it is very difficult to determine exactly what it means in this context,or to draw testable predictions from it.In the absence of specific predictions, research on form-focused instruction and feedback provide indirect tests, the results of which create additional problems for the hypothesis. The various problems can be eliminated or greatly reduced if the Noticing Hypothesis is reformulated as a claim that noticing is necessary for the acquisition of metalinguistic knowledge but not competence.

Acquisition by Processing: A Modular Perspective on Language Development.

The paper offers a model of language development, first and second, within a processing perspective. We first sketch a modular view of language, in which competence is embodied in the processing mechanisms. We then propose a novel approach to language acquisition (Acquisition by Processing Theory, or APT), in which development of the module occurs as a natural product of processing activity, without any acquisition mechanisms as such. The approach is illustrated and explicated through examples of the development of content words, derivational morphology, the functional category I with its variable features, and Case and thematic roles, as well as apparent cross-linguistic variation in processing strategies and the status of bootstrapping in the model. We then examine some possible applications to issues in second language acquisition ‐ noticing the gap, the initial state, transfer, and the apparent limits of SLA ‐ and finally offer a broader perspective on the model: its scope, its relations to other approaches, and its possible limits.

Vitamin k status among children with cystic fibrosis and its relationship to bone mineral density and bone turnover

Objective. The aim of this study was to assess vitamin K status in an unselected population of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to investigate any vitamin K effect on bone turnover and bone mineral status. Methods. Children ≥5 years of age who were attending the CF unit were invited to enter the study. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for levels of vitamin K1 and prothrombin produced in vitamin K absence; total, undercarboxylated, and carboxylated osteocalcin (OC); and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and procollagen I carboxy-terminal propeptide (bone formation markers). Levels of N-telopeptide and free pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline (bone breakdown products) were measured in urine samples. Bone mineral density and bone mineral content were measured at the lumbar spine and for the total body with a GE Lunar Prodigy densitometer. Statistical analyses were performed with Minitab version 9.1. Results. One hundred six children entered the study. Sixty-five of 93 children (70%) from whom blood samples were obtained showed suboptimal vitamin K status, on the basis of low serum vitamin K1 levels, increased prothrombin produced in vitamin K absence levels, or both abnormalities. Vitamin K1 levels showed a significant negative correlation with undercarboxylated OC levels but showed no significant correlation with any marker of bone turnover or measurement of bone mineral status. Undercarboxylated OC levels were correlated significantly with bone turnover markers, which themselves showed a significant negative correlation with measurements of bone mineral density and content. There were no significant correlations between carboxylated or undercarboxylated OC levels and bone density measurements. Conclusions. Vitamin K1 deficiency is common among children with CF, and routine supplements should be considered. Through its role in the carboxylation of OC, vitamin K deficiency may be associated with an uncoupling of the balance between bone resorption and bone formation. A cause-effect relationship between vitamin K deficiency and low bone mass has not been proved.

INPUT, INTAKE, AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Over the last 40 years, there have been successive attempts to define or refine a set of key concepts intended to guide theory and experimentation in SLA. These include input , intake , and consciousness . This article tries to take these attempts a stage further by integrating the conceptualization of these notions into a larger interdisciplinary framework called Modular Online Growth and Use of Language (MOGUL). Past work, which is problematic both in terms of the theoretical development itself and in terms of the way the resulting ideas have been applied, is critically reviewed. A reinterpretation of key concepts in MOGUL terms is presented, in hopes that this reformulation will provide a clearer theoretical understanding and serve as an improved foundation for future research.

Explaining input enhancement: a MOGUL perspective

Abstract For some time second language acquisition researchers have been interested in the idea that various systematic characteristics of a target language can be highlighted in such a way as to facilitate learning. However, apart from persistent methodological obstacles, research has been handicapped by the lack of a theoretical framework of sufficient power to analyse and explain the effects of such “input enhancement”. The advantages of such a framework are discussed here with particular reference to the Modular Online Growth and Use of Language framework (Truscott and Sharwood Smith 2004). The discussion covers the difficulties encountered by researchers trying to identify the processes that take place within the learner when given aspects of speech and writing are somehow converted into new knowledge. The basics of the framework are discussed and applied to concepts familiar from the second language acquisition literature also making reference to some established language teaching approaches and techniques.

Instance theory and Universal Grammar in second language research

This article considers the possibility of applying instance theory to the study of language, second language in particular. Instance theory de-emphasizes the role of abstract principles in knowledge and its acquisition and use, focusing instead on the storage and retrieval of specific experiences, or instances. I argue that the application is feasible only if one also adopts a restrictive theory of Universal Grammar. I then present a sketch of a combined UG–instance theory approach, in which invariant aspects of UG are maintained and variability is allowed in exactly the same areas as in standard theories, but the variation occurs in pools of stored instances, not in abstract parameter values. This approach can be productively applied to various problems in language learning research, including noisy input to learners, undoing of errors during the learning process, transfer and fossilization, and the nondiscrete character of learning.

Optionality in Second Language Acquisition: A Generative, Processing-Oriented Account.

Abstract The simultaneous presence in a learners grammar of two features that should be mutually exclusive (optionality) typifies second language acquisition. But generative approaches have no good means of accommodating the phenomenon. The paper proposes one approach, based on Truscott and Sharwood Smiths (2004) MOGUL framework. In this framework, development involves items being written in the lexicon during processing, in accordance with UG principles embodied in the processors, and their resting activation levels gradually rising as a consequence of repeated use. Stored items compete with one another for inclusion in the representations constructed during processing, with success based on resting levels plus demands of the current processing task. Optionality occurs when two rival items coexist and neither has yet achieved a resting level at which it consistently triumphs over the other. The account is applied to various cases of optionality in second language acquisition.

Consciousness in SLA: A modular perspective:

Understanding the place of consciousness in second language acquisition (SLA) is crucial for an understanding of how acquisition occurs. Considerable work has been done on this topic, but nearly all of it assumes a highly non-modular view, according to which language and its development is ‘nothing special’. As this assumption runs counter to much of the thinking in SLA, there is a need for an account of the place of consciousness within a framework that assumes that core aspects of language compose a distinct module (or modules) of the mind: that language is something special. This article offers such an account within the reasonably well-established MOGUL framework, with its approach to consciousness and the place of consciousness in the cognitive system. After briefly reviewing existing work and then the topics of modularity and consciousness, it presents MOGUL and its treatment of consciousness and then considers the way that this account applies to (1) the initial establishment of linguistic representations in perception, (2) the way these representations are then consolidated, (3) restructuring of the system of representations, and (4) the development of linguistic knowledge outside the language module, i.e. conceptual linguistic knowledge.

Consciousness and second language learning

1. Introduction: Setting the Problem Part I. Consciousness in Mind: Building a Framework 2. The Mind: Representation and Processing 3. Theories of Consciousness 4. MOGUL: A Framework for Understanding Consciousness and Learning 5. Consciousness in the MOGUL Framework Part II. Consciousness in Second Language Learning: Applying the Framework 6. Consciousness in Second Language Learning: A Selective Review 7. Perception: Processing Input 8. Memory Consolidation and Restructuring 9. Conclusion: Consciousness in Second Language Learning References