Ronald P. Leow

Learning without Awareness Revisited: Extending Williams (2005).

The role of awareness or consciousness in learning has been a relatively contentious issue in non-SLA fields (e.g., cognitive psychology). With the publications of Williams (2004, 2005), a similar debate appears to be brewing in the field of SLA. Contrary to Leow (2000), who reported that unawareness did not appear to play an important role in second or foreign language development, Williams (2005) offered empirical evidence that learning without awareness appears to be feasible. At the same time, it is also noted that Leow’s and Williams’s (2005) research designs measured unawareness at different stages (online encoding and offline retrieval, respectively) of the acquisitional process. The present study revisited and extended Williams’s (2005) study by using a hybrid design to gather concurrent data at the stage of encoding and during the testing phase as well as nonconcurrent data after the experimental exposure. Some methodological changes were also implemented to probe deeper into learners’ thought processes. The quantitative analyses performed on the data of 34 carefully screened participants revealed that, at the encoding stage, unaware learners do not appear capable of selecting or producing the correct determiner-noun combination when required to do so from options that include both animacy and distance information. The qualitative data underscore the importance of not only situating the measurement of the construct (un)awareness from different stages—that is, both online and offline—but also triangulating data from several sources in any report on its role in learning. Plausible explanations for the differences in findings are discussed.

Toward Operationalizing the Process of Attention in SLA: Evidence for Tomlin and Villa's (1994) Fine-Grained Analysis of Attention.

This study investigates, from a task-based approach and at a morphological level, Tomlin and Villas (1994) fine-grained analysis of attention in second language acquisition. Four groups of beginning learners of Spanish completed one of four crossword puzzles designed to isolate the effects of alertness, orientation, and detection. Repeated-measures ANOVAs performed on the raw scores obtained on the pretest and three posttests of a recognition and written production task revealed significant main effects for type of attentional function, time, and significant interactions. The results lend strong empirical support to Tomlin and Villas (1994) fine-grained analysis of attention while indicating short-term effects of detection.

Models, Attention, and Awareness in SLA: A Response to Simard and Wong's "Alertness, Orientation, and Detection: The Conceptualization of Attentional Functions in SLA" (SSLA, 23, 103-124)

Simard and Wong (2001) raise serious concerns about the theoretical and empirical (Leow, 1998b) aspects of Tomlin and Villas (1994) model, which postulates a fine-grained analysis of attention for SLA and the prediction that awareness at the level of detection is not crucial for further processing of second or foreign language (L2) data. According to Simard and Wong, Tomlin and Villas frequently cited model has provided the “theoretical motivation for recent studies of input enhancement and especially of textual enhancement in SLA” (p. 104), an impact that needs to be viewed with caution (p. 105). To motivate their critique of Tomlin and Villas model, the authors repeatedly question the validity of basing their model on “findings from the research contexts of psychology and neuroscience” (p. 105) and, in turn, put forward suggestions for a model of attention that they claim would better reflect the complex nature of SLA as well as suggestions for “new” research orientations relating to attention and awareness in SLA.

Concurrent data elicitation procedures, processes, and the early stages of L2 learning: A critical overview

Given the current methodological interest in eliciting direct data on the cognitive processes L2 learners employ as they interact with L2 data during the early stages of the learning process, this article takes a critical and comparative look at three concurrent data elicitation procedures currently employed in the SLA literature: Think aloud (TA) protocols, eye-tracking (ET), and reaction time (RT). The section on each data elicitation procedure begins with a brief historical and descriptive account of its usage and application in the SLA literature to address cognitive processes as they occur during the early stages of the L2 learning process, followed by its strengths and some methodological issues that should be considered. Suggestions are provided for their usage in future studies investigating concurrent cognitive processes in L2 learning at these early stages of the L2 learning process.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GUIDED INDUCTION VERSUS DEDUCTIVE INSTRUCTION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX SPANISH GUSTAR STRUCTURES: An Analysis of Learning Outcomes and Processes

Meta-analytic research suggests an edge of explicit over implicit instruction for the development of complex L2 grammatical structures, but the jury is still out as to which type of explicit instruction—deductive or inductive, where rules are respectively provided or elicited—proves more effective. Avoiding this dichotomy, accumulating research shows superior results for guided induction, in which teachers help learners co-construct rules by directing their attention to relevant aspects in the input and asking guiding questions. However, no study has jointly investigated the effects of guided induction on both learning outcomes and processes, or whether guided induction can prove effective outside classroom settings where teacher mediation is not possible. In this study, which targeted the complex Spanish gustar structures, 70 English-speaking learners of beginning Spanish received either guided induction via a videogame, deductive instruction in a traditional classroom setting, or no instruction. Learning outcomes were measured via one receptive and two controlled production tasks (oral and written) with old and new items. Results revealed that while both instruction groups improved across time, outperforming the control group, the guided induction group achieved higher learning outcomes on all productive posttests (except immediate oral production) and experienced greater retention. Additionally, the think-aloud protocols of the guided induction group revealed high levels of awareness of the L2 structure and a conspicuous activation of recently learned knowledge, which are posited to have contributed to this group’s superior performance. These findings thus illustrate, quantitatively and qualitatively, the potential of guided induction for the development of complex L2 grammar in online learning environments.

Does the medium really matter in L2 development? The validity of CALL research designs

Currently, an increasing number of educational institutions are redefining second/foreign language (L2) classrooms by enhancing – or even replacing – traditional face-to-face (FTF) instruction with computer-assisted language learning (CALL). However, are these curricular decisions supported by research? Overall, a cursory review of empirical studies appears to provide strong support for the use of CALL. Studies claim that technology can successfully promote learning in several areas of L2 acquisition, including grammar, and that it can even outperform FTF instruction in some cases. However, the methodological validity of this body of research has never been thoroughly assessed and, consequently, we ignore how much confidence we can place in its results. To address this, the present study analyzes the internal and external validity of 16 recent developmental studies. Based on this analysis, we conclude that at this point no strong argument can be made about whether or not the medium matters in L2 development, until further empirical studies with more robust research designs fully address the comparative effects of CALL vs. FTF instruction, including the role of some possibly intervening variables such as task type, time-on-task, or modality. To this end, we provide methodological recommendations that may raise the internal and external validity of future research designs as the empirical interest in CALL continues to blossom.

Simplification and Second Language Acquisition

The role and effects of simplification in second foreign language (L2) acquisition have been a contentious issue dating back to the early 1930s (e.g., Redman, 1932). The importance of modifications made to L2 input has been underscored in second language acquisition (SLA) for its effects on facilitating L2 learners’ comprehension (e.g., Hatch, 1983; Kelch, 1985). In addition, it has been argued that, because simplified or modified input facilitates comprehension, it indirectly has an effect on acquisiton by providing learners’ developing linguistic sysems with more grammatical information (e.g., Krashen, 1985; Long, 1983, 1985). This article provides a critical review of current empirical L2 studies that have attempted to address the effects of simplification on L2 learners’ comprehension and intake in the written and aural modes. It is argued that the issue of the role and effects of simplification on learners’ comprehension and intake remains contentious and two clearly defined research areas are provided.

Depth of processing in L2 learning: theory, research, and pedagogy

Both educators and researchers alike are usually confounded by the differential performances of L2 learners who are exposed to the same L2 information in the classroom setting. Current second language acquisition (SLA) research employing concurrent data elicitation procedures (e.g., think-aloud protocols to gather online data on learners’ cognitive processes employed during their interaction with the L2 data) are revealing that one potential explanation may lie in how deeply L2 learners process the L2 information, usually referred to as depth of processing. Depth of processing is defined as the relative amount of cognitive effort, level of analysis, elaboration of intake together with the usage of prior knowledge, hypothesis testing and rule formation employed in encoding and decoding some grammatical or lexical item in the input (Leow 2015). This article presents a succinct report of the role of depth of processing from a theoretical perspective in the Instructed SLA field, reports the findings of resear...

A Psycholinguistic Approach to Technology and Language Learning

The use of technology for second language learning is ever more present. This book offers a unique four-prong approach (theoretical, methodological, empirical, and pedagogical) to current and prospective uses of technology in L2 learning from a psycholinguistic perspective. It is accessible to teachers, graduate students, and professors of all disciplines interested in technology and L2 learning.

The Roles of Attention and (Un)awareness in SLA: Conceptual Replication of N. C. Ellis & Sagarra (2010a) and Leung & Williams (2012).

There is no doubt that attention and (un)awareness in second/foreign language (L2 learning) are two constructs that have permeated, explicitly or implicitly, second language acquisition (SLA) studies since their inception. Indeed, we have witnessed several empirical studies attempting to probe more deeply into the roles of these two constructs in the L2 learning process. Given the challenging methodological issue of eliciting and interpreting data on such internal processes, this paper underscores the importance and benefits of conducting replications of studies investigating both the roles of attention and awareness, or lack thereof, in the L2 learning process. A report on two key SLA studies is provided and several suggestions for replication are made for each study together with their accompanying potential benefits.