Hostname: page-component-5cf477f64f-2wr7h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-07T03:35:21.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Allocation Of Attention To Second Language Form And Meaning

Issues of Think-Alouds and Depth of Processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2012

Kara Morgan-Short ,
Jeanne Heil ,
Andrea Botero-Moriarty  and
Shane Ebert
Kara Morgan-Short*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Jeanne Heil
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Andrea Botero-Moriarty
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Shane Ebert
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
*
*Address correspondence to: Kara Morgan-Short, Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, The University of Illinois at Chicago, 1706 UH, MC-315, 601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607; e-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The aims of the present study were twofold. The study addressed the issues of simultaneous attention to form and meaning in second language (L2) written input and reactivity of think-alouds. Specifically, the study examined the comprehension of L2 learners of Spanish who either attended to lexical or grammatical forms while reading for meaning or read for meaning alone. Learners completed these tasks while either thinking aloud or not. Results indicated only a minimal effect for thinking aloud that did not appear to compromise the internal validity of the study. Additionally, results showed that attending to grammatical or lexical form while reading for meaning did not affect comprehension. Indeed, learners who processed these forms more deeply evidenced greater comprehension. These findings are considered in light of methodological issues and the larger issue of simultaneous attention to form and meaning in a L2.

Type
Articles
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 659 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bowles, M. (2008). Task type and reactivity of verbal reports in SLA: A first look at a L2 task other than reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 359–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowles, M. (2010). The think-aloud controversy in second language research. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowles, M., & Leow, R. (2005). Reactivity and type of verbal report in SLA research methodology: Expanding the scope of investigation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 415–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chun, M. M., Golomb, J. D., & Turk-Browne, N. B. (2011). A taxonomy of external and internal attention. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 73–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Craik, F. I. M. (2002). Levels of processing: Past, present... and future? Memory, 10, 305–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 671–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, C. (2009). An effect size primer: A guide to clinicians and researchers. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40, 532–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenslade, T. A., Bouden, L., & Sanz, C. (1999). Attending to form and content in processing L2 reading texts. Spanish Applied Linguistics, 3, 65–90.Google Scholar
Hama, M., & Leow, R. P. (2010). Learning without awareness revisited: Extending Williams (2005). Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32, 465–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson-Hall, J. (2010). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Leow, R. P. (1999). The role of attention in second/foreign language classroom research: Methodological issues. In Gutiérrez-Rexach, J. & Martínez-Gil, F. (Eds.), Advances in Hispanic linguistics: Papers from the 2nd Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 60–71). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Leow, R. P., Hsieh, H., & Moreno, N. (2008). Attention to form and meaning revisited. Language Learning, 58, 665–695.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leow, R. P., & Morgan-Short, K. (2004). To think aloud or not to think aloud: The issue of reactivity in SLA research methodology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 35–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second language learning. London: Arnold.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, B., Rossman, T., & McLeod, B. (1983). Second language learning: An information-processing perspective. Language Learning, 33, 135–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polio, C., & Gass, S. (1997). Replication and reporting: A commentary. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 499–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polio, C., & Wang, J. (2005, October). Another look at the reactivity of concurrent verbal protocols in second language reading research. Paper presented at the Second Language Research Forum, New York.Google Scholar
Rossomondo, A. E. (2007). The role of lexical temporal indicators and text interaction format in the incidental acquisition of the Spanish future tense. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 29, 39–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In Robinson, P. (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3–32). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomlin, R., & Villa, V. (1994). Attention in cognitive science and second language acquisition. Applied Language Learning, 5, 57–93.Google Scholar
Valdman, A. (1993). Replication study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 505.Google Scholar
Valentine, J. C., & Cooper, H. (2003). Effect size substantive interpretation guidelines: Issues in the interpretation of effect sizes. Washington, DC: What Works Clearinghouse.Google Scholar
VanPatten, B. (1990). Attending to form and content in the input: An experiment in consciousness. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 287–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B. (2004). Input processing in SLA. In VanPatten, B. (Ed.), Processing instruction: Theory, research, and commentary (pp. 5–31). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B., Leeser, M. J., Keating, G. D., & Román-Mendoza, E. (Eds.). (2005). Sol y viento: Beginning Spanish. Boston: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Wong, W. (2001). Modality and attention to meaning and form in the input. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 345–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar