REEXAMINING THE ROLE OF EXPLICIT INFORMATION IN PROCESSING INSTRUCTION

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Response Time ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Processing Problem ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Explicit Information ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive

The present study sought to observe, through online treatments, whether explicit information assists acquisition in a way that has not been measured in previous processing instruction (PI) studies. Two experiments examined learners' behavior while they processed Spanish sentences with object-verb-subject (OVS) word order and Spanish subjunctive under two treatments: with explicit information (the PI group) and without explicit information (the structured input [SI] group). Participants in both groups worked individually with a computer and processed a series of 30 SI items. They received feedback right after each response, and both accuracy and response time were recorded. It was expected that learners in the PI group would start to process both of the linguistic targets sooner in the sequence of input items and would submit their responses faster than learners in the SI group, because explicit information in the PI treatment would help learners notice the target items early in the series. The results showed no difference between the SI group and the PI group when processing OVS sentences, but the PI group processed subjunctive forms sooner and faster than the SI group. The results suggest that the benefits of explicit information might depend on the nature of the task and the processing problem.

How effective are affective activities? Relative benefits of two types of structured input activities as part of a computer-delivered lesson on the Spanish subjunctive

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florencia Henshaw
Keyword(s):  
Learning Gains ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Spanish Subjunctive ◽  
Over Time

Proponents of Processing Instruction (VanPatten, 2005) claim that learners benefit most when presented with both referential and affective structured input activities. Following a classic pretest–posttest design, the present study investigates the role of these two types of activities on the learning of the Spanish subjunctive. Groups differed only with respect to the types of activities completed during practice: (1) affective activities only, (2) referential activities only, or (3) referential activities followed by affective activities. All groups showed a significant improvement in performance on recognition and interpretation tasks, suggesting that both types of activities, either in isolation or combined, may be equally beneficial to learners. All practice conditions experienced a decline in performance over the span of two weeks, but delayed posttest scores were still significantly higher than pretest scores, indicating that some of the gains from instruction were maintained over time. Additionally, in the case of interpretation items, results revealed that the two groups that engaged in affective activities were able to better maintain learning gains over the span of two weeks than the group that completed only referential activities. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of task-essentialness in structured input practice.

The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Henry
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Learner Performance ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Targeted Instruction ◽  
Processing Strategies ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Case Markers ◽  
Slight Advantage

Abstract Previous research has suggested that L2 learners often use non-target processing strategies to understand sentences, but that these strategies can be changed through targeted instruction that directs their attention to different linguistic forms or structures. The present study explores the effects of pretraining ‘blocking’ practice—a novel type of training designed to help learners inhibit the application of a strict word-order based processing strategy—prior to receiving a traditional Structured Input (SI) training focused on OVS word order and accusative case markers in German. The study compares three groups of third-semester German learners who completed three different activities in one training session: (1) SI with blocking practice (+BP), (2) SI preceded by explicit information (+EI), and (3) SI without EI or blocking practice (−EI). The effects of training were measured by sentence-level interpretation and production tasks administered as a pretest, posttest, and four-week delayed posttest. Learner performance was also assessed during training. Results in all assessment measures indicated that EI was most effective, but that blocking practice lent a slight advantage over −EI groups during and after training. These results are discussed in the context of studies on processing instruction and learned attention.

scholarly journals Processing instruction: Learning complex grammar and writing accuracy through structured input activities

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sima Modirkhamene ◽  
Aram Pouyan ◽  
Parviz Alavinia
Keyword(s):  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Attitude Survey ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Deductive Method ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Effective Role

Aimed to change the way input is perceived and processed, processing instruction (PI) tends to help learners focus on particular grammatical forms and alter their inappropriate processing problems so that they make a better form-meaning connection. As an attempt to extend the existing research on the use of PI, the present study was carried out to examine 40 elementary EFL learners’ grammatical achievement having been exposed to PI-based structured input activities. Two groups of learners, namely, PI (n = 20) and traditional instruction (TI, n= 20) were instructed the simple past tense –ed using PI-guided structured input activities and the conventional deductive method, respectively. Findings obtained from a set of interpretation and production tasks in pre- and post-test stages (immediate and delayed) revealed the superiority of the PI group both in the short term and the long run when compared to their peers instructed through the conventional deductive approach. Furthermore, within-group comparisons revealed some variation in participants’ performance in interpretation vs. production tasks. The discrepant findings in the production against interpretation tasks were also confirmed by what we obtained from the attitude survey; indicating that although the learners appreciated the effective role of PI in their results of attitude survey, confirming learners’ appreciation of the effective role of PI in their comprehension of the target structure, they were not very positive to the production tasks. It is concluded that different stages of comprehension and production in second language development, reflected as the general proficiency of the learners, potentially differ in terms of drawing learners’ attention to target structures more specifically when the tasks (e.g., production) are more cognitively demanding.

The pedagogical relevance of processing instruction in second language idiom acquisition

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong-eun Kim ◽  
Hosung Nam
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Explicit Information

AbstractThis study explores the relevance and effectiveness of processing instruction in second language (L2) idiom learning by examining (1) whether structured input (SI) is more effective than non-SI, comprehension-based activities and (2) whether explicit information (EI) in addition to SI can facilitate L2 idiom learning. One hundred adult L2 English speakers were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: four groups who participated in SI activities in one of four EI conditions (i. e., no EI; EI before SI, EI during SI, or EI both before and during SI), a non-SI group, and a control group. Results from three types of tasks (translation, interpretation, and production) showed that (1) SI is more effective than comprehension-based activities in developing learners’ L2 idiom production ability and (2) EI can facilitate learners’ accurate L2 idiom translation, particularly when it is provided before the SI activities. No beneficial effect was observed from EI provided during the SI activities.

Explanation versus Structured Input in Processing Instruction

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 495-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill VanPatten ◽  
Soile Oikkenon
Keyword(s):  
Production Test ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Structured Input ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Explicit Information ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Level Production

This study replicates VanPatten and Cadierno (1993) in an attempt to determine whether or not explicit information given to learners receiving processing instruction is responsible for the beneficial effects of instruction. Fifty-nine subjects were divided into three groups: (1) one receiving processing instruction in object pronouns and word order in Spanish as in VanPatten and Cadierno (1993), (2) another receiving explanation only with no activities or practice, (3) and another receiving only the structured input activities with no explanation. A pretest/post-test assessment was used involving two tests, an interpretation test and a sentence-level production test. Results showed that the beneficial effects of instruction were due to the structured input activities and not to the explicit information (explanation) provided to learners.

Processing instruction on the Spanish passive with transfer-of-training effects to anaphoric and cataphoric reference contexts

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
James F. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Transfer Of Training ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Final Position ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Training Effects ◽  
Accusative Case ◽  
Linguistic Item ◽  
L2 Learners

AbstractTransfer-of-training effects with processing instruction have recently been reported in the literature. That is, L2 learners receive processing instruction on one particular linguistic item and, as a consequence of instruction, learners' performance improves not only on the particular linguistic item but on other linguistic items as well. The present study examines processing instruction on the Spanish passive, the word order of which places the patient in the grammatical role of subject in sentence initial position and the agent as the object of a preposition in sentence final position. The purpose of the study is to determine whether learners transfer the training they receive on processing the word order of passive sentences to their processing of sentences with anaphoric reference, specifically, accusative case pronouns for which the word order is O

A Response Time Model on the Role of Spectral and Duration Cues in Vowel Perception

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Tillman ◽  
Don van Ravenzwaaij ◽  
Scott Brown ◽  
Titia Benders
Keyword(s):  
Response Time ◽  
Time Model ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Response Time Model
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