Current research on instructed second language learning

A bird’s eye view

Robert DeKeyser | University of Maryland

Goretti Prieto Botana | University of Southern California

In this introductory chapter we provide a picture of recent research on instructed second language learning (ISLA), not about its findings, but about what questions it addresses, on what aspects of the second language, and with what methodologies. We also address some potential reasons for why ISLA research is a relatively small part of the SLA research published in the leading journals, and for why a rather small part of that ISLA research is carried out in actual classrooms. We then present a set of questions about research methodology and generalizability of results that we asked the authors of each empirical chapter in the book (Chapters 2–9) to address, and we provide a brief overview of where the various contributions fall on the spectrum from least to most instructional intervention, which in turn largely determines their answers to the questions we asked them to address.

Keywords: instructed second language acquisition, research methodology, classroom research, laboratory research

Published online: 07 March 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.52.01dek

References

Housen, A., Pierrard, M., & Vandaele, S.

(2005) Structure complexity and the efficacy of explicit grammar instruction. In A. Housen & M. Pierrard (Eds.), Investigations in instructed second language acquisition (pp. 235–267). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Loewen, S.

(2015) Introduction to instructed second language acquisition. London: Routledge.

Rosenshine, B., & Furst, N.

(1973) The use of direct observation to study teaching. In R. M. W. Travers (Ed.), Second handbook for research on teaching (pp. 122–183). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.

Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Comajoan-Colomé, Llorenç & Ares Llop Naya

2021. An SLA-Informed and Cognitive Linguistic Approach to the Teaching of L2 Catalan Tense-Aspect. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación 87 ► pp. 95 ff.

Decius, Julian, Niclas Schaper & Andreas Seifert

2021. Work Characteristics or Workers’ Characteristics? An Input-Process-Output Perspective on Informal Workplace Learning of Blue-Collar Workers. Vocations and Learning 14:2 ► pp. 285 ff.

Sato, Masatoshi & Kata Csizér

2021. Introduction: Combining learner psychology and ISLA research: Intersections in the classroom. Language Teaching Research 25:6 ► pp. 839 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 december 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.