Cover not available
Part of
Research on Second Language Processing and Processing Instruction: Studies in honor of Bill VanPatten
Edited by Michael J. Leeser, Gregory D. Keating and Wynne Wong
[Studies in Bilingualism 62] 2021
► pp. 153–182

Chapter 5
VanPatten (1990)’s long and winding story and the nature of replication studies

| Georgetown University
| Georgetown University

VanPatten’s (1990) investigation of attention to form and meaning during input processing remains among the most cited and replicated studies in second language research. Early replications (Barcroft, 2001; Greenslade, Bouden, & Sanz, 1999; Wong, 2001) kept materials intact, changing modality or language, yielding comparable results. Later replications operationalized comprehension differently, changing text and assessment, and concluded even low proficiency learners can consciously process form, regardless of salience or meaning, without detriment to comprehension (Leow, Hsieh, & Moreno, 2008; Morgan-Short, Heil, Botero-Moriarty, & Ebert, 2012; Morgan-Short et al., 2018). This chapter compares these texts and assessments. Results suggest the new assessment obscures differences between proficiencies and modalities, and the new, more complex text hides task effects identified in the original strand.

Keywords: replication, attention, language processing, form versus meaning, second language
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The initial study
  • The replication agenda and the replication crisis in SLA
    • The replication agenda: Replication round 1
    • The replication agenda: Replication round 2
  • The current study
  • Methodology
    • Participants
    • Materials
    • Procedure
  • Analysis and results
    • Coding
    • Quantitative analyses
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 17 March 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.62.05san
References
Abutalebi, J.
(2008) Neural aspects of second language representation and language control. Acta Psychologica, 128, 466–478. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Abutalebi, J., Della Rosa, P. A., Green, D. W., Hernandez, M., Scifo, P., Keim, R., … Costa, A.
(2012) Bilingualism tunes the anterior cingulate cortex for conflict monitoring. Cerebral Cortex, 22, 2076–2086. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barcroft, J.
(2001) Attention to form and meaning in the written mode: Unconstrained and constrained reading. Spanish Applied Linguistics, 5, 95–127.Google Scholar
Bowles, M. A.
(2010) Concurrent verbal reports in second language research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 111–127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bush, M.
(2015) Reducing the need for guesswork in multiple-choice tests. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40, 218–231. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carrell, P.
(1985) Facilitating ESL reading by teaching text structure. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 727–752. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cortina, J.
(1993) What is coefficient alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 98–104. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Greenslade, T., Bouden, L., & Sanz, C.
(1999) Attending to form and content in processing L2 reading texts. Spanish Applied Linguistics, 3, 65–90.Google Scholar
Indefrey, P.
(2006) A meta-analysis of hemodynamic studies on first and second language processing: Which suggested differences can we trust and what do they mean? Language Learning, 56, 279–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ioannidis, J.
(2005) Why most published research findings are false. PLOS Medicine, 2, 696–701. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kucan, L., & Beck, I.
(1997) Thinking aloud and reading comprehension research: Inquiry, instruction, and social interaction. Review of Educational Research, 67, 271–299. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leow, R. P., Hsieh, H., & Moreno, N.
(2008) Attention to form and meaning revisited. Language Learning, 58, 665–695. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Luijendijk, H., & Koolman, X.
(2012) The incentive to publish negative studies: How beta-blockers and depression got stuck in the publication cycle. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 65, 488–492. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marsden, E., Morgan-Short, K., Thompson, S., & Abugaber, D.
(2018) Replication in second language research: Narrative and systematic reviews and recommendations for the field. Language Learning, 68, 321–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Morgan-Short, K., Heil, J., Botero-Moriarty, A., & Ebert, S.
(2012) Allocation of attention to second language form and meaning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34, 659–685. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Morgan-Short, K., Marsden, E., Heil, J., Issa, B., Leow, R., Mikhaylova, A., … Szudarski, P.
(2018) Multi-site replication in second language acquisition research: Attention to form during listening and reading comprehension. Language Learning, 68, 392–437. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Morgan-Short, K., Marsden, E., Heil, J., Leow, R. P., Mikhaylova, A., Mikołajczak, S., … Slabakova, R.
(2016, September). Attention to form and second language comprehension: A multi- site replication and extension. Paper presented at the 35th Second Language Research Forum, New York, NY.
Polio, C., & Gass, S.
(1997) Replication and reporting. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 499–508. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Porte, G.
(2012) Replication research in applied linguistics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Porte, G., & McManus, K.
(2019) Doing replication research in applied linguistics. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rangel Montemayos, I. E.
(1999, December 9). Los Aztecas II. Retrieved from [URL]
Sanz, C.
(2005) Mind and context in adult second language acquisition: Methods, theory, and practice. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Sanz, C., Lin, H-J., Lado, B., Bowden, H. W., & Stafford, C. A.
(2009) Concurrent verbalizations, pedagogical conditions, and reactivity: Two CALL studies. Language Learning, 59, 33–71. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Serafini, E. J., & Sanz, C.
(2016) Evidence for the decreasing impact of cognitive ability on second language development as proficiency increases. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38(4), 607–646. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taber, K.
(2016) The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273–1296. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B.
(1989) Can learners attend to form and content while processing input? Hispania, 72, 409–416. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1990) Attending to form and content in the input. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 287–301. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1996) Input processing and grammar instruction: Theory and research. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
(2004) Input processing in SLA. In B. VanPatten (Ed.), Processing instruction: Theory, research, and commentary (pp. 5–31). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wong, W.
(2001) Modality and attention to meaning and form in the input. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 345–368. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Marsden, Emma & Kara Morgan‐Short
2023. (Why) Are Open Research Practices the Future for the Study of Language Learning?. Language Learning 73:S2 ► pp. 344 ff. DOI logo
Pan, Junlan, Yuyang Zhang & Wen Zhang
2023. Revisiting attending to form during meaning comprehension in learning Spanish as an additional foreign language. Foreign Language Annals 56:1 ► pp. 214 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 15 april 2024. 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.