Processing Instruction (PI) is an approach to grammar instruction for second language learning. It derives its name from the fact that the instruction (both the explicit explanation as well as the practices) attempt to influence, alter, and/or improve the way learners process input. PI contrasts with traditional grammar instruction in many ways, principally in its focus on the learner's input rather than their output. This book focuses on a new issue for PI, the role of technology in language learning. The authors compare empirically the differential effects of delivering PI in classrooms with an instructor and students interacting (with each other and with the instructor) with students working individually on computers. This book makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of research on the effects of PI on different languages, as well as different linguistic items: preterite/imperfect aspectual contrast and negative informal commands in Spanish, the subjunctive of doubt and opinion in Italian, and the subjunctive of doubt in French.

This volume tracks the impact Processing Instruction has made since its conception. The authors explain Processing Instruction, both its main theoretical underpinnings as well as the guidelines for developing structured input practices. They review the empirical research conducted to date, so that readers have an overview of new research carried out on the effects of Processing Instruction. The work concludes with reflections on the generalizability and limits of the research on Processing Instruction and offers future directions for Processing Instruction research.

Processing Instruction is an approach to grammar instruction for second language learning, contrasting with traditional grammar instruction in its focus on structured input rather than learners' output. This book compares student assessment after traditional grammar instruction and after Processing Instruction to assess the positive benefits of this method of second language teaching. Rather than examining sentence-level tasks, the study looks at the relative effectiveness of Processing Instruction on discourse-level linguistic ability. Case studies using empirical data from second language learners of Japanese, Italian and English are used to highlight the benefits to the learner of this method of enhanced input. This monograph will be of interest to postgraduates and academics researching second language acquisition and applied linguistics.

Input Processing is a theoretical framework on which the pedagogical paradigm called Processing Instruction is predicated. In this book, new data on the acquisition of Italian and Modern Standard Arabic are presented and analyzed within this framework. Each study in the book explores how input processing strategies affect the acquisition of a particular linguistic feature and/or structure in the two languages. The studies use both offline (e.g., sentence and discourse-level tasks) and online tests (e.g., eye-tracking) to measure the effects of this instructional training.

The research we present in this book establishes a unique line of research within the Processing Instruction model by assessing the transfer-of-training effects of this approach to grammar instruction on how learners make form-meaning connections. In this book we present the results of three experimental studies investigating secondary and cumulative effects in French, Italian and English.

This state-of-the-science handbook offers a comprehensive discussion of input processing in second language acquisition. The volume assesses past and current research on input processing and engages the reader in critical reflection about the current state of the field and what lies ahead for future research, theory-building, and implications for language instruction. The handbook considers multiple theoretical perspectives, pivotal research findings, issues in research methodology, and instructional implications that underscore the centrality of input processing in second language acquisition. Whereas to date most research in this area has focused on input processing as it relates to the acquisition of morphosyntax and lexis, the present volume also attends to more recent theoretical advances regarding other linguistic subsystems, such as phonology and pragmatics, as well as processing resource allocation during multilevel input processing. Thorough and forward-looking, this volume is an indispensable resource to scholars and advanced students of second language acquisition, bilingualism, applied linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, and education.