"This book explores relationships between Processability Theory approaches and other approaches to SLA. It is distinctive in two ways. It offers PT-insiders a way to see connections between their familiar traditions and theories with other ways of working. Parallel to this it offers readers who work in other traditions ways of connecting with a research tradition that makes precise testable claims about second language acquisition processes. These dual perspectives mean that both beginning and established SLA researchers as well as those seeking to connect their work with views of language learning will find something of interest. Studies of multiple languages and multiple aspects of language are included. Chapters cover areas as diverse as literacy, language comprehension, language attrition and language testing"--.

• Widening Contexts for Processability Theory
• Editorial page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Table of contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1. Contextualising issues in Processability Theory
  • References
• Section 1. Language production and comprehension processes
• Chapter 2. Towards an integrated model of grammatical encoding and decoding in SLA
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. A Shared Grammatical Workspace in language processing
  • 3. The perspective on SLA – Processability Theory & the Multiple Constraints Hypothesis
  • 4. An integrated perspective on encoding and decoding in SLA
  • 5. The acquisition of the passive in comprehension and production
    • 5.1 The passive in LFG and PT
    • 5.2 Minimal requirements in production and comprehension
  • 6. The study – Research design and results
    • 6.1 Tasks for data elicitation
    • 6.2 Data analysis
    • 6.3 Results
  • 7. Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 3. Productive and receptive processes in PT
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The current study
  • 3. The procedural skills hypothesis
  • 4. The current study
    • 4.1 Participants
    • 4.2 Oral interview
    • 4.3 Self-paced reading task
    • 4.4 Implicational scaling
  • 5. Results
    • 5.1 Group scores on self-paced reading
    • 5.2 Implicational scaling results
    • 5.3 Production versus comprehension: Individual results
  • 6. Discussion
  • 7. Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Chapter 4. Is morpho-syntactic decoding governed by Processability Theory?
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Processability Theory: Basic mechanisms
  • 3. PT and grammar decoding: The psycholinguistic plausibility of mirrored processors
  • 4. PT, methodology and receptive grammar tasks
    • 4.1 Methodological challenges
    • 4.2 Receptive grammar instruments and PT
    • 4.3 Previous research
  • 5. Design and methodology
    • 5.1 Participants
    • 5.2 Instrument
    • 5.3 Administration procedure
    • 5.4 Scoring and analysis
    • 5.5 Results
  • 6. Discussion
  • 7. Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
• Section 2. Language acquisition features across typological boundaries
• Chapter 5. Case within the phrasal procedure stage: Sequences of acquisition in Russian L2
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Case in Russian
  • 3. Studies of acquisition of case
  • 4. Developmental hypothesis
  • 5. The study
    • 5.1 Methodology
    • 5.2 Data analysis
  • 6. Conclusion
  • References
  • A. Appendix
• Chapter 6. Developing morpho-syntax in non-configurational languages: A comparison between Russian L2 and Italian L2
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Marked word orders in Russian and Italian
  • 3. The developmental hypotheses
  • 4. Empirical evidence
  • 5. Conclusion
  • References
• Section 3. Language use and developmental trajectories
• Chapter 7. Using the Multiplicity framework to reposition and reframe the Hypothesis Space
  • 1. Introduction: Processability Theory, Multiplicity and variation
  • 2. Sociolinguistic issues and PT: A historical account
  • 3. The Multiplicity framework of the communicative repertoire
    • 3.1 Introducing Multiplicity
    • 3.2 Multiplicity and acquisition
  • 4. Existential constructions
  • 5. The Multiplicity Framework applied to the acquisition of ‘there’ existentials
  • 6. The potential of an expanded view of Hypothesis Space
  • References
• Chapter 8. Processability theory as a tool in the study of a heritage speaker of Norwegian
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The speaker and the community
  • 3. Lars’ language
  • 4. The input
  • 5. Lars’ language and PT stages
    • 5.1 Stage 2: Inflection
    • 5.2 Stage 3: Phrasal information exchange
    • 5.3 Stage 4: Interphrasal information exchange
    • 5.4 Stage 5: Distinguishing main and subordinate clauses
  • 6. Language attrition or incomplete acquisition: Discussion and conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 9. Discourse-pragmatic conditions for Object topicalisation structures in early L2 Chinese
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Chinese Object topicalisation structures
  • 3. The studies: Informants, data collection and data analysis
  • 4. Results
    • 4.1 The processing factor in Object topicalisation
    • 4.2 Discourse-pragmatic conditions for Object topicalisation
  • 5. Discussion
  • 6. Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • References
• Chapter 10. Modelling relative clauses in Processability Theory and Lexical-Functional Grammar
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Relative clauses
    • 2.1 Relative clauses in LFG
    • 2.2 RCs in Processability Theory
  • 3. Classification of RCs
    • 3.1 Inter-clausal information exchange
    • 3.2 Syntax and phrase structure rules
  • 4. Differences in mapping processes
    • 4.1 The NPhead as subj of the matrix clause
    • 4.2 Processing of the NPhead as subj vs. obj of the matrix clause
  • 5. Future research
  • 6. Summary and conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 11. Early development and relative clause constructions in English as a second language: A longitudinal study
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Major theoretical approaches to relative clause acquisition
    • 2.1 Emergentism and Usage-based approaches
    • 2.2 The Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy (NPAH)
    • 2.3 Perceptual Difficulty Hypothesis (PDH)
    • 2.4 SO Hierarchy Hypothesis (SOHH)
  • 3. Morpho-syntactic development in Processability Theory
  • 4. The study
    • 4.1 Research question
    • 4.2 The informant and the data
    • 4.3 Analysis
  • 5. Results
    • 5.1 Morphological development
    • 5.2 Development of relative clause constructions
  • 6. Discussion
    • 6.1 Emergentism and Usage-based approaches
    • 6.2 Testing the Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy (NPAH)
    • 6.3 Testing the Perceptual Difficulty Hypothesis (PDH)
    • 6.4 Testing the SO Hierarchy Hypothesis (SOHH)
    • 6.5 Acquisition of RC constructions and PT stages
  • 7. Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
• Section 4. Language learning and teaching issues in relation to classroom and assessment contexts
• Chapter 12. Exploiting the potential of tasks for targeted language learning in the EFL classroom
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. A developmentally moderated approach to language teaching
  • 3. A classroom study
    • 3.1 Research design
    • 3.2 The use of third person singular ‑s
    • 3.3 Illustrating the task-based interaction of learners
  • 4. Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 13. Teaching the German case system: A comparison of two approaches to the study of learner readiness
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Individual learner readiness in SLA
  • 3. The acquisition of the German case system
  • 4. The study
    • 4.1 Design and participants
    • 4.2 Instruction
    • 4.3 Data elicitation
    • 4.4 Readiness
    • 4.5 Analysis and scoring
  • 5. Results
    • 5.1 Accuracy analysis
    • 5.2 Emergence analysis
  • 6. Discussion and conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
• Chapter 14. Development of English question formation in the EFL context of China: Recasts or prompts?
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. English question formation and PT
  • 3. The role of CF in SLA
  • 4. CF and English question formation
  • 5. CF and L2 classroom learning
  • 6. The present study
  • 7. Methodology
    • 7.1 Participants
    • 7.2 Research design and procedures
    • 7.3 Instruments for testing and treatment
    • 7.4 Training the teacher
    • 7.5 Operationalisation of recasts and prompts
    • 7.6 Data analysis
    • 7.7 Coding of the data
  • 8. Results
    • 8.1 Stage-5 questions
    • 8.2 Target-like questions
  • 9. Discussion
  • 10. Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 15. Can print literacy impact upon learning to speak Standard Australian English?
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1 Background
    • 1.2 Literacy and oral SLA/SDA
  • 2. Method
    • 2.1 Research site
    • 2.2 Participants
    • 2.3 Research design
  • 3. Results
  • 4. Discussion and implications
  • 5. Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix A. Spot-the-difference task
  • Appendix B. Individual analysis of linguistic changes presented in the recast, and participant rate of uptake
• Chapter 16. The role of grammatical development in oral assessment
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Theoretical background
    • 2.1 Processability hierarchy of Swedish
    • 2.2 Communicative language ability
    • 2.3 Aim of the study and research questions
  • 3. Design of the study
    • 3.1 The oral test
    • 3.2 The test-takers
    • 3.3 Methodology
  • 4. Results
  • 5. Discussion of the results
  • 6. Conclusion
  • References
• Chapter 17. How does PT’s view of acquisition relate to the challenge of widening perspectives on SLA?
  • PT and emergence
  • PT and the data underpinning the emergence criterion
  • Emergence and mastery
  • Emergence is embedded in other processes
  • What does acquisition look like for variational features?
  • Where to now?
  • References
• Index