Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 A Theory of Input Processing: How Learners Work with Input
- Chapter 2 Processing Instruction: Research and Practice in Assessing Primary Effects
- Chapter 3 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of Italian Noun–Adjective Agreement to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on Italian Future Tense Verb Morphology
- Chapter 4 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of English Past Tense to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on English Third Person Singular Present Tense
- Chapter 5 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of French Imparfait to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on French Subjunctive and to Cumulative Transfer-of-Training Effects with French Causative Constructions
- Chapter 6 Final Comments
- Appendix A Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: English Past Tense
- Appendix B Sample Materials for Traditional Instruction: English Past Tense
- Appendix C Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: French Imparfait
- Appendix D Sample Materials for Traditional Instruction: French Imparfait
- Appendix E Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: Italian Adjective Gender Agreement
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Chapter 1 - A Theory of Input Processing: How Learners Work with Input
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2026
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 A Theory of Input Processing: How Learners Work with Input
- Chapter 2 Processing Instruction: Research and Practice in Assessing Primary Effects
- Chapter 3 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of Italian Noun–Adjective Agreement to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on Italian Future Tense Verb Morphology
- Chapter 4 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of English Past Tense to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on English Third Person Singular Present Tense
- Chapter 5 From Processing Instruction on the Acquisition of French Imparfait to Secondary Transfer-of-Training Effects on French Subjunctive and to Cumulative Transfer-of-Training Effects with French Causative Constructions
- Chapter 6 Final Comments
- Appendix A Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: English Past Tense
- Appendix B Sample Materials for Traditional Instruction: English Past Tense
- Appendix C Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: French Imparfait
- Appendix D Sample Materials for Traditional Instruction: French Imparfait
- Appendix E Sample Materials for Processing Instruction: Italian Adjective Gender Agreement
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
There are many theories and theoretical orientations that guide contemporary research on second language acquisition (SLA). Mitchell and Myles (2004: 2) comment that '... although the field of second language learning research has been extremely active and productive in recent decades, we have not yet arrived at a unified or comprehensive view as to how second languages are learnt'. VanPatten and Williams (2007a) ask why just one comprehensive theory to account for all of second language acquisition does not exist. Their response to the question is amusing but insightful nonetheless.
To understand [why there isn't just one theory to account for SLA], one might consider the parable about the four blind men and the elephant. These sightless men chance upon a pachyderm for the first time and one, holding its tail, says, 'Ah! The elephant is very much like a rope'. The second one has wrapped his arms around a giant leg and says, 'Ah! The elephant is like a tree'. The third has been feeling along side the elephant's massive body and says, 'Ah! The elephant is very much like a wall'. The fourth, having seized the trunk cries out, 'Ah! The elephant is very much like a snake'. For us, SLA is a big elephant that researchers can easily look at from different perspectives ... Thus, researchers have grabbed onto different parts of the elephant as a means of coming to grips with the complex phenomenon. (VanPatten & Williams, 2007a: vii–viii)
While we do not make any assertions as to which part of the elephant we are grabbing, we can assert that, as far as second language acquisition is concerned, we are working with input and examining the ways in which learners work with input. What is input? 'The raw linguistic data (oral or written) to which learners are exposed' (Farley, 2005: 109). 'Samples of language that learners are exposed to in a communicative context or setting' (Wong, 2005: 119).
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- Grammar Acquisition and Processing InstructionSecondary and Cumulative Effects, pp. 1 - 23Publisher: Multilingual MattersFirst published in: 2026
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