Chapter 11
Generative second language acquisition and language teaching
Advancing the dialogue
Though language teaching concerns lie outside the core aim of generative second language acquisition (GenSLA) research, consideration of how GenSLA findings might be useful for the language classroom has nonetheless been a consistent sub-theme within Roumyana Slabakova’s work. This paper reports on a recent body of “applied GenSLA” research and teacher-researcher networking activities that address this theme by explicitly aiming to investigate applications of GenSLA research in a language teaching context. The applied GenSLA work is then discussed in the broader context of engagement between language teachers and SLA research generally (E. Marsden & Kasprowicz 2017; Nassaji, 2012), and concludes with proposals for how applied GenSLA can contribute towards advancing the teacher-researcher dialogue.
Article outline
- Applied GenSLA research
- Applied GenSLA intervention studies
- Applied GenSLA investigations of teaching applications for generative linguistic research
- Teacher–researcher engagement activities
- Network events
- Focus groups
- Concluding discussion
-
Acknowledgement
-
Notes
-
References
References (64)
References
AQA. (2016). GCSE French: Specification. Retrieved from <[URL]>
British Academy. (2011). Language matters more and more. London: British Academy Policy Centre.
Burge, B., Ager, R., Cook., R., Cunningham, R., Morrison, J., Weaving, H., & Wheater, R. (2013). European survey on language competences: Language proficiency in England. London: National Foundation for Educational Research.
Bruhn de Garavito, J. (2013a). What research can tell us about teaching: The case of pronouns and clitics. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 17–34). Dordrecht: Springer.
Bruhn de Garavito, J., & Montrul, S. (1996). Verb movement and clitic placement in French and Spanish as a second language. In A. Stringfellow, D. Cahana-Amitay, E. Hughes, & A. Zukowski (Eds.), BUCLD 20: Proceedings of the 20th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 123–134). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
Burzio, L. (1986). Italian syntax: A government-binding approach. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Chen, P. (2004). Identifiability and definiteness in Chinese. Linguistics, 42, 1129–1184.
Crookes, G. (1997). SLA and language pedagogy. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 93–116.
Crookes, G. (1998). On the relationship between second and foreign language teachers and research. TESOL Journal, 7, 6–11.
de Bot, K. (2014). Moving where? A reaction to Slabakova et al. (2014). Applied Linguistics, 36, 261–264.
Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (1998). Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Duffield, N., & White, L. (1999). Assessing L2 knowledge of Spanish clitic placement: Convergent methodologies. Second Language Research, 15, 133–160.
Ellis, N. C. (2005). At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 305–52.
Gil, K-H., Marsden, H., & Whong, M. (2017). The meaning of negation in the second language classroom: evidence from “any”. Language Teaching Research. Retrieved from: <.
Hirakawa, M. (2001). L2 acquisition of Japanese unaccusative verbs. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 221–245.
Hirakawa, M. (2003). Unaccusativity in second language Japanese and English. Tokyo: Hituzi Syobo.
Hirakawa, M. (2013). Alternations and argument structure in second language english: Knowledge of two types of intransitive verbs. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 117–137). Dordrecht: Springer.
Hirakawa, M., Shibuya, M., & Endo, M. (2018). Explicit instruction, input flood or study abroad: Which helps Japanese learners of English acquire adjective ordering? Language Teaching Research. Electronic publication ahead of print version.
Ionin, T., Ko, H., & Wexler, K. (2004). Article semantics in L2 acquisition: The role of specificity. Language Acquisition, 12, 3–69.
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2010). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. London: Longman.
Krifka, M., Pelletier, F. J., Carlson, G. N., ter Meulen, A., Link, G., & Chierchia, G. (1995). Genericity: An introduction. In G. Carlson & F. Pelletier (Eds.), The generic book (pp.1–125). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Leal, T., & Slabakova, R. (2017). The relationship between L2 instruction, exposure, and the L2 acquisition of a syntax-discourse property in L2 Spanish. Language Teaching Research. Retrieved from: <,
Leal, T., Slabakova, R., & Farmer, T. (2017). Fine-tuning of linguistic expectations over the course of L2 learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 493–525.
Lightbown, P. M. (2000). Anniversary article. Classroom SLA research and second language teaching. Applied linguistics, 21, 431–462.
Lopez, E. (2015). The role of explicit instruction on article acquisition in L2 English (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of York, Heslington, York, UK.
Lopez, E. (2017). Teaching the English article system: Definiteness and specificity in linguistically-informed instruction. Language Teaching Research. Retrieved from <>
Lyons, C. (1999). Definiteness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marsden, E., & Kasprowicz, R. (2017). Foreign language educators’ exposure to research: reported experiences, exposure via citations, and a proposal for action. The Modern Language Journal. Online first..
Marsden, H., & Slabakova, R. (2018). Grammatical meaning and the second language classroom: Introduction. Language Teaching Research. Online first. .
Nassaji, H. (2012). The relationship between SLA research and language pedagogy: Teachers’ perspectives. Language Teaching Research, 16, 337–365.
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417–528.
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2001). Does type of instruction make a difference? Substantive findings from a meta-analytic review. Language Learning, 51, 157–213.
Oshita, H. (1997). The unaccusative trap: L2 acquisition of English intransitive verbs (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Paton, G. (2013, August 15). A-level results 2013: foreign language courses in ‘freefall’. The Telegraph. Retrieved from: <[URL]>
Pollock, J. Y. (1989). Verb movement, Universal Grammar, and the structure of IP. Linguistic Inquiry, 20, 365–424.
Rankin, T., & Unsworth, S. (2016). Beyond poverty: Engaging with input in generative SLA. Second Language Research, 32, 563–572.
Rizzi, L. (1978). A restructuring rule in Italian. In S. J. Keyser (Ed.), Recent transformational studies in European languages (pp. 113–158). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Schwartz, B. D., & Gubala-Ryzak, M. (1992). Learnability and grammar reorganization in L2A: Against negative evidence causing the unlearning of verb movement. Second Language Research, 8, 1–38.
Shimanskaya, E., & Slabakova, R. (2017). L1–L2 differences in the L2 classroom: Anticipating anglophone learners’ difficulties with French pronoun interpretation. Language Teaching Research. Retrieved from: <>
Slabakova, R. (2008). Meaning in the second language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
Slabakova, R., Leal, T., & Liskin-Gasparro, J. (2015). Rumors of UG’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Applied Linguistics, 36, 265–9.
Snape, N., & Yusa, N. (2013). Explicit article instruction in definiteness, specificity, genericity and perception. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 161–183). Dordrecht: Springer.
Spada, N., & Tomita, Y. (2010). Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 60, 263–308.
Sprouse, R. A. (2016). What are generative interlanguage models models of? In D. Stringer, J. Garrett, B. Halloran, & S. Mossman (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition (GASLA 2015) (pp. 1–13) Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Sorace, A. (2000). Gradients in auxiliary selection with intransitive verbs. Language, 74, 859–890.
Stringer, D. (2013). Modifying the teaching of modifiers: A lesson from universal grammar. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 77–100). Dordrecht: Springer.
Trahey, M., & White, L. (1993). Positive evidence and preemption in the second language classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 181–204.
Umeda, M., Snape, N., Wiltshier, J., & Yusa, N. (2017). The long-term effect of explicit instruction on learners’ knowledge on English articles. Language Teaching Research. Retrieved from: <>
Valenzuela, E. (2005). L2 ultimate attainment and the syntax/discourse interface: The acquisition of topic constructions in non-native Spanish and English (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
White, L. (1990/1991). The verb-movement parameter in second language acquisition. Language Acquisition, 1, 337–360.
White, L. (1991). Adverb placement in second language acquisition: Some effects of positive and negative evidence in the classroom. Second Language Research, 7, 133–161.
White, L. (1992). Long and short verb movement in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 37, 273–286.
Whong, M. (2013). Applied generative SLA: The need for an agenda and a methodology. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 231–247). Dordrecht: Springer.
Whong, M., Gil, K-H., & Marsden, H. (2013a). Introduction: Generative second language acquisition and language pedagogy. In M. Whong, K-H. Gil, & H. Marsden (Eds.), Universal Grammar and the second language classroom (pp. 1–13). Dordrecht: Springer.
Whong, M., Gil, K-H., & Marsden, H. (Eds.). (2013b). Universal Grammar and the second language classroom. Dordrecht: Springer.
Whong, M., Gil, K-H., & Marsden, H. (2014). Beyond paradigm: The ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of classroom research. Second Language Research, 30, 551–568.
Widdowson, H. G. (2000). Object language and the language subject: On the mediating role of applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 20, 21–33.
Williams, M. (1988). Language taught for meetings and language used for meetings: Is there anything in common? Applied Linguistics, 9, 45–58.
Zobl, H. (1989). Canonical typological structures and ergativity in English L2 acquisition. In S. Gass & J. Schachter (Eds.), Linguistic perspectives on second language acquisition (203–221). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zyzik, E. C. (2008). Null objects in second language acquisition: Grammatical vs. Performance models. Second Language Research, 24, 65–110.
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Judy, Tiffany, Eloi Puig-Mayenco, Adel Chaouch-Orozco, Fernando Martín-Villena & David Miller
2023.
Testing the Competing Systems Hypothesis: Further evidence from aspect in tutored L1-English–L2-Spanish.
Second Language Research 39:4
► pp. 1165 ff.
Lopez, Elaine, Yuhuan An & Heather Marsden
2022.
Mandarin Speakers’ Acquisition of English Articles: Investigating Article Use in Mandarin and Its Influence on L2-English. In
Challenges Encountered by Chinese ESL Learners,
► pp. 265 ff.
Snape, Neal
2020.
Post-instruction Processing of Generics in English by Japanese L2 Learners. In
Formal Linguistics and Language Education [
Educational Linguistics, 43],
► pp. 155 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 july 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.