MODELS, ATTENTION, AND AWARENESS IN SLA

Simard and Wong (2001) raise serious concerns about the theoretical and empirical (Leow, 1998b) aspects of Tomlin and Villa's (1994) model, which postulates a fine-grained analysis of attention for SLA and the prediction that awareness at the level of detection is not crucial for further processing of second or foreign language (L2) data. According to Simard and Wong, Tomlin and Villa's frequently cited model has provided the “theoretical motivation for recent studies of input enhancement and especially of textual enhancement in SLA” (p. 104), an impact that needs to be viewed with caution (p. 105). To motivate their critique of Tomlin and Villa's model, the authors repeatedly question the validity of basing their model on “findings from the research contexts of psychology and neuroscience” (p. 105) and, in turn, put forward suggestions for a model of attention that they claim would better reflect the complex nature of SLA as well as suggestions for “new” research orientations relating to attention and awareness in SLA.

[1]  S. Tipper,et al.  Object-based and environment-based inhibition of return of visual attention. , 1994, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[2]  R. Leow.  A STUDY OF THE ROLE OF AWARENESS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR , 2000, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[3]  Renée Jourdenais.  The effects of textual enhancement on the acquisition of the Spanish present and imperfect , 1998 .

[4]  Ronald P. Leow,et al.  Do Learners Notice Enhanced Forms While Interacting with the L2?: An Online and Offline Study of the Role of Written Input Enhancement in L2 Reading , 2001 .

[5]  E. Rosa,et al.  EXPLICITNESS, INTAKE, AND THE ISSUE OF AWARENESS , 1999, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[6]  Nancy Kanwisher,et al.  Spatial Repetition Blindness Is Modulated by Selective Attention to Color or Shape , 1995, Cognitive Psychology.

[7]  R. Schmidt.  The role of consciousness in second language learning , 1990 .

[8]  G. Ben-Shakhar,et al.  Novelty and significance in orientation and habituation: a feature-matching approach. , 1990, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[9]  R. S. Tomlin,et al.  Attention in Cognitive Science and Second Language Acquisition , 1994, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[10]  B. Vanpatten,et al.  Input Processing and Grammar Instruction: Theory and Research , 1998 .

[11]  R. Leow.  The Effects of Amount and Type of Exposure on Adult Learners' L2 Development in SLA , 1998 .

[12]  P. Robinson.  Attention, Memory, and the “Noticing” Hypothesis , 1995 .

[13]  R. Leow.  Attention, Awareness, and Foreign Language Behavior , 1997 .

[14]  Ronald P. Leow.  The Effects of Input Enhancement and Text Length on Adult L2 Readers' Comprehension and Intake in Second Language Acquisition. , 1997 .