ABSTRACT

Practice is a recurring and popular theme in language education. However, the concepts of practice and automatization have recently received renewed theoretical and practical interest and are increasingly being explored from the skill acquisition theory and cognitive psychology perspectives.

In this volume, leading scholars discuss the optimal types, amounts, and schedules of practice for specific language structures and skills, as well as for various types of learners and learning contexts, to facilitate second language development. They illuminate how practice is instantiated for specific groups of teachers and learners in diverse institutionalized contexts, such as foreign language curriculum development, intelligent computer-assisted language learning systems, task-based language teaching, and study abroad. Furthermore, original methodological syntheses of extant research on practice and automatization are presented, along with guides for conducting empirical research on these topics.

Practice and Automatization in Second Language Research: Perspectives from Skill Acquisition Theory and Cognitive Psychology is a valuable resource and reference for graduate students and researchers in the field of SLA and applied linguistics.

chapter 1|36 pages

Introduction

Practice and Automatization in a Second Language

part I|50 pages

Foundations

chapter 2|24 pages

Optimizing Input and Intake Processing

A Role for Practice and Explicit Learning

chapter 3|24 pages

Skill Learning Theories and Language Teaching

Different Strokes for Different Folks

part III|104 pages

Methodological Synthesis

chapter 8|25 pages

A Synthesis of L2 Practice Research

What Is “Practice” and How Has It Been Investigated?

chapter 9|29 pages

Measuring Automaticity in Second Language Comprehension

A Methodological Synthesis of Experimental Tasks over Three Decades (1990–2021)

chapter 10|30 pages

Measuring Speaking and Writing Fluency

A Methodological Synthesis Focusing on Automaticity

chapter 11|18 pages

Conclusion

Future Directions of Practice and Automatization Research