ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces several theoretical underpinnings in the instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) strand of research together with their associated cognitive processes and within which several of the empirical studies were situated and tested. It discusses critically the two major concurrent data-elicitation procedures employed in ISLA research to address second/foreign language (L2) processing and processes. The book reports on empirical studies conducted within several major research areas of ISLA. It situates ISLA research within the language curriculum and argues for more consideration of robust pedagogical ramifications derived from ISLA research. The book presents a description of the major tenets of several theoretical underpinnings postulated to account for the cognitive processes employed during the L2 learning process, followed by a commentary on each underpinning. It also provides a summary of the principal cognitive processes shared by all of these underpinnings.
