Task-based language teaching (TBLT) and instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) have much in common in terms of theory, research, and educational relevance. The distinguishing characteristic between the two is that TBLT adopts communicative tasks as the central unit for instruction and assessment, whereas ISLA comprises a broader range of…

In discussions about relationships between research and pedagogy, teachers and researchers are often characterized as facing each other across a "gap" that separates them. Teachers are described as having practical concerns about their own classrooms and little patience for "theoretical" issues. Researchers are described as…

English language learners (ELLs), especially those outside major cities in North America, are integrated into mainstream classrooms, often without targeted language support. Form-focused instruction (FFI) is an approach to language instruction in which learner attention is focused on language form during meaning-based activities. Although FFI has…

There has been considerable debate about the relevance and applicability of SLA theory and research for L2 pedagogy. There are those who maintain that SLA must be applicable to L2 pedagogy: a view based on the argument that because SLA is a subfield of applied linguistics, it should have direct relevance to L2 teaching. Others take the view that…

This study investigated the views of teachers and learners regarding the timing of grammatical instruction, conceptualized as a distinction between isolated and integrated form-focused instruction (FFI) proposed by Spada and Lightbown (2008). Both types of FFI are described as taking place in primarily meaning-based communicative classrooms. They…

In this study we compared the effects of two types of form-focused instruction (FFI) on second language (L2) learning and their potential contributions to the development of different types of L2 knowledge. Both types of instruction were pre-emptive in nature, that is planned and teacher generated. In Integrated FFI attention to form was embedded…

In 1997 I published a paper in Language Teaching entitled "Form-focused instruction and second language acquisition: A review of classroom and laboratory research". The paper reviewed the results of studies investigating the effects of form-focused instruction (FFI) on second language (L2) learning. It was organized around seven questions,…

A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of explicit and implicit instruction on the acquisition of simple and complex grammatical features in English. The target features in the 41 studies contributing to the meta-analysis were categorized as simple or complex based on the number of criteria applied to arrive at the correct target…

In this paper, we report on the process of developing and validating a questionnaire to explore second language learners' preferences for two types of form-focused instruction (FFI): isolated and integrated FFI. Three types of evidence regarding the validity of the questionnaire were collected: content, reliability and construct. Content validity…

There is increasing consensus that form-focused instruction helps learners in communicative or content-based instruction to learn features of the target language that they may not acquire without guidance. The subject of this article is the role of instruction that is provided in separate (isolated) activities or within the context of…

In a study of the oral performance of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners, the accuracy and developmental progress of young francophone 10 and 12 year olds was investigated. Results support the hypothesis that form-focused instruction and corrective feedback provided in the context of communicative interaction can contribute to short- and…

Critiques a study on instruction, first language influence, and developmental readiness in second language acquisition. Agrees with conclusions of the study but argues that the study itself provided no justification for the conclusion other than what has been evident in research carried out on Quebec francophone school learners of English. The…

This quasi-experimental study investigated the potential benefits of two corrective feedback techniques (recasts and prompts) for learners of different proficiency levels. Sixty-four students in three intact grade 6 intensive English as a second language classes in the Montreal area were assigned to the two experimental conditions--one received…

Reports on a study that examined the extent to which learners can make explicit first language rules that appear to influence their second language performance. The learners were 11- and 12-year-old francophone students learning English in intensive communicative English-as-a-Second-Language classes in Quebec. (Author/VWL)

Forty-eight adult learners from three intermediate-level ESL classes participated in a study investigating the effects that differences in learners' out-of-class contact with the second language might have on proficiency. Results indicated that learners' informal contact interacted with differences in instruction to produce variation in…