First Exposure to a Second Language: Learners' Initial Input Processing

The initial state of learner spontaneous input processing in foreign language learning, as well as the extent to which this processing leads to intake, is of central importance to theoreticians and teachers alike. In this collection of original studies, leading experts examine a range of issues, such as what learners do when faced with a language they know little or nothing about, what factors appear to mediate beginning learners' processing of input, how beginners treat two types of information - form and meaning - in the input, and how adult cognition deals with stimulus frequency at this initial stage. This book provides a microscopic view on learners' processing of foreign language input at the early stages of learning, and evaluates a variety of methodological options within the context of ab initio processing of foreign languages other than English, such as German, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, and Spanish.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. First exposure, input processing and theorizing ZhaoHong Han and Rebekah Rast; 1. First exposure: a replication of Han and Peverly (2007) ZhaoHong Han and Yayun Sun; 2. Learners' first exposure to written L2 input: insights from learners' spontaneous think-alouds Eun Sung Park; 3. Initial processing and use of inflectional markers: evidence from French adult learners of Polish Rebekah Rast, Marzena Watorek, Heather Hilton and Ellenor Shoemaker; 4. Processing 'words' in early-stage foreign language acquisition: a comparison of first exposure and low proficiency learners S. E. Carroll; 5. Absence of morphological transfer in beginners: evidence from eye tracking Nuria Sagarra; 6. The challenges of establishing spontaneous allocation of attention to meaning and form Nina Moreno; Epilogue. Input processing by novices: issues in the nature of processing and in research methods Bill VanPatten.

About the Author :
ZhaoHong Han is Professor of Language and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Rebekah Rast is Associate Professor of English and Linguistics in the Department of Comparative Literature and English at The American University of Paris, France.

Review :
'This volume explores the core matter of all theories of language acquisition: the earliest stages of learning. It is crucial reading to all interested in the nature of L2 acquisition.' Marianne Gullberg, Lund University '… the book is of central importance to theorists and teachers because of its overriding theme of the state of learner spontaneous input processing in foreign language learning, and the extent to which this processing leads to intake. It is also an essential resource for academics, researchers, pedagogues, and students of applied linguistics pursuing their academic research within SLA and L2 pedagogy. The wide range of issues the book covers may interest other researchers to pursue investigation by building on the results, or make some inferences about processing. It also provides practitioners with insights to manipulate intake through pedagogical interventions.' Abdu Alkadi, LINGUIST List