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Previous research has suggested that L2 learners often use non-target processing strategies to understand sentences, but that these strategies can be changed through targeted instruction that directs their attention to different linguistic forms or structures. The present study explores the effects of pretraining 'blocking' practice—a novel type of training designed to help learners inhibit the application of a strict word-order based processing strategy—prior to receiving a traditional Structured Input (SI) training focused on OVS word order and accusative case markers in German. The study compares three groups of third-semester German learners who completed three different activities in one training session: (1) SI with blocking practice (+BP), (2) SI preceded by explicit information (+EI), and (3) SI without EI or blocking practice (−EI). The effects of training were measured by sentence-level interpretation and production tasks administered as a pretest, posttest, and four-week delayed posttest. Learner performance was also assessed during training. Results in all assessment measures indicated that EI was most effective, but that blocking practice lent a slight advantage over −EI groups during and after training. These results are discussed in the context of studies on processing instruction and learned attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the effects of processing instruction (PI) on the acquisition of accusative case markers in German, focusing on whether PI influences learners' online processing behaviors. Third and fourth semester L1 English-L2 German learners were divided into two groups: a traditional instruction (TI) group and a PI group. Participants completed offline sentence interpretation and production tasks, as well as a self-paced reading (SPR) task, which provides a detailed investigation of how PI alters processing strategies. Results showed that the PI group outperformed the TI group on the sentence interpretation task and matched their performance on the production task. The SPR task revealed that, in some conditions, the PI group showed increased attention to and processing of accusative case markers after training, while the TI group did not. The results provide some support for the claim that PI is effective because it alters learners' processing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how multiple linguistic cues interact in predictive processing among second language (L2) learners. In a visual-world eye-tracking experiment, we investigated whether learners of German use case and prosody cues together to assign thematic roles and predict post-verbal arguments. During the experiment, participants listened to subject-first and object-first sentences that contained (1) case cues only, or (2) both case and prosody. The results showed that the learners successfully predicted post-verbal arguments on the basis of lexical-semantic information but were less successful in using case cues. However, prediction success increased when both case and prosody were present, suggesting that predictive processing is supported by prosodic cues. Additionally, results show that higher proficiency was associated with faster processing and a greater ability to generate predictions. We conclude that the presence of cue coalitions allows L2 learners to process information more efficiently, and that the L2 processor can exploit the additive use of cues for prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests how the parser adapts to input by considering how multiple redundant cues are integrated in predictive processing. We employ the visual world paradigm to investigate whether German native speakers use case and prosody together to anticipate post-verbal arguments. In Experiment 1, participants heard subject-first and object-first sentences containing either case and prosodic cues or only case cues in a single mixed block. In Experiments 2 and 3, sentences were presented in separate blocks, such that participants heard sentences with prosodic cues in either Block 1 (Experiment 3) or Block 2 (Experiment 2). The results show that participants used prosodic and case-marking cues additively to anticipate post-verbal arguments. Additive effects varied according to the distribution of the cues and their order of presentation. We conclude that the presence of multiple redundant cues facilitates sentence processing and that the parser adapts to the utility of cues based on their availability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates the role of prosodic cues and explicit information (EI) in the acquisition of German accusative case markers. We compared 4 groups of 3rd-semester learners (low intermediate level) who completed 1 of 4 Processing Instruction (PI) treatments that manipulated the presence or absence of EI and focused prosody. The results showed that, when training included EI or prosodic cues, the groups improved on comprehension and production tasks in an immediate posttest. Four weeks after training, the groups sustained gains on the comprehension task, but not on the production task. Participants who did not receive EI or prosody only showed improvement on the comprehension task in the immediate posttest and did not sustain these gains. These findings replicate previous findings on the role of EI in PI, showing an advantage for EI with the target form (e.g., Henry, Culman, & VanPatten, 2009). Moreover, the results suggest that prosodic cues help learners process morphosyntactic forms, and that they can enhance grammar instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]