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The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction

  • Nick Henry ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 20, 2021
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
From the journal International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching Volume 61 Issue 3

Abstract

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.

Keywords: blocking; case; explicit information; input processing; processing instruction
Corresponding author: Nick Henry, Germanic Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 2505 University Ave, C3300, Austin, TX, USA, E-mail:

Acknowledgements

I thank the following people for their contributions to this research: the instructors who allowed me into their classrooms; Diane Beer for her support in materials development; and the attendees of the 2019 CALICHE Conference at Texas Tech, Hyoun-A Joo, and Liese Sippel for their helpful comments and feedback.

  1. Research funding: There is no funding information to report.

  2. Conflicts of interest: The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0068).

Received: 2021-03-30
Accepted: 2021-07-27
Published Online: 2021-08-20
Published in Print: 2023-09-26

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. English and Spanish speakers’ interpretations of L2 Chinese applicative double object constructions
  4. (Mis) perception of consonant clusters and short vowels in English as a foreign language
  5. Phraseological complexity and low- and intermediate-level L2 learners’ writing quality
  6. The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction
  7. Second language listening instruction and learners’ vocabulary knowledge
  8. Acquisition of attributive adjectives and noun adjuncts by L3 learners of French and German: further evidence for the typological primacy model (TPM)
  9. Non-canonical word order as a measure of syntactic complexity in advanced L2 German
  10. Acquisition of morphology by L2 children in naturalistic environments: a case of Japanese case markers
  11. N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks
  12. The structure of L2 lexical-semantic networks as seen from a social network perspective
  13. Deciphering the role of multilingualism in creativity at university: the influence of context
  14. The associations between working memory and the effects of multimedia input on L2 vocabulary learning
  15. The acquisition of relative clauses by Spanish-Basque learners of L3 English: does dominance play a role?
  16. The impact of pragmalinguistic support on video-conferenced collaborative suggestion-giving task
  17. L2 writing development through two types of writing task repetition
  18. Learning aspect in Italian as additional language. The role of second languages
  19. Immediate and long-term improvement in lexical stress perception: the role of teacher and peer feedback
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https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0068
Keywords for this article
blocking; case; explicit information; input processing; processing instruction

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. English and Spanish speakers’ interpretations of L2 Chinese applicative double object constructions
  4. (Mis) perception of consonant clusters and short vowels in English as a foreign language
  5. Phraseological complexity and low- and intermediate-level L2 learners’ writing quality
  6. The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction
  7. Second language listening instruction and learners’ vocabulary knowledge
  8. Acquisition of attributive adjectives and noun adjuncts by L3 learners of French and German: further evidence for the typological primacy model (TPM)
  9. Non-canonical word order as a measure of syntactic complexity in advanced L2 German
  10. Acquisition of morphology by L2 children in naturalistic environments: a case of Japanese case markers
  11. N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks
  12. The structure of L2 lexical-semantic networks as seen from a social network perspective
  13. Deciphering the role of multilingualism in creativity at university: the influence of context
  14. The associations between working memory and the effects of multimedia input on L2 vocabulary learning
  15. The acquisition of relative clauses by Spanish-Basque learners of L3 English: does dominance play a role?
  16. The impact of pragmalinguistic support on video-conferenced collaborative suggestion-giving task
  17. L2 writing development through two types of writing task repetition
  18. Learning aspect in Italian as additional language. The role of second languages
  19. Immediate and long-term improvement in lexical stress perception: the role of teacher and peer feedback
  20. Exploring the pseudo-longitudinal development of specific morphosyntactic features and syntactic complexity in CLIL young learners
  21. Measurement of engagement in the foreign language classroom and its effect on language achievement: the case of Chinese college EFL students
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