Instructed Second Language Acquisition Lab

Personal Statement

My research has focused on the effects of different instructional conditions, as well as on various factors that may moderate such effects. More specifically, my research has addressed topics such as implicit and explicit learning conditions, task-based language teaching, computer-mediated communication and instruction, and individual differences in second language acquisition. In my dissertation, I investigated whether dyads of learners carrying out computer-mediated language tasks displayed any differences in the way they paid attention to formal aspects of language as a function of task type. The research program that I started to pursue after my dissertation focused on the role of a specific instructional technique, i.e., negative feedback. Using experimental designs, I have investigated questions such as whether the effectiveness of feedback depends on communication mode or linguistic structure, and whether different feedback types differentially affect acquisition. I have also been interested in the question of whether there is a relationship between learners' cognitive abilities and the extent to which learners benefit from feedback. Currently, as part of the TechSLA research team, I am carrying out a study comparing the relative effects of immediate and delayed feedback on errors that arise during SCMC interactions.