The effects of processing instruction, traditional instruction and meaning—output instruction on the acquisition of the English past simple tense

• Published in: Language teaching research : LTR Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 67 - 93
• Main Author: Benati, Alessandro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2005; Turpin; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: China; Chinese languages; Conventional Instruction; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Educational sciences; English (Second Language); English as a Second Language Instruction; English as a Second Language Learning; English as a Second Language Teaching Methods; Grammar; Greece; Greek language; Instructional Effectiveness; Language Processing; Language Research; Meaning; Modern language; Morphemes; Pretests Posttests; Second Language Learning; Task Analysis; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Tense; Test Construction; Greece; China; Language Teaching; English; Foreign Language; Educational Research; Chinese; Grammar; Greek People; Teaching Objective
• ISSN: 1362-1688; 1477-0954
• DOI: 10.1191/1362168805lr154oa

This paper presents the results of a parallel classroom experiment investigating the effects of processing instruction, traditional instruction and meaning-based output instruction on the acquisition of the English past simple tense. The subjects involved in the present studies were Chinese and Greek school-age learners of English residing in their respective countries. The participants in both schools were divided into three groups. The first group received processing instruction; the second group was exposed to traditional instruction; the third group received meaning-based output instruction. One interpretation and one production measure were used in a pre-test and post-test design (immediate effect only). The results showed that processing instruction had positive effects on the processing and acquisition of the target feature. In both studies the processing instruction group performed better than the traditional instruction and meaning-based output instruction groups in the interpretation task and the three groups made equal gains in the production task.