The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 52 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
INCIDENTAL FOCUS ON FORM AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING
Abstract
Incidental focus on form overtly draws learners' attention to linguistic items as they arise spontaneously—without prior planning—in meaning-focused interaction. This study examined the effectiveness of incidental focus on form in promoting second language (L2) learning. Seventeen hours of naturally occurring, meaning-focused L2 lessons were observed in 12 different classes of young adults in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand. A total of 491 focus-on-form episodes (FFEs) were identified and used as a basis for individualized test items in which participants who participated in specific FFEs were asked to recall the linguistic information provided in them. The results revealed that learners were able to recall the targeted linguistic information correctly or partially correctly nearly 60% of the time 1 day after the FFE, and 50% of the time 2 weeks later. Furthermore, successful uptake in a FFE was found to be a significant predictor of correct test scores. These results suggest that incidental focus on form might be beneficial to learners, particularly if they incorporate the targeted linguistic items into their own production.This research was supported, in part, by a scholarship from the Foundation for Science, Research, and Technology, New Zealand. The author would like to thank the teachers and participants who kindly gave of their time to participate in this study. The author would also like to thank Rod Ellis, Catherine Elder, Helen Basturkmen, Rosemary…
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“Successful uptake, of course, cannot be equated with acquisition but in another study Loewen (2005) reported that successful uptake was the most significant variable predicting learning as measured in tailor-made tests of those linguistic forms that were addressed during the FFEs.”
From Position paper: Moving task-based language teaching forward (2017) · cites this paper as Loewen (2005)
In the citing paper
“Even speaking tasks can be conducted through teacher-class interaction, as illustrated in Ellis, Basturkmen and Loewen (2001) and Loewen (2005).”
From Position paper: Moving task-based language teaching forward (2017) · cites this paper as Loewen (2005)
In the citing paper
“While incidental focus on form does promote L2 learning (Loewen 2005), learning of different linguistic features can be facilitated by providing learners with focused tasks.”
From Interaction and instructed second language acquisition (2018) · cites this paper as Loewen 2005
In the citing paper
“This is what studies of uptake have done (e.g.Ellis et al. 2001a;Loewen 2005) when they have looked at how learners responded to corrective feedback that was provided during meaning-focused interaction.”
From Interaction and instructed second language acquisition (2018) · cites this paper as Loewen 2005
In the citing paper
“Studies by J. Williams (2001) and Loewen (2005) provide evidence that this happens with some frequency in task-based interactions and can lead to learning.”
From Focus on form: A critical review (2016) · cites this paper as Loewen (2005)
In the citing paper
“Both focus on form initiated by learners in learner-learner interaction and by teachers in whole-class interaction benefit acquisition (J.Williams, 2001;Loewen, 2005).”
From Focus on form: A critical review (2016) · cites this paper as Loewen, 2005
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Loewen, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Loewen, Shawn
- ORCID
- Loewen, Shawn
- Venue
- Studies in Second Language Acquisition
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2005-07-22
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 03
- ISSN
- 0272-2631 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-1545
- OpenAlex
- W2073789142
- Cited by
- 381
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 74.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Studies in Second Language Acquisition (publishedVersion)
- ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Linguistics and Language Analysis
- Keywords
- second language acquisition, uptake, young adult learners
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