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  • Introduction:Current Developments in Form-Focused Interaction and L2 Acquisition
  • Hossein Nassaji and Daphnée Simard

The purpose of this special issue is to explore some of the key issues in form-focused interaction and second language (L2) development. We define form-focused interaction as any attempt to draw learners' attention to linguistic forms in the course of meaning-focused interaction, through various forms of interactional feedback and focus on form. Our goal is to gain further insights into this vibrant area of second language acquisition (SLA) research by exploring and understanding how such interactions work and the effects they have on L2 acquisition.

Although the concept of consciousness and its role has been a matter of much controversy in the field of SLA, there is general agreement that some level of attention to form is required for language acquisition (e.g., Schmidt, 1990, 1993, 2001; Tomlin & Villa, 1994). In order to help language learners pay attention to grammatical features, the features must be made salient (Overstreet, 2007). Authors such as Sharwood-Smith (1991, 1993), VanPatten (1990, 1994, 1996), Schmidt (1993, 2001), and Simard & Wong (2001) maintain that when specific features of language input are salient, learners are more likely to pay attention to them and consequently select them for intake, which makes further processing of these features possible. This view is supported by empirical studies demonstrating that increased attention to form results in more learning (e.g., Jourdenais, Ota, Stauffer, Boyson, & Doughty, 1995; Leow, 1997; Robinson, 1996; Rosa & O'Neill, 1999, Schmidt & Frota, 1986; Simard, 2009).

In this respect, many SLA researchers have suggested that incorporation of some degree of focus on form into meaning-focused classrooms improves L2 performance and the accuracy of learners' production (e.g., Doughty, 2001; Doughty & Varela, 1998; Doughty & Williams, 1998; Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001; Lightbown, 1998; Long & Robinson, 1998, Nassaji, 1999; Nassaji & Fotos, 2004, 2007). [End Page 773] The notion of focus on form (FonF) was originally introduced by Long (1991) to describe a kind of instruction in which learners' attention is drawn to linguistic forms briefly in the course of communicative activities. The rationale behind FonF is that learners acquire an L2 more successfully when their attention is drawn to form while their primary focus is on processing meaning. In addition, since learners receive FonF in response to problems that they encounter when they need to communicate, they are more likely to notice and thus benefit from the feedback they receive (Williams, 2005).

However, how attention to form can be best accomplished in instructional settings, and how explicitly or implicitly this should be done has been the focus of much debate in the field of SLA. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have begun to explore the various ways in which form and meaning can be integrated into classroom contexts and their possible effects on L2 acquisition. In particular, a considerable body of research has examined whether communicative interaction that contains some kind of interactional feedback promotes language acquisition (e.g., Ellis et al., 2001; Ellis, Loewen, & Erlam, 2006; Loewen, 2004; Lyster & Ranta, 1997; Mackey, 1999; Mackey, Oliver, & Leeman, 2003; Mackey & Philp, 1998; Nassaji, 2007, 2009; Oliver, 2000; Oliver & Mackey, 2003; Panova & Lyster, 2002; Philp, 2003). The findings of this research suggest that such feedback may contribute to L2 acquisition if it is salient enough and thus perceived and successfully processed by the learner.

However, despite many studies of interactional feedback and FonF, questions remain about the exact mechanism whereby feedback affects learning. In particular, evidence is still largely lacking regarding the link between interactional feedback and SLA. This is because most of the published research in this area has been descriptive, often concentrating on the existence of such feedback in conversational interaction. Fewer studies have addressed the effects of feedback on SLA (Mackey & Gass, 2006). The goal of this special issue is to contribute to the current body of research by identifying and publishing research that has moved beyond describing the phenomenon to examining more directly its contribution to L2 development.

The contributors present original research conducted in both classroom and laboratory settings and targeting L2 features in different languages, including English, French, and Russian. The first three papers...

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