Triggering Awareness in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

In second language acquisition research, a central question is how to improve learning of a foreign language. Many factors contribute to succesful learning. Awareness of what is being learnt is one of these factors. This study examines what could raise such awareness in a second language learning set-up. During a thinking-aloud experiment, participants learnt a new (artificial) language. Some of the participants received input which potentially triggers awareness, whereas others did not receive these potential triggers in the input. Participants’ thoughts towards the input sentences as well as their scores on the posttest, and a comparison between both groups are used to determine the effects of the hypothetical triggers.