Key Questions in Second Language Acquisition

Bill VanPatten was formerly Professor of Spanish and Second Language Studies at Michigan State University and is now an independent scholar. He has had a long and distinguished academic career and has published widely in the fields of second language acquisition and second language teaching. Megan Smith is an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University. Her main research interests are in second language acquisition, particularly L2 syntax and psycholinguistics. Alessandro Benati is Director of CAES at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He is known for his work in second language acquisition and second language teaching. He has published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called Processing Instruction. He is co-editor of a new online series for Cambridge University Press, a member of the REF Panel 2021, and Honorary Professor at York St John University.

• 1. What are the origins of second language acquisition as a research field?; 2. What does development look like?; 3. What are the roles of input and output?; 4. What is the initial state?; 5. Can L2 learners become native-like?; 6. Does instruction make a difference?; 7. What role does explicit learning play in acquisition?; 8. What are individual differences and how do they affect L2 acquisition?