Impact of form- or meaning-focused instruction on L2 lexical acquisition: A behavioural and neurological study.

While a number of studies have investigated the effects of instructional treatments (focus on meaning, focus on form, or focus on forms) on the acquisition of grammar, few studies have actually compared the effectiveness of those treatments for second language (L2) learners’ lexical acquisition. In addition, those studies have often exclusively assessed students’ acquisition of word meaning, which may provide an inaccurate picture of the actual vocabulary learning gains and the effectiveness of a particular treatment. Therefore, this project investigates the effects of three instructional treatments: focus on meaning, focus on form, and focus on forms, on lexical acquisition at three levels of word knowledge (form, meaning, and use) and measured by means of three types of tests. Tests will range from explicit (e.g., provide the L1 translation of a novel word), over tacit (i.e., reaction time measurement), to neurological measures (EEG) in order to detect lexical gains at different levels of sensitivity and track partial knowledge gains. The effectiveness of the instructional treatments will be investigated in two experimental studies. Participants in both studies will be assigned to one of the three conditions (focus on meaning, focus on form, focus on forms). The first study will be based on behavioural data. The second study will not only replicate findings of the first study but will also add neurological data.