This chapter presents an overview of research in support of Skill Acquisition Theory and the claim that contextualized oral practice in conjunction with feedback promotes continued second language growth. Skill acquisition is explained as a gradual transition from effortful use to more automatic use of the target language, with the ultimate goal of achieving faster and more accurate processing. By reviewing different yet compatible theoretical orientations of knowledge representations (e.g., implicit/explicit knowledge, exemplar-based/rule-based representations), the interplay between declarative and procedural knowledge is explained as bidirectional and relative to the context of instruction. The differential effects of guided practice and communicative practice are addressed and their benefits in conjunction with feedback are highlighted through reference to classroom-based second language acquisition (SLA) research. Finally, future directions regarding research on practice effects and types of practice are suggested.
Cited by (68)
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2026. Why Second Language Acquisition Should Be a Part of Linguistics Education. In Linguistic Foundations for Second Language Teaching and Learning, ► pp. 267 ff.
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2025. Automaticity in translation: Effects of time pressure and work experience. Meta 69:2 ► pp. 355 ff.
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2024. Reshaping vocational training: a study on the recognition of micro-credentials in job markets. Education + Training 66:2/3 ► pp. 233 ff.
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2024. Emergent literacy: effects of a multi-tier intervention in a COVID-19 pandemic context. Educational Psychology in Practice 40:1 ► pp. 17 ff.
Lee, Andrew H.
2024. The effects of proactive form-focused instruction and individual differences on second language acquisition. Language Teaching Research 28:6 ► pp. 2354 ff.
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Serfaty, Jonathan & Raquel Serrano
2024. Practice Makes Perfect, but How Much Is Necessary? The Role of Relearning in Second Language Grammar Acquisition. Language Learning 74:1 ► pp. 218 ff.
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2023. Investigation of the use of infographics to aid second language vocabulary learning. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 10:1
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Ghaith, Ghazi M. & Ghada M. Awada
2022. The Theoretical Relevance and Efficacy of Cooperative Learning in EIL Teaching and Learning. In Cooperative Learning and World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, ► pp. 27 ff.
2022. Diagnostic Assessment of Written Accuracy: New Directions for Written Corrective Feedback in Secondary Writing Classrooms. In Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English, ► pp. 213 ff.
Lee, Yow-jyy Joyce & Yeu-Ting Liu
2022. Promoting Oral Presentation Skills Through Drama-Based Tasks with an Authentic Audience: A Longitudinal Study. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 31:3 ► pp. 253 ff.
Ochieng, Vollan O & Moses Ngware
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Pitura, Joanna
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Qureshi, Muhammad Asif & Ahmad Aljanadbah
2022. Translanguaging and reading comprehension in a second language. International Multilingual Research Journal 16:4 ► pp. 247 ff.
Suzuki, Yuichi & Keiko Hanzawa
2022. MASSED TASK REPETITION IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR FLUENCY DEVELOPMENT. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44:2 ► pp. 536 ff.
Thuy Nguyen, Minh Thi & Thuy Thi Thanh Pham
2022. Instructional effects on L2 pragmatic comprehension: the case of indirect refusals and indirect opinions. The Language Learning Journal 50:4 ► pp. 427 ff.
Hamman-Ortiz, Laura
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NAKATA, TATSUYA & YUICHI SUZUKI
2019. Mixing Grammar Exercises Facilitates Long‐Term Retention: Effects of Blocking, Interleaving, and Increasing Practice. The Modern Language Journal 103:3 ► pp. 629 ff.
O'Brien, Myles
2019. A freely-available system for browser-based Q&A practice in English, with speech recognition. The EuroCALL Review 27:2 ► pp. 40 ff.
Sato, Masatoshi & Kim McDonough
2019. PRACTICE IS IMPORTANT BUT HOW ABOUT ITS QUALITY?. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41:5 ► pp. 999 ff.
SUZUKI, YUICHI, TATSUYA NAKATA & ROBERT DEKEYSER
2019. Optimizing Second Language Practice in the Classroom: Perspectives from Cognitive Psychology. The Modern Language Journal 103:3 ► pp. 551 ff.
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Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato
2018. Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching 51:3 ► pp. 285 ff.
Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato
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Loewen, Shawn & Masatoshi Sato
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2017. Can corrective feedback on second language speech perception errors affect production accuracy?. Applied Psycholinguistics 38:2 ► pp. 371 ff.
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2023. The effects of different types of form-focused instruction on the acquisition of grammatical gender by second language learners of French. Language Awareness 32:3 ► pp. 508 ff.
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Badjadi, Nour El Imane
2016. Title: A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Instructional Tasks on L2 Pragmatics Comprehension and Production. In Assessment for Learning Within and Beyond the Classroom, ► pp. 241 ff.
Criado, Raquel
2016. Insights from Skill Acquisition Theory for grammar activity sequencing and design in Foreign Language Teaching. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 10:2 ► pp. 121 ff.
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Gass, Susan M.
2015. Comprehensible Input and Output in Classroom Interaction. In The Handbook of Classroom Discourse and Interaction, ► pp. 182 ff.
Sippel, Lieselotte & Carrie N. Jackson
2015. Teacher vs. Peer Oral Corrective Feedback in the German Language Classroom. Foreign Language Annals 48:4 ► pp. 688 ff.
Pliatsikas, Christos, Tom Johnstone & Theodoros Marinis
2014. Grey Matter Volume in the Cerebellum is Related to the Processing of Grammatical Rules in a Second Language: A Structural Voxel-based Morphometry Study. The Cerebellum 13:1 ► pp. 55 ff.
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2013. Beliefs about peer interaction and peer corrective feedback: Efficacy of classroom intervention. The Modern Language Journal 97:3 ► pp. 611 ff.
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2017. Interaction Mindsets, Interactional Behaviors, and L2 Development: An Affective‐Social‐Cognitive Model. Language Learning 67:2 ► pp. 249 ff.
Sato, Masatoshi
2022. Learner attitudes and attention to form in peer interaction: A proposal to replicate Adams et al. (2011) and Philp et al. (2010). Language Teaching 55:3 ► pp. 407 ff.
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