In:Widening Contexts for Processability Theory: Theories and issues
Edited by Anke Lenzing, Howard Nicholas and Jana Roos
[Processability Approaches to Language Acquisition Research & Teaching 7] 2019
► pp. 49–72
Chapter 3Productive and receptive processes in PT
Published online: 28 November 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/palart.7.03spi
https://doi.org/10.1075/palart.7.03spi
In this study, we investigate whether Processability Theory (Pienemann, 1998, 2005)
accounts for reception data, and whether productive and receptive processing routines emerge
simultaneously. Sixty-one learners of English as a second language (ESL learners)
participate in an oral interview and self-paced reading (SPR) task targeting five stages of
PT. Two analyses are performed: Implicational scaling and a comparison of individuals’
performance on the oral interview versus the SPR. The implicational table demonstrates that
the SPR data do not clearly reflect the PT order, and the comparison data demonstrate that
individuals’ performance on the oral production task does not match their performance on the
SPR task. The results suggest that PT as currently formulated may not account for receptive
data, and that productive and receptive processes may not always emerge simultaneously.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The current study
- 3.The Procedural Skills Hypothesis
- 4.The current study
- 4.1Participants
- 4.2Oral interview
- 4.3Self-paced reading task
- 4.4Implicational scaling
- 5.Results
- 5.1Group scores on self-paced reading
- 5.2Implicational scaling results
- 5.3Production versus comprehension: Individual results
- 6.Discussion
- 7.Conclusion
Acknowledgements Notes References
References (24)
Bonilla, C. (2015). From number agreement to the subjunctive: Evidence for Processability Theory
in L2 Spanish. Second Language Research 31(1), 53–74.
Brysbaert, M., & New, B. (2009). Moving beyond Kucera and Francis: A critical evaluation of current word
frequency norms and the introduction of a new and improved word frequency measure for
American English. Behavior Research Methods 41(4), 977–990.
Buyl, A., & Housen, A. (2015). Developmental stages in receptive grammar acquisition: A Processability
Theory account. Second Language Research 31(4), 523–550.
Clahsen, H., & Hong, U. (1995). Agreement and null subjects in German L2 development: New evidence from
reaction-time experiments. Second Language Research 11, 57–87.
Di Biase, B., & Kawaguchi, S. (2002). Exploring the typological plausibility of Processability Theory: Language
development in Italian second language and Japanese second language. Second Language Research 18(3), 274–302.
Di Biase, B., Kawaguchi, S., & Yamaguchi, Y. (2015). The development of English as a second language. In C. Bettoni & B. Di Biase (Eds.), Grammatical development in second languages: Exploring the boundaries of
Processability Theory (pp. 85–116). Paris: European Second Language Association.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hatch, E., & Farhady, H. (1982). Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Hulstijn, J. H. (2015). Discussion: How different can perspectives on L2 development
be? Language Learning 65(1), 210–232.
Just, M. A., Carpenter, P. A., & Woolley, J. D. (1982). Paradigms and processes in reading comprehension. Journal of experimental psychology: General 111(2), 228.
Keatinge, D., & Keßler, J-U. (2009). The acquisition of the passive voice in English as a foreign language:
Production and perception. In D. Keatinge & J.-U. Keßler (Eds.), Research in second language acquisition: Empirical evidence across
languages (pp. 41–68). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
Keating, G., & Jegerski, J. (2015). Experimental designs in sentence processing research: A methodological
review and user’s guide. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 37(1), 1–32.
Meisel, J., Clahsen, H., & Pienemann, M. (1981). On determining developmental stages in natural second language
acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 3(2), 109–135.
Pienemann, M. (1998). Language processing and second language development: Processability Theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(2005). An introduction to Processability Theory. In M. Pienemann (Ed.), Cross–linguistic aspects of Processability Theory (pp. 1–60). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Pienemann, M., Di Biase, B., & Kawaguchi, S. (2005). Extending Processability Theory. In M. Pienemann (Ed.), Cross-linguistic aspects of Processability Theory (pp. 199–251). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Pienemann, M. (2009). A brief introduction to Processability Theory. In J.-U. Keßler (Ed.), Processability approaches to second language development and second language
learning (pp. 9–29). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.
Pienemann, M., Keßler, J.-U., & Itani-Adams, Y. (2011). Comparing levels of processability across languages. International Journal of Bilingualism 15(2), 128–146.
Rickford, J. (2002). Implicational scales. In J. K. Chambers, P. Trudgill, & N. Schilling-Estes (Eds.), The handbook of language variation and change (pp. 142–167). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Sakai, H. (2008). An analysis of Japanese university students’ oral performance in English
using Processability Theory. System 36, 534–549.
Spinner, P. (2011). Second language assessment and morphosyntactic development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 33(4), 529–561.
. (2013). Language production and reception: A Processability Theory
study. Language Learning 63(4), 704–739.
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Schmiderer, Katrin & Barbara Hinger
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
