Practice defined as meaningful language use plus effortful practice of difficult features is beneficial and even essential for second language acquisition¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r3 · q1
Currency · newest study 2010 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? When practice is defined as opportunities for meaningful receptive and productive language use and for thoughtful, effortful practice of difficult linguistic features, its role in L2 acquisition is beneficial and even essential. → Robert DeKeyser 2010

Evidence¶

Robert DeKeyser 2010¶

Robert DeKeyser. (2010). Practice for Second Language Learning: Don't Throw out the Baby with the Bathwater. International Journal of English Studies, 10(1). https://www.um.es/ijes doi:10.6018/ijes/2010/1/114021

q1 · i? · theoretical · r3

Theoretical argument in a position paper. The author endorses Lightbown's formulation that "the role of practice is clearly beneficial and even essential" when practice means meaningful use plus effortful work on difficult features, while conceding practice is necessary but not sufficient.

""[w]hen practice is defined as opportunities for meaningful language use (both receptive and productive) and for thoughtful, effortful practice of difficult linguistic features, then the role of practice is clearly beneficial and even essential" (Lightbown, 2000, p. 443)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — outcome: instruction changes it
• Oral Language — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Automatization of L2 skills requires extensive practice in a consistent environment, not repetition of grammar rules as in traditional exercises — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Dialogue journals inherently meet conditions deemed necessary for second language acquisition — related
• Student-centered writing environments are argued to lower anxiety, increase confidence, and provide natural language contexts — related
• Extramural English gaming relates to better L2 proficiency, but effects vary by activity type and strategy — related
• Digital game-based learning supports long-term retention of second-language vocabulary — related
• Comprehensible input in natural language contexts is presented as essential to second language acquisition — related
• Frequency should be reinstated as a bridging variable binding the different schools of language acquisition research — related
• A 1982 bilingual-education teacher-training packet asserts, citing Krashen, that repetitive drill and grammar-focused instruction are ineffective for second language acquisition — reports the opposite
• Tasks with higher involvement load, involving search and evaluation, are conducive to better word retention, with marginal glosses efficient for incidental learning — related
• Adventure video games with supplementary vocabulary material outperform control conditions on receptive and productive vocabulary tests — related