Research

My research deals with cognitive psychology of second language acquisition, relating to psychological mechanisms of how people acquire a second language (L2) and how the knowledge about the process and mechanism of learning can be applied to classroom instruction. I place the premium on practice, defined as “specific activities in the second language, engaged in systematically, deliberately, with the goals of developing knowledge of and skills in the second language” (DeKeyser, 2007, p.1).

Every time I ask during my classes or talks whether practice is necessary for L2 learning, everyone raises their hand. But when I ask whether anyone has ever wanted to research that question or investigate it more deeply, no one raises their hand. Why?

In my lab, we ask a wide range of questions revolving around the concept of practice in L2 learning. Here are just a few examples: