This study seeks to test the claim put forward by Van Patten (1996, 2004a) in the Input Processing approach that focusing learners‘ attention on interpreting the meaning of various language forms is superior to other types of formal instruction. In
particular, the study compares the effects of meaning-based input processing instruction and traditional output-based instruction on the acquisition of several formal features necessary for the interpretation of sentences containing psychological verbs in Arabic. Three intact classes of second-semester Arabic students (n = 35) at
Georgetown University in Washington, DC participated in the study. The first group received input processing instruction; the second group was exposed to traditional output-based instruction, and the third group received no special treatment. Several interpretation and production measures were used in a pretest, treatment, and posttest
experimental design. Results of the study reveal a complex picture. Though there was no clear advantage for processing instruction over traditional instruction, the study shows that processing instruction seems to affect certain areas of interlanguage (IL) grammar such as clitics and theme-verbs in Arabic in a manner incomparable to the effects of traditional output practice. |