The role of L2 proficiency in simultaneous attention to form and meaning in L2 German

Abstract

Within VanPatten's (1990, 2004) framework of input processing, this study investigates how different types of form-meaning attentional conditions affect comprehension of written input. VanPatten's (1990, 2004) views learners as limited capacity processors, attending to content before grammatical form, and argues that attention to form takes away some processing capacity, resulting in lower content intake. Recent research contradicts these findings (e.g., Leow, Hsieh, & Moreno 2008). However, most evidence on form-meaning connections comes from L2 Spanish (e.g., VanPatten 1990, Leow et al. 2008), which calls for evaluating the generalizability of PMP cross-linguistically. Addressing this drawback, this research assesses how intake is affected by 1) simultaneous attention to form and meaning in L2 German and 2) L2 proficiency for different attentional conditions. Results indicate that processing for form in L2 German has no significant effect on simultaneous processing for meaning and on subsequent intake, regardless of the proficiency level.