Videos by Ilaria Borro
The video presentation reports the main findings of my doctoral project and has been awarded "Bes... more The video presentation reports the main findings of my doctoral project and has been awarded "Best student presentation" at the BAAL vocabulary special interest group conference 2021 Book Chapters by Ilaria Borro
Benati, A. & Schwieter, J. (2022). Second Language Acquisition Theory. The legacy of professor Michael H. Long, 2022
This chapter will focus on theory and research into enhanced incidental learning (EIL), which is ... more This chapter will focus on theory and research into enhanced incidental learning (EIL), which is an approach to facilitating learning from input. The chapter will draw comparisons between EIL and input enhancement (IE). Input enhance- ment (Sharwood-Smith, 1981, 1993) consists of overt increases in the perceptual salience of target items, and is intended to improve noticing. The possibility
that input enhancement may only result in improved explicit knowledge will be examined. In contrast, EIL does not entail changes to the input itself, but covert modifications of the conditions under which the input is processed (Long, 2017). There will be discussion of existing empirical results which suggest EIL may give rise to implicit knowledge by means of detection rather than noticing.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Te... more This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
IL TASK NELL'INSEGNAMENTO DELLE LINGUE. PERCORSI TRA RICERCA E DIDATTICA, 2018
Il volume raccoglie il frutto di un lavoro condotto presso il Centro Linguistico di Ateneo dell’U... more Il volume raccoglie il frutto di un lavoro condotto presso il Centro Linguistico di Ateneo dell’Università Roma Tre dal marzo 2015, all’interno di un gruppo di ricerca sul Task-based Language Teaching. Si tratta di un percorso di ricerca-azione nel quale i membri del gruppo – docenti di lingua, ricercatori, studenti universitari – hanno esplorato questa prospettiva di insegnamento sia nei suoi principi teorici sia nelle sue applicazioni pratiche. Nei sei contributi che compongono il volume si cerca di proporre una visione critica e non prescrittiva, fermo restando che il nostro punto di riferimento essenziale – il task appunto – ha caratteristiche imprescindibili per essere definito tale nell’ambito dell’attività didattica. Il volume si rivolge prevalentemente a studenti universitari di discipline linguistiche e a insegnanti in servizio e in formazione.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
Papers by Ilaria Borro
Italiano LinguaDue, Feb 18, 2016
Italiano LinguaDue, 2016
Lo studio esamina la validita dell’Elicited Oral Imitation Test (EI) nella misurazione delle cono... more Lo studio esamina la validita dell’Elicited Oral Imitation Test (EI) nella misurazione delle conoscenze implicite e delle strategie di processing . Si basa sull’ipotesi elaborata da Erlam secondo il quale l’EI e ricostruttivo , cioe richiede agli apprendenti di processare l’input orale e non di ripeterlo meccanicamente. La struttura misurata nello studio e il participio passato: la scelta e motivata dal fatto che si tratta di una struttura problematica a diversi livelli di competenza e richiede la capacita di processare tratti morfologici e sintattici allo stesso tempo (Salvi, Vanelli, 2004). I partecipanti sono 26 studenti cinesi di livello A2 e B1 che, all'epoca, avevano frequentato per circa 400 ore un corso di lingua italiana all'Universita degli Studi di Milano. Lo studio utilizza, oltre all’EI, altre due forme di valutazione: un Untimed Grammaticality Judgment Test (UGJT) e un Metalinguistic Knowledge Test (MKT). Lo studio ha dimostrato che l'EI ha un debole correl...
EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 2021
E-JournALL, EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages Special Issue, Volume 8, Issue 2, November 2021, 53–69, 2021
Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students&#... more Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students' level seem to have been aggravated during the pandemic (Conti, 2021). In this situation, there is the risk of exposing learners to inappropriate input, which can be detrimental to language acquisition. The proposed solution, (modified-)elaborated input, is designed to increase comprehensibility without sacrificing the richness of authentic input, which is crucial for language acquisition (Long, 2015; 2020; O’Donnel, 2009; Yano, Long, & Ross, 1994). The features of elaborated input make its application beneficial in any kind of language course. In addition, in the context of online teaching, elaborated input can be a powerful tool to deal with the issue of input appropriateness. This work analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of elaborated and modified-elaborated input while providing a review of the existing empirical data supporting its effectiveness.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Te... more This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Te... more This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
Ripensare l’insegnamento delle lingue straniere a partire dall’esperienza della didattica a distanza
Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students&#... more Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students' level seem to have been aggravated during the pandemic (Conti, 2021). In this situation, there is the risk of exposing learners to inappropriate input, which can be detrimental to language acquisition. The proposed solution, (modified-)elaborated input, is designed to increase comprehensibility without sacrificing the richness of authentic input, which is crucial for language acquisition (Long, 2015; 2020; O’Donnel, 2009; Yano, Long, & Ross, 1994). The features of elaborated input make its application beneficial in any kind of language course. In addition, in the context of online teaching, elaborated input can be a powerful tool to deal with the issue of input appropriateness. This work analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of elaborated and modified-elaborated input while providing a review of the existing empirical data supporting its effectiveness. Key words: INPUT APPROPRIATENE...
E-JournALL, EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages Special Issue, Volume 8, Issue 2, November 2021, 53–69, 2021
Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students' ... more Instructors’ difficulties in judging whether linguistic material is suitable for their students' level seem to have been aggravated during
the pandemic (Conti, 2021). In this situation, there is the risk of exposing learners to inappropriate input, which can be detrimental
to language acquisition. The proposed solution, (modified-)elaborated input, is designed to increase comprehensibility without
sacrificing the richness of authentic input, which is crucial for language acquisition (Long, 2015; 2020; O’Donnel, 2009; Yano,
Long, & Ross, 1994). The features of elaborated input make its application beneficial in any kind of language course. In addition,
in the context of online teaching, elaborated input can be a powerful tool to deal with the issue of input appropriateness. This work
analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of elaborated and modified-elaborated input while providing a review of the existing empirical data supporting its effectiveness.
The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching
Thesis Chapters by Ilaria Borro
Enhanced incidental learning of formulaic sequences by Chinese learners of Italian, 2021
The present study has two main aims, on both a pedagogic and theoretical level. The pedagogic foc... more The present study has two main aims, on both a pedagogic and theoretical level. The pedagogic focus is to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for instructional techniques that trigger enhanced incidental learning. The rationale for enhanced incidental learning lies in the need to improve L2 speakers’ implicit knowledge, which requires keeping learning as incidental and unconscious as possible. At the same time, purely incidental conditions result in slow and limited knowledge gains, and this shows the need for devices capable of speeding up acquisition while simultaneously keeping the learner’s level of consciousness below the awareness threshold. Enhanced incidental learning is such a device.
The need to verify whether such conditions are capable of triggering genuine incidental learning and resulting in implicit knowledge leads to the second aim of the study. This focuses on a more theoretical and psycholinguistic issue: the relationship between the level of consciousness at the point of learning and the kind of knowledge gained. As a corollary of this investigation, the possibility for learning to take place below the level of awareness is addressed.
The target structure chosen for the experiment is formulaic sequences, since mastering them is considered both a crucial and problematic part of second language acquisition. Notably, the capacity of the human brain to unconsciously tally co-occurrences makes formulaic language an optimal target structure for the investigation of statistical incidental learning.
83 Chinese learners of Italian L2 were exposed to reading-while-listening to a graded reader including seven occurrences of each target idiom. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and exposed to the target items with (i) typographical, (ii) aural, (iii) typographical + aural, or (iv) no additional enhancement. A control group performed the tests with no treatment. Learning was assessed through both offline and online tests, which were performed immediately after the treatment and again three weeks
later. To investigate the learners’ level of consciousness, a subsample of participants had their eye movements recorded at the process level. In addition, stimulated recalls provided information about participants’ awareness of the enhancement devices and the learning task.
Findings show that significant knowledge was gained. Awareness measures show that treatments involving typographical enhancement resulted in intentional rather than incidental learning, which was confirmed by the post-test detecting mainly explicit
knowledge. While confirming the effectiveness of typographical enhancement for explicit knowledge gains, this result shows that learning conditions involving it cannot be considered incidental.
In contrast, subjects exposed to aural enhancement allocated additional attention to the target items without being aware of it, therefore engaging in genuine incidental learning. This process resulted in both explicit knowledge (at the receptive level only) and significantly increased automatic familiarity with the target items. This finding is original and important on two levels. First, it provides evidence for the effectiveness of aural enhancement, which was lacking in the existing literature. Secondly, it supports the possibility for enhanced incidental learning to take place below the level of awareness, thus contributing to a key debate in the SLA field.
Results concerning the increased-frequency-only treatment are not straightforward and therefore need further research.
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Videos by Ilaria Borro
Book Chapters by Ilaria Borro
that input enhancement may only result in improved explicit knowledge will be examined. In contrast, EIL does not entail changes to the input itself, but covert modifications of the conditions under which the input is processed (Long, 2017). There will be discussion of existing empirical results which suggest EIL may give rise to implicit knowledge by means of detection rather than noticing.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
Papers by Ilaria Borro
the pandemic (Conti, 2021). In this situation, there is the risk of exposing learners to inappropriate input, which can be detrimental
to language acquisition. The proposed solution, (modified-)elaborated input, is designed to increase comprehensibility without
sacrificing the richness of authentic input, which is crucial for language acquisition (Long, 2015; 2020; O’Donnel, 2009; Yano,
Long, & Ross, 1994). The features of elaborated input make its application beneficial in any kind of language course. In addition,
in the context of online teaching, elaborated input can be a powerful tool to deal with the issue of input appropriateness. This work
analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of elaborated and modified-elaborated input while providing a review of the existing empirical data supporting its effectiveness.
Thesis Chapters by Ilaria Borro
The need to verify whether such conditions are capable of triggering genuine incidental learning and resulting in implicit knowledge leads to the second aim of the study. This focuses on a more theoretical and psycholinguistic issue: the relationship between the level of consciousness at the point of learning and the kind of knowledge gained. As a corollary of this investigation, the possibility for learning to take place below the level of awareness is addressed.
The target structure chosen for the experiment is formulaic sequences, since mastering them is considered both a crucial and problematic part of second language acquisition. Notably, the capacity of the human brain to unconsciously tally co-occurrences makes formulaic language an optimal target structure for the investigation of statistical incidental learning.
83 Chinese learners of Italian L2 were exposed to reading-while-listening to a graded reader including seven occurrences of each target idiom. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and exposed to the target items with (i) typographical, (ii) aural, (iii) typographical + aural, or (iv) no additional enhancement. A control group performed the tests with no treatment. Learning was assessed through both offline and online tests, which were performed immediately after the treatment and again three weeks
later. To investigate the learners’ level of consciousness, a subsample of participants had their eye movements recorded at the process level. In addition, stimulated recalls provided information about participants’ awareness of the enhancement devices and the learning task.
Findings show that significant knowledge was gained. Awareness measures show that treatments involving typographical enhancement resulted in intentional rather than incidental learning, which was confirmed by the post-test detecting mainly explicit
knowledge. While confirming the effectiveness of typographical enhancement for explicit knowledge gains, this result shows that learning conditions involving it cannot be considered incidental.
In contrast, subjects exposed to aural enhancement allocated additional attention to the target items without being aware of it, therefore engaging in genuine incidental learning. This process resulted in both explicit knowledge (at the receptive level only) and significantly increased automatic familiarity with the target items. This finding is original and important on two levels. First, it provides evidence for the effectiveness of aural enhancement, which was lacking in the existing literature. Secondly, it supports the possibility for enhanced incidental learning to take place below the level of awareness, thus contributing to a key debate in the SLA field.
Results concerning the increased-frequency-only treatment are not straightforward and therefore need further research.
that input enhancement may only result in improved explicit knowledge will be examined. In contrast, EIL does not entail changes to the input itself, but covert modifications of the conditions under which the input is processed (Long, 2017). There will be discussion of existing empirical results which suggest EIL may give rise to implicit knowledge by means of detection rather than noticing.
This volume is the result of the work carried out by the research group on Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) since March 2015 at the Language Center of Roma Tre University. From the action research perspective, the members of the group –language teachers, researchers, university students– have explored TBLT both in its theoretical principles and in its practical applications. The six contributions collected in the book take a critical and non-prescriptive view of teaching, provided that our essential point of reference –the task– has peculiarities that make it unique and distinguishable in second language instruction. The volume is mainly addressed to university students of languages, as well as to prospective and in-service teachers.
the pandemic (Conti, 2021). In this situation, there is the risk of exposing learners to inappropriate input, which can be detrimental
to language acquisition. The proposed solution, (modified-)elaborated input, is designed to increase comprehensibility without
sacrificing the richness of authentic input, which is crucial for language acquisition (Long, 2015; 2020; O’Donnel, 2009; Yano,
Long, & Ross, 1994). The features of elaborated input make its application beneficial in any kind of language course. In addition,
in the context of online teaching, elaborated input can be a powerful tool to deal with the issue of input appropriateness. This work
analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of elaborated and modified-elaborated input while providing a review of the existing empirical data supporting its effectiveness.
The need to verify whether such conditions are capable of triggering genuine incidental learning and resulting in implicit knowledge leads to the second aim of the study. This focuses on a more theoretical and psycholinguistic issue: the relationship between the level of consciousness at the point of learning and the kind of knowledge gained. As a corollary of this investigation, the possibility for learning to take place below the level of awareness is addressed.
The target structure chosen for the experiment is formulaic sequences, since mastering them is considered both a crucial and problematic part of second language acquisition. Notably, the capacity of the human brain to unconsciously tally co-occurrences makes formulaic language an optimal target structure for the investigation of statistical incidental learning.
83 Chinese learners of Italian L2 were exposed to reading-while-listening to a graded reader including seven occurrences of each target idiom. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and exposed to the target items with (i) typographical, (ii) aural, (iii) typographical + aural, or (iv) no additional enhancement. A control group performed the tests with no treatment. Learning was assessed through both offline and online tests, which were performed immediately after the treatment and again three weeks
later. To investigate the learners’ level of consciousness, a subsample of participants had their eye movements recorded at the process level. In addition, stimulated recalls provided information about participants’ awareness of the enhancement devices and the learning task.
Findings show that significant knowledge was gained. Awareness measures show that treatments involving typographical enhancement resulted in intentional rather than incidental learning, which was confirmed by the post-test detecting mainly explicit
knowledge. While confirming the effectiveness of typographical enhancement for explicit knowledge gains, this result shows that learning conditions involving it cannot be considered incidental.
In contrast, subjects exposed to aural enhancement allocated additional attention to the target items without being aware of it, therefore engaging in genuine incidental learning. This process resulted in both explicit knowledge (at the receptive level only) and significantly increased automatic familiarity with the target items. This finding is original and important on two levels. First, it provides evidence for the effectiveness of aural enhancement, which was lacking in the existing literature. Secondly, it supports the possibility for enhanced incidental learning to take place below the level of awareness, thus contributing to a key debate in the SLA field.
Results concerning the increased-frequency-only treatment are not straightforward and therefore need further research.