The present study measured the effects of guided-inductive (GI) versus deductive computer-delivered instruction on the processing and retention of the Spanish true passive using a self-paced reading design. Fifty-four foreign language learners of Spanish participated in the study, which operationalised guided-inductive and deductive approaches using an adaptation of the PACE model and processing instruction (PI), respectively. Results revealed that each experimental group significantly improved after the pedagogical intervention, and that the GI group outperformed the PI group in terms of accuracy on an immediate post-test. Differences between the groups, however, were not durative; at the delayed post-test, each group performed the same. Additional analyses revealed that the GI group spent over twice as much time on task during instruction than the PI group, with no long-term advantages on processing, calling into question the pedagogical justification for implementing GI at a curricular level.

The present study investigates the effect of mode on number and gender agreement in third-person direct object clitics produced by three different levels of nativeEnglish L2 learners of Spanish (N = 76). Previous research supports a performancedeficit account of variability, showing that proficiency level and working memory affect L2 morphological agreement (Sagarra 2007 andSagarra &Herschensohn 2010), and that L2 processing patterns are similar to those of the L1 (Hopp 2010), suggesting that gender inflection is attainable. The present study extends such research. Using film retell tasks, data deriving from oral and written production under identical task conditions were correlated with less and more access to working memory, respectively. Analyses revealed main effects for both variables; patterns of agreement in oral production were also evident in written production, but at earlier stages of development. Results support a performance-based account of variability, showing that mode affects gender agreement, but not number.

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Recent research on the effects of processing instruction (PI) have incorporated online research methods in order to demonstrate that PI has effects on cognitive processing behaviors as well as on accuracy (e.g. Lee & Doherty, 2019a). The present study uses self-paced reading and a moving windows technique to examine the effects of PI on second language (L2) learners’ processing of Spanish active and passive sentences to explore the effects of PI on instructed second language acquisition. One group received PI but the Control group did not. Between group comparisons on passive sentences showed changes in performance for the PI group but not the Control group with the PI group gaining in accuracy and processing speed, specifically faster response times to select the correct picture and faster reading time on passive verb forms. Within group analyses showed changes in the PI group’s performance on all dependent variables at the immediate posttest and a subsequent decline in performance at the delayed posttest (8 weeks later). We discuss the implications of our results and treatment format for classroom and hybridized instruction.