A critical review on the components of processability theory: identifying the limitations

Date

2020-06-01

Author

Peker, Hilal
Toprak Çelen, Esma

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There has been a tendency among the second language acquisition/learning theorists to make generalization about the stages that learners go through in learning a second language (L2). Processability Theory, developed by Pienemann (1998), is one of those theories. It is argued in Processability Theory that learners can learn an L2 in an order that they are capable of at specific times. In other words, learners acquire/learn L2s in a predictable order, which is called ‘developmental trajectory’. This article reviews Processability Theory from a critical perspective and investigates the limitations of and ambiguities in the theory through examining previous studies. The issues discussed in this paper include the hierarchical order, hypothesis space, grammar and lexicon, operational definition of language processor and its connection to Neurolinguistics and working memory, overgeneralization of features to all languages, and lexical functional grammar. Based on the review of these issues, it is proposed that Processability Theory may need some modifications and amendments in near future, as there is a need for more empirical studies.

URI

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1131078
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/88128

Journal

ELT Research Journal

Collections

Department of Basic English, Article

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Citation Formats

H. Peker and E. Toprak Çelen, “A critical review on the components of processability theory: identifying the limitations,” ELT Research Journal, pp. 71–89, 2020, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1131078.