Sentence processing research is a major enterprise in psycholinguistics and cognitive science, yet little work has been done in the area of L2 sentence processing. The two approaches are compared and the contribution this research can make to a transition theory of SLA is discussed. Of particular importance is the insight these models can provide into the mechanisms responsible for both the strengthening and development of L2 knowledge. The presentation will review recent empirical work in each of these areas. It will argue that an information processing account provides an organizing framework for such research, especially when related to the ways in which attention can be channeled more effectively.
Analysis refers to the degree to which the knowledge is analytically or holistically represented.
Automaticity refers to how automatically the knowledge can be retrieved in on-line processing.