Roy Lyster

Roy Lyster is a Canadian applied linguist and Professor Emeritus of Second Language Education in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. He is recognized for developing the counterbalanced approach, which combines form-focused instruction with content-based and immersion language teaching. His work has shaped second language acquisition (SLA) research, especially in areas like immersion programs, corrective feedback, and blending form- and meaning-focused methods.

 Education 
Lyster received his Bachelor of Arts in French Language and Literature from the University of Regina in 1979. He went on to earn a Master of Arts from the Université de Paris VII, followed by a Bachelor of Education, Master of Education, and PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Toronto.

 Career 
Lyster spent his professional career at McGill University in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education, where he retired as Professor Emeritus of Second-language education. He held leadership roles in the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics, serving as co-president and then president from 2004 to 2008.

 Research and contributions 
Lyster's research centers on content-based second language instruction, immersion education, and corrective feedback. He advocates for a counterbalanced approach that integrates form-focused activities with content-driven learning to enhance both accuracy and fluency in second language learners.

His 1997 collaboration with Leila Ranta on corrective feedback and learner uptake in immersion classrooms is a landmark study in SLA. Often called a "milestone," it has sparked widespread research on oral feedback. The paper categorized types of feedback - such as recasts, prompts, and explicit corrections - and analyzed their impact on learner responses, influencing studies in contexts like CLIL, ESL, and foreign language settings.

More broadly, Lyster promotes strategies in immersion programs that offset content emphasis with targeted language support.

 Selected publications 






Lyster's work has accumulated over 25,000 citations according to Google Scholar, reflecting his substantial influence in second language education.

 Awards 
 1998 Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in Foreign Language Education
 2017 Robert Roy Award from the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT)

 References 

Category:University of Toronto alumni
Category:Canadian educators