Effects of Awareness on the Noticing Function of Output

Abstract

This pilot study investigated the effects of awareness on the noticing function of output and second language acquisition. The hypothesis was that the participants who have some awareness of a target form would pay more attention to the form when they experience difficulty in producing the output which requires the use of the target form. The degree of awareness was measured by pretests, production, and immediate retrospective interviews. Based on the results, the participants were divided into four awareness levels. Sixteen Korean L2 learners reproduced a passage flooded with English object-of-preposition relatives. The overall difference of noticing scores between four levels was not significant. However, the means of each level were carefully examined to obtain relevant information for a further study. According to the analyses, the noticing scores between level 2 and level 0 and between level 2 and level 3 were significantly different. The level 2 learners, who were partially aware of the target form, noticed the form more than any other level in the subsequent input. Although the small number of participants remained as a limitation, the hypothesis assumed was partially supported.