A Reading “Din in the Head”: Evidence of Involuntary Mental Rehearsal in Second Language Readers

Abstract

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of involuntary mental rehearsal of language, or the “Din in the head,” has been considered by researchers as an indicator of second language (L2) acquisition among acquirers. Previous studies have noted that the Din occurs primarily among beginning and intermediate L2 students after the reception of oral input that is comprehensible, but not after reading. It has been argued that this lack of a reported Din is due to the fact that such students typically do very little reading, and that acquirers who did read would experience a “reading Din.” This study provides evidence for an 12 Din after reading from a survey of two classes of intermediate Spanish students: a “Reading Only” group (TV = 20), whose only source ofL2 input was reading; and a “Reading and Conversation” group (TV = 15), who received both printed and oral input. Both groups reported a Din after L2 reading. The findings lend support to claims made by Krashen concerning the importance of comprehensible input in L2 acquisition. Implications for the use of reading in beginning and intermediate 12 classrooms are discussed.