Input spacing in second language classroom settings: Replications of Bird (2010) and Serrano (2011)

Abstract

AbstractThis paper proposes the replication of Bird's (2010) and Serrano's (2011) studies, which examined distribution of practice effects in second language acquisition (SLA). These studies, which took place in authentic classroom contexts, produced conflicting results regarding the degree to which the learning of a second language (L2) benefited from distributed instruction. In the first part of the paper, I discuss the distribution of practice research in the learning and teaching of L2s. I then describe Bird's (2010) and Serrano's (2011) work, and highlight the strengths and limitations of the approaches of these studies. Finally, a number of approaches to approximate replications are suggested for each study in order to assess the reliability, internal validity, and generalizability of the original findings