La focalizzazione sulla forma nell’apprendimento e nell’insegnamento delle lingue straniere. Aspetti linguistici, psicolinguistici e glottodidattici

The current volume explores the key construct of Focus on Form (FonF) and its practical applications to a variety of second language teaching and learning contexts. FonF is a type of cognitive process occurring during the reception or delivery of a linguistic message, in which the smooth flow of discourse is disrupted by a momentary attention to its form. In L2 learning settings, this can be prompted by the deliberate attention to specific language aspects driven by a language instructor or more competent user, or by comprehension problems experienced by learners during interaction. FonF has been shown to have a powerful impact on L2 development, and has been studied especially within interactionist and usage-based approaches to Second Language Acquisition. Given its cognitive nature, it is linked to the notions of attention and noticing, and has been widely studied in both classroom and naturalistic L2 learning settings also in relation to the related processes of Focus on Meaning and Focus on Forms. The book is divided into four chapters, which move from a theoretical definition of FonF to examples of its emergence and use in formal and less formal L2 English and L2 Italian learning settings. In these terms, the volume aims to stimulate both academic and pedagogical reflection among teachers, students and applied linguists. The first chapter provides a background to FonF by describing the characteristics of L2 input and the key cognitive constructs of selective attention, noticing and memory. Chapter 2 outlines a brief history of FonF within the cognitive-interactionist and usage-based perspectives, followed by its conceptualization in the foreign language teaching field. Chapter 3 describes the continuum from Focus on Meaning to FonF up to the explicit practice of Focus on Forms, each one having different applications and pedagogical potential. Such potential is clearly illustrated in Chapter 4, which shows concrete examples in L2 English and L2 Italian teaching and learning practices, useful for both learners and teacher reflection.