Recent Research in Language Learning Studies: Promises and Problems

From the perspective of a psycholinguist, I discuss 3 leading questions that have arisen from a number of foundational, descriptive SLA studies: First, considering the language to be learned, why are certain L2 constructions learnable and others not? What is it about these constructions which makes them so difficult to acquire? Second, in considering input requirements, can we say that adult learners can take advantage of metalinguistic information about the language and negative input? Do adults differ from child learners in the L2 input requirements? And finally, is focal attention required for the acquisition of the syntax and the phonological rules of a target language? Do we need to notice in order to learn, or can we learn subconsciously? I review recent studies and make suggestions for further investigations.