The Effects of Structured Input and Output on the Acquisition of the Accusative Case in L2 German

Despite a relatively large body of research comparing comprehension- and production-based instruction, instructional treatments have often included different design features (e.g., the presence of explicit information, task-essentialness, attention to meaning) and thus targeted different cognitive processes. The present study focused on a comparison of structured input, structured output, and mixed instruction, all of which are designed specifically to reorient learners’ first-noun strategy and promote the connection between form and meaning. Instruction targeted the processing of nominative and accusative case markers in object-first sentences in German. The outcomes of instruction were investigated with respect to learning rate during the training and learning outcomes, as measured by post-test interpretation and production tasks. The results showed few sustained differences between the three types of instruction. Given that the instruction was designed to target the same cognitive process (the attention to and processing of the target form), the results suggest that there are few differences between comprehension- and production-based instruction when they engage the same processes.