Automation of Function Assignment in the Models of Speech Production and Second Language Acquisition

This article explores the concept of function assignment in first language (L1) and second language (L2) speech production, compares automation of function assignment in L1 and L2 speech production, pursues factors hampering automation of function assignment in L2 speech production, and discusses how to improve automation of function assignment in L2 speech production. Grammatical encoding, of which function assignment is one of the subordinate processes, is also one of the processes in L2 speech production. While function assignment in L1 speech production is mostly automatic, it demands much attentional resources and is executed under conscious supervision in L2 speech production. L2 learners’ incomplete knowledge of the target language and their limited working memory resources hamper automation of function assignment in L2 speech production. Furthermore, as per generative models of learning, to improve automation of function assignment, teachers can either adopt strategies or improve instructional designs targeting this subprocess. Together, this conceptual paper gives a comprehensive overview of automation of function assignment, explores its impact on second language acquisition (SLA), and reveals that it is feasible to facilitate automation of function assignment in L2 speech production by improving instructional designs, especially the presentation methods of sentence elements.