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The Desirable Difficulty Framework as a Theoretical Foundation for Optimizing and Researching Second Language Practice
Author(s) -
SUZUKI YUICHI,
NAKATA TATSUYA,
DEKEYSER ROBERT
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/modl.12585
Subject(s) - foundation (evidence) , cognition , field (mathematics) , psychology , cognitive science , cognitive psychology , epistemology , management science , computer science , engineering ethics , philosophy , engineering , mathematics , archaeology , neuroscience , pure mathematics , economics , history
This coda article offers unified theoretical accounts of the major findings of the empirical studies in this special issue of Optimizing Second Language Practice in the Classroom: Perspectives from Cognitive Psychology . We present a theoretical framework from cognitive psychology (desirable difficulty framework) and link it to the ideas of second language (L2) difficulty. We argue that practice condition, linguistic difficulty, and individual differences need to be taken into account for creating optimal, deliberate, and systematic L2 practice. The desirable difficulty framework may serve as a theoretical foundation to better understand the role of practice on L2 acquisition, as well as to gain insights into effective L2 teaching. Future directions for research are presented to further develop this emerging field of L2 practice.