Department of Second Language Studies

My research is primarily motivated by theoretical and empirical issues in instructed second language acquisition, but it also relies on research carried out in the broader field of second language acquisition, as well as in other related disciplines such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, psychometrics, and computer-assisted language learning. Within instructed SLA, my work examines the relative effects of different types of instruction (or learning conditions) on L2 development, as well as the role of contextual (i.e., learner-external) and individual difference (i.e., learner-internal) factors that may moderate such effects.

Two broad questions that have guided my research program so far are the following: 1) What type of instruction is most effective? 2) Which a) contextual, b) psycholinguistic, and c) cognitive individual difference factors (e.g., language aptitude) moderate the effectiveness of instruction?

I also direct the Instructed Second Language Acquisition Lab. Research in this lab focuses on the investigation of factors affecting second language acquisition that takes place in instructed contexts.

• Second language instruction
• Negative feedback
• Computer-mediated communication and instruction
• Task-based language teaching
• Individual differences in second language acquisition
• Explicit and implicit learning processes

Edited Book

Granena, G., Jackson, D.O., & Yilmaz, Y. (Eds.). (2016). Cognitive individual differences in second language processing and acquisition. John Benjamins.

Journal Articles

Yilmaz, Y., Granena, G., Canals, L., & Malicka, A. (in press). The effects of feedback type and explicit associative memory on the effectiveness of delayed corrective feedback in computer-mediated communication. Language Learning & Technology.

Yilmaz, Y., Arroyo, D., Carver, C., Choi, J., & DiBartolomeo, M. (2023). The effects of distributed versus massed corrective feedback on the acquisition of Spanish differential object marking. Modern Language Journal, 107, 756–781. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12862

Canals, L., Granena, G., Yilmaz, Y., & Malicka, A. (2021). The relative effectiveness of immediate and delayed corrective feedback in video-based computer-mediated communication. Language Teaching Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211052793

Yilmaz, Y., & Granena (2021). Implicitness and explicitness in cognitive abilities and corrective feedback: A double dissociation? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43, 523-550.

Canals, L., Granena, G., Yilmaz, Y., & Malicka, A. (2020). Second language learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of delayed immediate corrective feedback in an asynchronous online setting: An exploratory study. TESL Canada Journal, 37(2), 181–209.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2019a). Corrective feedback and the role of implicit sequence learning ability in L2 online performance. Language Learning, 69, 127-156.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2019b). Phonological short-term memory capacity and L2 oral performance. Journal of Second Language Studies, 2, 317–335.

Yilmaz, Y., & Sagdic, A. (2019). The interaction between inhibitory control and corrective feedback timing. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 170, 204-227.  

Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (2019). Cognitive individual differences as predictors of improvement and awareness under implicit and explicit feedback conditions. Modern Language Journal, 103, 686-702.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2018). Aptitude-treatment interaction in L2 learning: A research synthesis. Studies in English Education, 4, 803-830.

Arroyo, D., & Yilmaz, Y. (2018). An open for replication study: The role of feedback timing in synchronous computer-mediated communication. Language Learning, 68, 942-972.  

Yilmaz, Y. (2016a). The effectiveness of explicit correction under two different feedback exposure conditions. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 65-96.

Yilmaz, Y. (2016b). The linguistic environment, interaction and negative feedback. Brill Research Perspectives in Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, 1, 45-86.

Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (2016). The role of cognitive aptitudes for explicit language learning in the relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19, 147-161.  

Yilmaz, Y. (2013a). Relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback: The role of working memory capacity and language analytic ability. Applied Linguistics, 34, 344-368.

Yilmaz, Y. (2013b). The relative effectiveness of mixed, explicit and implicit feedback. System, 41, 691-705.

Yilmaz, Y. (2012). The relative effects of explicit correction and recasts on two target structures via two communication modes. Language Learning, 62, 1134–1169.

Yilmaz, Y. (2011). Task effects on focus on form in synchronous computer-mediated communication. Modern Language Journal, 95, 115-132.

Yilmaz, Y., & Yuksel, D. (2011). Effects of communication mode and salience on recasts: A first exposure study. Language Teaching Research, 15, 457-477.

Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (2010). The effects of task type in synchronous computer-mediated communication. ReCALL Journal, 22, 20-38.

Book Chapters

Yilmaz, Y. Lee, S., & Koylu, Y. (in press). Isolated and combined effects of models and corrective feedback in the acquisition of the Turkish locative morpheme. In L. Hracs (Ed.), Perspectives on input, evidence, and exposure in language acquisition: Studies in honor of Susanne E. Carroll. John Benjamins.

Canals. L., Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (in press). The use of screencasting in corrective feedback research: Advantages and limitations. In K. Sadeghi (Ed.), Routledge handbook of technological advances in researching language learning. Taylor & Francis.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2022a). Immediate versus delayed oral negative feedback: A comparison of psycholinguistic advantages. In A. G. Benati & J. W. Schwieter (Eds.), Second language acquisition theory: The legacy of Professor Michael H. Long (pp. 127–142). John Benjamins.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2022b). A psycholinguistically motivated methodology for task-based language teaching. In M. Ahmadian & M. Long (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching (pp. 305-325). Cambridge University Press.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2021). Phonological short-term memory capacity and L2 oral performance. In R. M. DeKeyser (Ed.), Aptitude-treatment interaction in second language learning (pp. 153–171). John Benjamins.

Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Yilmaz, Y. (2021). Corrective feedback in instructional pragmatics. H. Nassaji & E. Kartchava (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of corrective feedback in language learning and teaching (pp. 429-449). Cambridge University Press.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz. Y. (2021). Corrective feedback and grammatical complexity: A research synthesis. H. Nassaji & E. Kartchava (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of corrective feedback in language learning and teaching (pp. 754-776). Cambridge University Press.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2019). Cognitive aptitudes for explicit and implicit learning, In Z. Wen, P. Skehan, A. Biedron, S. Li & R. Sparks (Eds.), Language aptitude: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice. Taylor & Francis.

Granena, G., & Yilmaz, Y. (2019). Language aptitude profiles and the effectiveness of implicit and explicit corrective feedback. In R. P. Leow (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of second language research in classroom learning (pp. 440-453). Taylor & Francis.

Arroyo, D., & Yilmaz, Y. (2017). The role of language analytic ability in the effectiveness of different feedback timing conditions. In L. Gurzynski-Weiss (Ed.), Expanding individual difference research in the interaction approach: Investigating learners, instructors, and other interlocutors (pp. 71-97). John Benjamins.

Granena, G., Jackson, D. O., & Yilmaz, Y. (2016b). Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing. In G. Granena, D. O. Jackson & Y. Yilmaz (Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in second language processing and acquisition (pp. 1-14). John Benjamins.

Yilmaz, Y., & Koylu, Y. (2016). The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability. In G. Granena, D. O. Jackson & Y. Yilmaz (Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in second language processing and acquisition (pp. 303-326). John Benjamins.

Yilmaz, Y., Granena, G., & Meyer, Z. S. (2016). The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions. In G. Granena, D. O. Jackson & Y. Yilmaz (Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in second language processing and acquisition (pp. 327-349). John Benjamins.

Goo, J., Granena, G., Yilmaz, Y., & Novella, M. (2015). Implicit and explicit instruction in L2 learning. In P. Rebuschat (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages (pp. 443-482). John Benjamins.