Postal Address:
Alessandro Benati
Professor of English and Applied Linguistics
Head of English Department
American University of Sharjah
Email:
abenati@aus.edu
Web:
abenati@aus.edu
About Alessandro Benati
Alessandro is an experienced language teacher trainer in the UK and abroad. He has also been involved in numerous projects on language learning and teaching.
Research
Professor Benati is currently working on the following projects:
Processing instruction and motivational factors in the acquisition of word order in Arabic. (with Ayah Farhat)
We are conducting an investigation into motivational factors and how these factors might be affected by grammar instruction.
Processing instruction and working memory (with Stephanie Peter)
We are investigating the possible role of working memory capacity in the effects of processing instruction on the acquisition of German morphology.
The effects of re-exposure on sentence and discourse level tasks (with Benedetta Basile)
We are carrying out a classroom experiment to measure the relative effects of instruction and additional instruction on the acquisition of the Japanese syntactic and verbal morphology system.
The effects of structured input and structured output practice on the acquisition of English causative (with Maria Batziou)
We are studying the possible effects of a combination of input and output-based instruction among school-age learners and adults (Greek L1).
Processing instruction and the age factor
The effects of processing instruction are measured on adults and school-age learners of English to establish possible acqusitional patterns.
Processing grammatical input: differences between second (L2) and third language (L3) learners of English (with Tanja Angelovska, University of Salzburg)
We are conducting empirical research measuring whether there are any differences in how German learners of L2 English (with no knowledge of other foreign languages) and trilingual learners (with different language backgrounds who use more than two languages on a daily basis) process grammatical input (English morphological forms and syntactic structures).
Processing of English/Arabic transitive clauses by English monolinguals and late English/Arabic bilinguals: An ERP study
(with Carl O’Donoghue)
Processing instruction. An eye-tracking study on the acquisition of Passive constructions and English causative forms
(with James Lee and Paul Malovrh).
Processing instruction versus input enhancement: classroom effects and computerised online learning measurement
(with Gaia Chiuchiù).
Non intrusive input enhancement and incidental learning: An eye tracking study
(with Ilaria Borro).
Professor Alessandro Benati is the Head of the English Department at the American University of Sharjah. He has previously worked in the United Kingdom at the University of Greenwich, Queen Mary and Westfield College, Middlesex University, and the University of Portsmouth. He is honorary visiting professor at the University of York St john, UK. Alessandro is internationally known for his research in second language acquisition and second language teaching. He has published ground-breaking research with James Lee on the pedagogical framework called processing instruction. He is co-Editor of the journal ISLA (Equinox Publishing), and Editor of the Advanced ISLA Research Book Series for Bloomsbury Publishing. He is a member of the editorial board for the journal Language Teaching Research and Co-Editor of the Grammar World Japanese online platform. He has recently launched with John Schwieter a new series for Cambridge University Press called Elements in Second Language Acquisition. Alessandro has co-ordinated national and international high-impact research projects funded by the European Union, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, Sassakawa Foundation, Japanese MEXT, and the School Challenge. He is a member of the AHRC Peer Review College and the REF Panel 2021.He is currently working on two monographs (Key Questions in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction and Key Issues in Second Language Teaching) for Cambridge University Press.