Revisiting Blocking Effects in Second Language Learning: A Close Replication of Ellis and Sagarra (2010)

We closely replicated Ellis and Sagarra (2010b), a seminal, frequently cited, and theoreticallyimportant study that demonstrated blocking effects in adult L2 learning. In that study, Englishspeakinglearners completed different types of pretraining about Latin temporal expressions(adverbs, verbs, no pretraining) to investigate how knowledge about specific cues influenced L2outcomes. Results showed that the type of pretraining received strongly influencedcomprehension and production. To date, however, these findings have not been fully confirmedin subsequent replications and no independent replication study exists, features strongly favoringreplication. We addressed these concerns using the same design and materials. Although resultsdid not confirm the initial study’s findings due to performance in verb pretraining, findings areconsistent with contemporary theories of (associative) learning. Theoretical refinements andmethodological implications of this replication are discussed, especially roles for priorknowledge and experiences, the linguistic properties of cues, and competition between cues.