The aim of this paper is to enhance our understanding of the importance of noticing in Second Language Acquisition(SLA)from cognitive perspective.This paper mainly includes two parts:a)to consider the theoretical constructs that underlie the role of noticing from cognitive perspective,that is,in order to acquire any particular aspect of a second language(L2)the learner must first notice it.Noticing is necessary and sufficient for successful SLA;without noticing,there can be no move from input to intake;and b)to assess the validity of the assumption that noticing linguistic forms plays a crucial role in SLA,the researcher of this study attempts to investigate the potentially facilitative effects of output and visual input enhancement on the noticing and learning of the target form,adverb of frequency,by beginning learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL).The study is a controlled experimental one with a pretest-posttest design,involving four experimental groups and one control group.A repro duction and reading task is used as the vehicle of presentation of the target input text.In this study,the following two major find ings are evident.Firstly,the subjects engaged in the output-input treatment outperformed those exposed to the same input for the sole purpose of comprehension in learning the target form.Secondly,in contrast to the positive effect of output,visual input enhancement failed to indicate any measurable effect on learning.This research paper proves that the form-based approach that induced learners to notice linguistic forms during instruction demonstrated greater benefit to learners’interlanguage development than the content-based approach that exposed learners only in comprehensible input situation.
