Kevin McManus, Ph.D.

Professor of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh
Associate Editor, Studies in Second Language Acquisition

Email: kevin.mcmanus@pitt.edu

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I am an applied linguist with research interests in second language acquisition and replication research. My second language acquisition research investigates how cognitive factors, learning conditions, and instruction shape linguistic development, with a particular focus on morphosyntax (e.g., tense, aspect, mood). A core thread running through this work is understanding how variations in input, interaction, and usage drive acquisition, alongside long-standing interests in crosslinguistic influence and instruction. A second major strand of my research concerns replication research. This work spans carrying out replications, developing frameworks for their design, execution, and interpretation, and conducting metascience research to examine current practices in the field.

Publications

Forthcoming and preprints

McManus, K. (accepted). Replication studies in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (accepted). Replication studies in second language acquisition. In Nesi, H. & Milin, P. (Ed). International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (3rd Edition). Elsevier. [Postprint]

McManus, K., Bayas,K., Kerschen,K., Khoruzhaya, Y., Zhuang, J., & Magnuson, A. (accepted). Revisiting blocking effects in second language learning: A close replication of Ellis and Sagarra (2010b). Language Learning. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (accepted). Usage-based second language acquisition: Main assumptions and learning mechanisms. In Chapelle, C. (Ed). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (2nd Edition). Wiley.

Kisselev, O., Rubina, A., & McManus, K. (accepted). Russian nominative-accusative case distinction: Usage-based classroom-based study of English-speaking learners of L2 Russian. Pedagogical Linguistics. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (accepted). Why and how to replicate quasi-experimentally. [Preprint]

McManus, K. (accepted). Replication uncertainty. In Al-Hoorie, A. H. & Greggersen, T. (Eds). The motivation of uncertainty. Applied Linguistics Press. [Postprint]

Books and edited volumes

McManus, K. (Ed.). (2024). Replication studies in second language acquisition research. Special Issue, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 46(5).

McManus, K. (Ed) (2024). Usage in second language acquisition. Critical reflections and future directions. Routledge.

McManus, K. (2022). Crosslinguistic influence and second language learning. Routledge

McManus, K. & Schmid, M. S. (Eds.). (2022). How special are early birds? Foreign language teaching and learning. Language Science Press.

Porte, G. & McManus, K. (2019). Doing replication research in applied linguistics. Routledge.

McManus, K., Vanek, N., Leclercq, P., & Roberts, L. (2017). Tense, aspect, and modality in L2 (TAML2). Special Issue, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 55(3), 221-345.

Mitchell, R.F., Tracy-Ventura, N., & McManus, K. (2017). Anglophone students abroad: Identity, social relationships and language learning. Routledge.

Mitchell, R.F., Tracy-Ventura, N., & McManus, K. (Eds.) (2015). Social interaction, identity and language learning during residence abroad. EUROSLA Monographs series.

Roberts, L., McManus, K., Vanek, N., &; Trenkic, D. (Eds.) (2015). EUROSLA yearbook 15. John Benjamins.

Journal articles and book chapters

McManus, K. (2026). Afterword: Taking stock and advancing tense-aspect research in language learning . In Bardel, C., Bergström, A., Gudmundson, A., & Vallerossa, F. (Eds). Tense and aspect in multilingual Romance language education. John Benjamins

McManus, K., Kerschen,K., Khoruzhaya, Y., & Zhuang, J. (2025). Comparing lab-based and remote data collection methods in second language acquisition research. A close replication study. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4(3), 100249. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2024). Replication studies in second language acquisition research. Definitions, issues, resources, and future directions. Introduction to the special issue. Special Issue, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 46(5), 1299-1319. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2024). Introducing usage in SLA. In McManus, K. (Ed). Usage in second language acquisition. Critical reflections and future directions. Routledge. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2024). Replication and open science in applied linguistics research. In Plonsky, L. (Ed.). Open Science in Applied Linguistics. Applied Linguistics Press. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2024). Synthsizing usage in SLA. In McManus, K. (Ed). Usage in second language acquisition. Critical reflections and future directions. Routledge. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2024). The future of replication in applied linguistics: Toward a standard for replication studies. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 44, 133-149. [Postprint]

Liu, Y. & McManus, K. (2023). Investigating the psychological reality of argument structure constructions and N1 of N2 constructions: A comparison between L1 and L2 speakers of English. Cognitive Linguistics, 34, 503-531. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2023). How and why can explicit instruction about L1 reduce the negative effects of crosslinguistic influence? Evidence from accuracy and reaction time signatures in L1 comprehension. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 13(3), 507-539. [Postprint]

Liu, M., Chong, S. W., Marsden, E., McManus, K., Morgan-Short, K., Al-Hoorie, A. H., Plonsky, L., Bolibaugh, C., Hiver, P., Winke, P., Huensch, A., & Hui, B. (2023). Open scholarship in applied linguistics: What, why, and how. Language Teaching, 56(3), 432-437. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2023). How and why to conduct a replication study. In Mackey, A. & Gass, S.M. (Eds.). Current approaches in second language acquisition research (pp 334-351). Wiley. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2023). Practice in study abroad contexts. In Suzuki, Y. (Ed.). Practice and automatization in second language research: Theory, methods, and pedagogical implications (pp 160-178). Routledge. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2022). Are replication studies infrequent because of negative attitudes? Insights from a survey of attitudes and practices in second language research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(5), 1410-1423. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2022). Crosslinguistic influence and L2 grammar learning: Proposed replications of Ellis & Sagarra (2011) and Tolentino & Tokowicz (2014). Language Teaching, 55(4), 565-573. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2022). Replication research in instructed SLA. In Gurzynski-Weiss, L., & Kim, Y. J. (Eds.). Instructed second language acquisition research methods (pp. 103-122). John Benjamins. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Bluemel, B. (2022). Instructional practices in English-Chinese and English-Spanish kindergarten dual language immersion classrooms. In McManus, K. & Schmid, M.S. (Eds.). How Special are Early Birds? Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. (pp 145-164). Language Science Press. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Liu, Y. (2022). Using elicited imitation to measure global oral proficiency in SLA research. A close replication study. Language Teaching, 55(1), 116-135. [Materials] [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2021). Examining the effectiveness of language-switching practice for reducing cross-language competition in L2 grammatical processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 24(1), 167-184. [Postprint]

McManus, K., Mitchell, R.F., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2021). A longitudinal study of advanced learners' linguistic development before, during, and after study abroad. Applied Linguistics, 42(1), 136-163. [Data] [Materials] [Postprint]

Liu, Y. & McManus, K. (2020). Investigating the use of article-adjective-noun constructions in EFL writing. TESL-EJ, 24(2), 1-19. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2019). Awareness of L1 form-meaning mappings can reduce crosslinguistic effects in L2 grammatical learning. Language Awareness, 28(2), 114-138. [Postprint]

McManus, K. (2019). Relationships between social networks and language development during study abroad. Language, Culture, and Curriculum, 32(3), 270-284. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Marsden E. (2019). Signatures of automaticity during practice. Explicit instruction about L1 processing routines can improve L2 grammatical processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 40(1), 205-234. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Marsden, E. (2019). Using explicit instruction about L1 to reduce crosslinguistic effects in L2 grammar learning. Evidence from oral production in L2 French. The Modern Language Journal, 103(2), 459-480. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Marsden, E. (2018). Online and offline effects of L1 practice in L2 grammar learning. A partial replication. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40(2), 459-475. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Marsden, E. (2017). L1 explicit instruction can improve L2 online and offline performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39(3), 459-492. [Postprint]

Tracy-Ventura, N., Dewaele, J.M., Köylü, Z., & McManus, K.(2016). Personality changes after the ‘Year Abroad’?: A mixed-methods study. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education,1(1), 107-126. [Postprint]

Tracy-Ventura, N., Mitchell, R., & McManus, K.(2016). The LANGSNAP longitudinal corpus: Design and use. In Alonso Ramos, M. (Ed.). Spanish Learner Corpus Research: Current Trends and Future Perspectives (pp 117-142). John Benjamins.

McManus, K.(2015). L1-L2 differences in the acquisition of form-meaning pairings: A comparison of English and German learners of French. Canadian Modern Language Review, 71(2), 51-77. [Postprint]

McManus, K. & Mitchell, R.F. (2015). Subjunctive use and development in L2 French: A longitudinal study. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 6(1), 42-73. [Postprint]

Mitchell, R.F., McManus, K., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2015). ‘Placement type and language learning during residence abroad’. In Mitchell, R.F., Tracy-Ventura, N., & McManus, K.(Eds.). Social interaction, identity and language learning during residence abroad (pp 115-138). Eurosla Monographs series.

McManus, K., Mitchell, R.F., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2014). Understanding insertion and integration in a study abroad context: The case of English-speaking sojourners in France. Revue française de linguistique appliquée, 14(2), 97-116. [Postprint]

McManus, K., Tracy-Ventura, N., Mitchell, R.F., Richard, L., & Romero de Mills, P. (2014). Exploring the acquisition of the French subjunctive: local syntactic context or oral proficiency? In Leclercq, P., Hilton, H., & Edmonds, A. (Eds.). Measuring L2 Proficiency: Perspectives from SLA (pp 167-190). Multilingual Matters. [Postprint]

Tracy-Ventura, N., McManus, K., Norris, J.M., & Ortega, L. (2014). “Repeat as much as you can”: Elicited imitation as a measure of oral proficiency in L2 French. In Leclercq, P., Hilton, H., & Edmonds, A. (Eds.). Measuring L2 Proficiency: Perspectives from SLA (pp 143-166). Multilingual Matters. [Postprint]

McManus, K.(2013). Prototypical influence in second language acquisition: what now for the Aspect Hypothesis? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 51(3), 299-322. [Postprint]