Prof. WEN Zhisheng, EdwardEdwardProf. WEN Zhisheng2023-04-262023-04-262008CELEA Journal (Teaching English in China, TEIC), 79, 3-8. (CNKI)http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/7787Richard Schmidt in his noticing hypothesis has proposed that noticing is vital for L2 interlanguage development. In line with this argument , the present paper will first attempt to explore the rationale underlying Schmidtπ s noticing hypothesis within the context of input theories in SLA and then to further evaluate the validity of both his own claim and that of some recent empirical studies claimed to lend support to his claim. My position is that Schmidtπ s own evidence proves to be inadequate for his claim. Additionally, I argue that several recent attempts to provide empirical support for Schmidtπ s noticing hypothesis all fall short of that particular goal. Therefore , the paper comes to the conclusion that the issue that noticing is vital for L2 learning π remains unresolved and much further research efforts are still called for to reflect the complex nature of the L2 learning process.enNoticing HypothesisL2 Interlanguage DevelopmentL2 Cognitive ProcessesPeer Reviewed Journal Article