Implicit Versus Explicit Knowledge In Foreign Language Learning

The implicit/ explicit distinction is central to our understanding of the nature of L2 acquisition. This book begins with an account of how this distinction applies to L2 learning, knowledge and instruction. It then reports a series of studies describing the development of a battery of tests providing relatively discrete measurements of L2 explicit/ implicit knowledge. These tests were then utilized to examine a number of key issues in SLA - the learning difficulty of different grammatical structures, the role of L2 implicit/ explicit knowledge in language proficiency, the relationship between learning experiences and learners’ language knowledge profiles, the metalinguistic knowledge of teacher trainees and the effects of different types of form-focused instruction on L2 acquisition. The book concludes with a consideration of how the tests can be further developed and applied in the study of L2 acquisition.

Implicit learning is a fundamental feature of human cognition. Many essential skills, including language comprehension and production, intuitive decision making, and social interaction, are largely dependent on implicit (unconscious) knowledge. Given its relevance, it is not surprising that the study of implicit learning plays a central role in the cognitive sciences. The present volume brings together eminent researchers from a variety of fields (e.g., cognitive psychology, linguistics, education, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology) in order to assess the progress made in the study of implicit and explicit learning, to critically evaluate key concepts and methodologies, and to determine future directions to take in this interdisciplinary enterprise. The eighteen chapters in this volume are written in an accessible and engaging fashion; together, they provide the reader with a comprehensive snapshot of the exciting current work on the implicit and explicit learning of languages.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: gut, University of Poznan (Institute of English), course: Teaching methods, language: English, abstract: The differentiation between explicit and implicit knowledge has been a key issue discussed by researchers involved in second language acquisition throughout the last several decades. Some follow the ideas of Stephen Krashen, the trail blazer of studies concerning implicit knowledge and focus on meaning. Other, believe that explicit knowledge is more important. The core of this BA thesis is an empirical study measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a group secondary school students. The study is preceded by two chapters discussing relevant issues about implicit and explicit knowledge as well as various tests that measure the knowledge of a subject. The first chapter describes the similarities and differences between explicit and implicit knowledge. It provides general information that is developed later on, or that needs to be mentioned in order to supply sufficient details that form the background of the empirical research that is presented in the third chapter. The main aim of the first chapter is to present seven dimensions which help to distinguish implicit knowledge from explicit knowledge. This chapter also touches upon the issue of learning difficulty of certain grammatical features. The second chapter is a description of various criteria on the basis of which implicit and explicit knowledge is measured. What is more, there are different tests that measure implicit and explicit knowledge included in this section, together with the ways in which they are formed, and the importance they have in measuring a given type of knowledge. The aforementioned tests encompass the imitation test, timed as well as the untimed version of the grammar judgement test (GJT), oral narrative test, and finally the metalinguistic knowledge test. The third chapter is an empirical study prepared by the author. It is divided into two parts, and measures both implicit and explicit knowledge of the participants. The study itself was inspired by three other experiments, but it also possesses its original and unique ideas. Apart from measuring implicit and explicit knowledge, it also explores metalinguistic knowledge and the issue of systematicity. The research analyses several key questions, the most important concerning which type of knowledge learners from a typical secondary school in Poland make use of more efficiently.

Over the last several decades, neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists have investigated the implicit and explicit continuum in language development and use from theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives. This book addresses these perspectives in an effort to build connections among them and to draw pedagogical implications when possible. The volume includes an examination of the psychological and neurological processes of implicit and explicit learning, what aspects of language learning can be affected by explicit learning, and the effects of bilingualism on the mental processing of language. Rigorous empirical research investigations probe specific aspects of acquiring morphosyntax and phonology, including early input, production, feedback, age, and study abroad. A final section explores the rich insights provided into language processing by bilingualism, including such major areas as aging, third language acquisition, and language separation.

"Ideas in Action: activities for task-based learning provides EFL teachers with a balance of theoretical insights [...]. Activities for task-based Learning helps ensure that meaningful communication takes priority over focusing on pre-selected language forms. This book is primarily intended for the general English adult and teenage classroom [...]" -- A la contracoberta.

The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition presents an integrated discussion of key, and sometimes controversial, issues in second language acquisition research. Discusses the biological and cognitive underpinnings of SLA, mechanisms, processes, and constraints on SLA, the level of ultimate attainment, research methods, and the status of SLA as a cognitive science. Includes contributions from twenty-seven of the world's leading scholars. Provides an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of human cognition, including those in linguistics, psychology, applied linguistics, ESL, foreign languages, and cognitive science.

It is generally agreed that there are three quite different types of human learning: implicit learning (a non-conscious, automatic abstraction of structure); explicit learning (where, as in problem solving, the learner searches for information and builds and tests hypotheses), and learning as a result of explicit instruction. But how do these processes result in language acquisition? The motivation for this book is that no one discipline can answer this question.

In this third, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments, including an entirely new volume of research and scholarly content, essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of socio-geographic experience in the language and education field. Throughout, there is an inclusion of contributions from non-English speaking and non-western parts of the world, providing truly global coverage. Furthermore, the authors have sought to integrate these voices fully into the whole, rather than as special cases or international perspectives in separate sections. The Encyclopedia is a necessary reference set for every university and college library in the world that serves a faculty or school of education, as well as being highly relevant to the fields of applied and socio-linguistics. The publication of this work charts the further deepening and broadening of the field of language and education since the publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia in 1997 and the second edition in 2008.

An introduction to the key questions that drive the field of L2 acquisition research, including its historical foundations.

This book offers an in-depth explanation of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and the methods necessary to implement it in the language classroom successfully. Combines a survey of theory and research in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) with insights from language teaching and the philosophy of education Details best practice for TBLT programs, including discussion of learner needs and means analysis; syllabus design; materials writing; choice of methodological principles and pedagogic procedures; criterion-referenced, task-based performance assessment; and program evaluation Written by an esteemed scholar of second language acquisition with over 30 years of research and classroom experience Considers diffusion of innovation in education and the potential impact of TBLT on foreign and second language learning