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.

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.

Implicit/ explicit knowledge constitutes a key distinction in the study of second language acquisition. This book reports a project that investigated ways of measuring implicit/explicit L2 knowledge, the relationship between the two types of knowledge and language proficiency, and the effect that different types of form-focused instruction had on their acquisition.

This Element explores the roles of explicit and implicit learning in second language acquisition. The authors lay out some key issues that they take to underlie the debate on the extent to which second language acquisition involves explicit learning, implicit learning, or both. They also discuss what they take to be an oversight in the field: namely, the lack of clear definitions of key constructs. Taking a generative perspective on the nature of language, while addressing alternative approaches at key points, they refocus the discussion of explicit and implicit learning by first asking what must be learned (i.e., what is this mental representation we call “language” that all functioning humans possess?) The discussion and research reviewed leads to the conclusion that second language acquisition is largely if not exclusively implicit in nature and that explicit learning plays a secondary role in how learners grapple with meaning.

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.

The last few decades have seen extensive research focusing of the relative effectiveness of different instructional options that can be employed in teaching grammar structures (e.g., deduction and induction, different types of corrective feedback, input-based vs. output-based practice). However, the contribution of such pedagogical intervention and the resulting knowledge of target language grammar are mediated by a number of factors related to a specific context, the properties of the features being taught and, most importantly, individual learner profiles. Nonetheless, research into the moderating role of individual difference variables has been scant, limited to only several factors, and seldom taking into account complex interactions between variables. The book seeks to fill this evident gap by investigating the mediating effect of selected cognitive and affective factors on explicit and implicit (or highly automatized) knowledge of the English passive voice. In doing so, the study sheds the so-much-needed light on the predictors of second language grammar knowledge but also, to some extent, on the usefulness of instructional techniques used to develop it.

The metalinguistic dimension refers to the way in which learners bring to bear knowledge about language into their learning of a second language, the "L2". This book brings together new research on the metalinguistic dimension, given its increasing importance in the study of L2 acquisition. In applied linguistics it is widely accepted that L2 learners develop and use knowledge about language when engaging with the challenging task of acquiring a new language; this applies to both children and adults. It is definitions of the metalinguistic dimension that vary, and findings regarding its role in L2 learning are not necessarily homogenous or compatible. The scope exists for further, empirical, detailed research. This book explores the nature, development and role of the metalinguistic dimension and will be essential reading for all SLA scholars and those working in language and education.

This book contains a wide spectrum of topics organized within a relatively fixed framework of Applied Linguistics theory and practice, revolving around the concepts of stability and variability that capture the dynamic nature of the phenomena characterizing language, learning and teaching. The primary strength of individual chapters lies in the fact that the vast majority report original empirical studies carried out in diverse second/foreign language learning contexts – investigating interesting issues across various nationalities, ages, educational and professional groups of language learners, and teachers. The issues under scrutiny entail the ‘classic’ recurrent topics related to language learning and teaching, such as communicative competence, input, orality and literacy, learner characteristics and strategies, and teacher development – to mention just a few. In addition, ‘recent arrivals,’ to borrow a marketing metaphor, are also present, as the authors consider learning and teaching implications resulting from the status of English as a language of international communication, and discuss related concepts of intercultural competence along with language learners’ identity and creativity. The multilingual and multicultural contributors to the present volume are researchers – foreign and second language learners and teachers themselves – who offer the reader a range of methodological designs that have been successfully used in Applied Linguistics research. The framework of stability and variability suggests that changes leading to progress and development derive from stable foundations that account for the sense of continuity and belonging in applied linguists’ communities of practice.

This volume covers descriptions and interpretations of social and cognitive phenomena and processes which emerge at the interface of languages and cultures in educational and translation contexts. It contains eleven papers, divided into two parts, which focus respectively on the issues of language and culture acquisition and a variety of translation practices (general language, literature, music translation) from socio-cultural and cognitive perspectives.