Comparing Elicited Imitation and Word Monitoring as Measures of Implicit Knowledge.
01 Dec 2015-Language Learning (Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA)-Vol. 65, Iss: 4, pp 860-895
TL;DR: This article investigated the validity of elicited imitation (EI) as a measure for implicit knowledge, investigating to what extent online error detection and subsequent sentence repetition draw on implicit knowledge and found that EI scores were correlated positively with metalinguistic knowledge, but they were not related to the SRT scores.
Abstract: The present study challenges the validity of elicited imitation (EI) as a measure for implicit knowledge, investigating to what extent online error detection and subsequent sentence repetition draw on implicit knowledge. To assess online detection during listening, a word monitoring component was built into an EI task. Advanced-level Japanese L2 speakers with Chinese as their native language performed the EI task with the built-in word monitoring component, a metalinguistic knowledge test, and a probabilistic serial reaction time (SRT) task, which served as a measure of aptitude for implicit learning. Results showed that EI scores were correlated positively with metalinguistic knowledge, but they were not related to the SRT scores. Word monitoring performance, in contrast, was not related to metalinguistic knowledge but correlated positively with SRT scores only among L2 speakers with longer lengths of residence. These results suggest that online error detection can index implicit knowledge, whereas EI may measure automatized explicit knowledge.
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TL;DR: A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity of language aptitude by synthesizing the existing research that has been accumulated over the past five decades as discussed by the authors, which revealed that aptitude was independent of other cognitive and affective factors: it was distinct from motivation, had a negative correlation with anxiety, and overlapped with, but was distinguishable from, intelligence.
Abstract: A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity of language aptitude by synthesizing the existing research that has been accumulated over the past five decades. The study aimed to provide a thorough understanding of the construct by aggregating the data reported in the primary research on its correlations with other individual difference variables and with second language (L2) achievement. A total of 66 studies were retrieved that contributed effect sizes based on 109 unique samples and 13,035 foreign language learners. The results revealed that (1) aptitude was independent of other cognitive and affective factors: it was distinct from motivation, had a negative correlation with anxiety, and overlapped with, but was distinguishable from, intelligence; (2) executive working memory was more strongly associated with aptitude and aptitude components than phonological short-term memory; (3) aptitude measured using full-length tests was a strong predictor of general L2 proficiency, but it had low predictive validity for vocabulary learning and L2 writing; and (4) different aptitude components demonstrated differential predictive validity for different aspects of learning. The findings are useful for tackling a number of conundrums surrounding language aptitude and shed light on how to reconceptualize the construct and reorient the research.
147 citations
Cites background from "Comparing Elicited Imitation and Wo..."
...…a vibrant stream of aptitude research in search of implicit learning abilities and validating the measures of these abilities, echoing the currently live debate on the mechanism and measurement of implicit learning in SLA research (e.g., Ellis, 2005 ; Suzuki & DeKeyser, 2015 ; Williams, 2009 )....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a hybrid/modular syllabus that allows for a balance between an object-oriented and a tool-oriented view of language teaching offers the most promising way forward.
Abstract: The advocacy of task-based language teaching (TBLT) has met with resistance. The critiques of TBLT and the misconceptions that underlie them have already been addressed in Ellis (2009) and Long (2016). The purpose of this article is to move forward by examining a number of real problems that TBLT faces – such as how a ‘task’ should be defined, the nature and timing of the ‘focus-on-form’ required, how to determine task complexity and sequence tasks, the role of explicit instruction, the timing of focus on form and the teacher training needed to ensure effective uptake of TBLT – and to also consider what solutions are possible. Disagreements exist regarding the relative merits of task-based and task-supported language teaching. I will propose that a hybrid/modular syllabus that allows for a balance between an object-oriented and a tool-oriented view of language teaching offers the most promising way forward.
132 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the effectiveness of task-based and task-supported instruction in the acquisition of the English passive construction, a structure about which learners had limited prior knowledge, and found that explicit instruction plus feedback showed the largest effects.
Abstract: This study investigated the effectiveness of task-based and task-supported instruction in the acquisition of the English passive construction—a structure about which learners had limited prior knowledge. A total of 150 Chinese middle school English as a foreign language (EFL) learners were randomly assigned to five groups—one control group who only took the pretest and posttests and four experimental groups who attended a 2-hour treatment session where they performed two dictogloss tasks in groups, each including a reporting phase when the learners took turns to tell the narrative. Among the four experimental groups, one just performed the two oral tasks; a second group received explicit instruction before performing the tasks; a third group received within-task feedback but no explicit instruction; and the fourth group received both explicit instruction and within-task feedback. Treatment effects were gauged via a grammaticality judgment test (GJT) and an elicited imitation test (EIT). On the GJT, the conditions with explicit instruction and/or feedback led to significant gains with explicit instruction plus feedback showing the largest effects. On the EIT, there was no effect for any of the three treatment groups when the data were analyzed for the whole cohort. However, when the learners were subdivided into those with zero and some prior knowledge based on their pretest EIT scores, explicit instruction plus within-task feedback was more effective than the other treatment types for the latter.
106 citations
Cites background from "Comparing Elicited Imitation and Wo..."
...Suzuki and DeKeyser (2015), for example, reported a study that concluded that the EIT is better viewed as measuring automatized explicit knowledge....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that aptitude for explicit learning significantly predicted acquisition of explicit knowledge, and automatized explicit knowledge significantly predicted the acquisition of implicit knowledge in a naturalistic second language (L2) acquisition context.
Abstract: Recent research has called for the use of fine-grained measures that distinguish implicit knowledge from automatized explicit knowledge In the current study, such measures were used to determine how the two systems interact in a naturalistic second language (L2) acquisition context One hundred advanced L2 speakers of Japanese living in Japan were assessed using tests of automatized explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge, along with tests of phonological short-term memory and aptitude tests for explicit and implicit learning Structural equation modeling demonstrated that aptitude for explicit learning significantly predicted acquisition of automatized explicit knowledge, and automatized explicit knowledge significantly predicted acquisition of implicit knowledge The effects of implicit learning aptitude and phonological short-term memory on acquisition of automatized explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge were limited These findings provide the first empirical evidence that automatized explicit knowledge, which develops through explicit learning mechanisms, may impact the acquisition of implicit knowledge
90 citations
20 Mar 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, three learning conditions that speak to what can best be achieved through incidental and intentional language learning are illustrated by recent studies of resetting L1 parameters and dealing with blocking, and instance learning of lexical items and collocations.
Abstract: Definitions are proposed for instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) and ISLA research. The quantity of research is partly driven by external geopolitical forces, its quality improved by such methodological developments as the growing deployment of statistical meta-analyses, new technology, especially eyetracking, and new instrumentation, e.g. Hi-Lab, a measure of aptitudes for both explicit and implicit language learning. Three major constraints on the design of L2 instruction are that: (1) the learning task is too large for either explicit or implicit learning alone; (2) direct effects of instruction are limited to manipulations of the linguistic environment, with intended cognitive processes ultimately under learner control; and (3) development of implicit knowledge is the priority. Three learning conditions that speak to what can best be achieved through incidental and intentional language learning are illustrated by recent studies of (1) resetting L1 parameters and dealing with blocking, and (2) instance learning of lexical items and collocations. Comparisons of L2 learning under the three conditions can help resolve long-standing disagreements over the merits of codefocused and meaning-focused instructional approaches.
84 citations
Cites background from "Comparing Elicited Imitation and Wo..."
...There were two outcome measures: (1) controlled oral production as a measure of explicit knowledge, and (2) word-monitoring, which Granena (2013) and Suzuki and DeKeyser (2015) have proposed as a valid measure of implicit knowledge....
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