Learning the Grammar of a Second Language - Research Paper Example

Review Paper [The of the will appear here] [The of the will appear here] Introduction Learning the grammar of a second language (L2) entails inquiries on why, to some extent, children learn L1 (first language) grammar faster than L2 grammar. Some scholars showed that explicit instruction of grammar is ineffective in teaching L2 grammar, while others believed that explicit instruction has its specific roles and limitations (Blaauw-Hara, 2006). Moreover, the role that implicit and explicit language instruction in learning English grammar has gained increasing attention for the past twenty-five years because of the continued and rising use of English as the lingua franca of the world, the evidence-based approach to learning second languages, and the lasting debate on whether implicit or explicit language instruction is better in acquiring a good command of English grammar (Gabriel, 2009, p.3; Nazari, 2013, p.157). The terms “implicit” and “explicit” themselves are controversial terms because they cannot be easily measured or proven, particularly when researchers define their nature and limits in diverse ways (Horan et al., 2008, p.606; Winitz, 1996, p.32). At present, a research that reviews and summarizes the findings on implicit and language instruction can help improve understanding on these instruction models and determine avenues for future research. The paper seeks to understand the effects of implicit and explicit language instruction on the ability of students to learn English grammar, so that teachers of the English language can determine proper strategies and interventions for their ELLs that are age and learning-level-appropriate. The paper believes that both explicit and implicit instructions are important to learning various aspects of English grammar. The main research questions are the following: i. To what extent can implicit and explicit instructions help English grammar students improve their literacy and language abilities? ii. Does the age of the learner determine the effectiveness of either implicit or explicit English grammar learning? iii. What are the learning strategies that are useful in teaching English grammar to non-native speakers? In line with answering these questions, the review starts with the definition of terms used in the implicit and explicit language instruction literature. Afterwards, findings are analyzed and synthesized and implications for teaching are discussed. Key words: L2, L1, English, foreign language, teaching strategies, implicit, explicit, age. Literature Review The aim of this paper is to review the available research on second language acquisition strategies and approaches. Of current, these strategies are broadly categorized into two parts: implicit learning strategies and explicit learning strategies. Implicit learning strategies focus on forms while explicit focus on form. In this review, both these approaches have been studied. In the beginning of the review, both these approaches are defined and explained. This is done so as to facilitate understanding of the two approaches. The review then moves on to compare both the approaches. Research on this topic is divided. Some studies promote implicit approach while others encourage the explicit form of learning. Yet other researches focus on integrating the two forms of learning approaches to benefit from each one. The review then moves on to focus on the second question that this reviews aims to answer. This deals with how age impacts the acquisition of English as second language. Age is an important variable in language acquisition since it impacts the way the brain accepts a new language. The last question of the review deals with developing an effective learning strategy for foreign students. The answer to this question will be dealt with in the findings and implementation section. This would be done by reviewing the literature consulted with regard to this topic. Teaching Grammar As English is becoming the lingua franca globally, the main concern that arises is teaching English and specifically grammar to foreign students. Since their mother tongue is not English, English is considered by their second language or L2. The first language (L1) being their mother tongue. Methods of teaching grammar vary and improve with time. Over time, two broad categories of teaching grammar have been defined: explicit and implicit approach. A definition of these two terms is important before moving forward since it is this definition that will form the basis for the rest of the study. The Explicit Approach and the Implicit Approach defined For the definition of implicit and explicit approach, the study prepared by Scott (1990) will be referred to. Scott defines the two terms as follows: ‘An explicit approach to teaching grammar insists upon the value of deliberate study of a grammar rule, either by deductive analysis or inductive analogy, in order to organize linguistic elements efficiently and accurately. An implicit approach, by contrast, is one which suggests that students should be exposed to grammatical structures in a meaningful and comprehensible context in order that they may acquire, as naturally as possible, the grammar of the target language.’ (Scott, 1990). Taking the above definition into consideration, explicit approach is one where the teacher consciously takes into account the lessons he is going to teach to his students. These include grammar exercises, vocabulary development lessons and composition skills. The focus of this approach is teaching students the right form of language. In this approach, teachers focus on one rule or structure at a time. This approach allows the students to develop a metalinguistic understanding of grammar rules (Ellis, et al., 2009). The explicit approach follows a certain sequence. It begins with explaining a certain rule to the student. Then the student is asked to practice this rule through grammar exercises. In the end, the student is expected to apply the rule in meaningful context (Terrell, 2014). On the other hand, implicit approach involves exposes the student to English language more frequently. A good example of this is encouraging students to speak in English and conversing with the students in English so as to immerse these students in the language. The focus of this approach is teaching students the right forms of language. This approach takes a wholesome approach to teaching English grammar. The students are expected to use their inference skills to make sense of the language. The implicit approach immerses the student directly into the language without working on rules. The learner is expected to focus on the form rather than meaning. It is expected that with time, the student’s mind will automatically begin to make order out of the sentences and in the process learn grammar rules. For this to occur, it is important that the student be comfortable and relaxed since it is this attitude of the student that works as an affective filter for learning English as second language. It is important to understand which learning strategy works best for best for teaching grammar to foreign students so as to improve the learning process. The Implicit Approach versus The Explicit Approach In a study conducted by Scott (1990), it was revealed that implicit approach is not suitable for teaching students a specific grammar rule or structure. Students were exposed to a recording ten times but they were unable to learn the targeted structure. The students, in this case, concentrated on the content of the recording rather than on the form of the message. This shows that implicit approach is appropriate for communicating messages rather than rules or structures. The Explicit approach, thus, tends to have one advantage over implicit approach. Scott (1990) revealed that in a classroom setting, when a teaching uses explicit grammar teaching strategies, students are able to learn rules and structure more easily than when using explicit strategies. This finding is in line with other research conducted over the same topic. Explicit teaching tends to improve L2 pragmatic development better than implicit teaching for foreign students, specifically Iranian students (Dastjderdi and Rezvani, 2010). According to another study conducted by Andrews (2007), over 70 ESL students, explicit approach tends to have an advantage over implicit approach in terms of teaching complex grammar rules. In the study, the researchers found that both implicit and explicit knowledge can be used for teaching simple grammar rules without any difference in learning outcome. However, when teaching complex grammar rules, teachers should adopt the explicit approach to aid the learning process. While most studies favor explicit approach over implicit approach, there are those that favor the implicit approach. Those who favor implicit approach claim that explicit approach only covers limited grammatical rules when there are many simple and complex grammatical rules in English. Also some sentences or phrases do not follow grammar rules which make it increasingly difficult for the student to seamlessly adapt English as a second language. The explicit approach also tends to fail when teaching semantics and pragmatics. Implicit knowledge tends to provide a thorough and comprehensive understanding of English as second language (Winitz, 1996). Advocates of implicit learning strategies also put forth the claim that implicit learning is more effective in the long run. They make this claim on the fact that people learn their first language through implicit learning while the second language is taught through a combination of explicit and implicit learning. It is generally observed that L1 has a universal success while most students usually falter with L2 despite repeated exposure to the language (Hulstijn, 2004). This theory also helps explain why students generally outperform in language after studying through the explicit approach. When children are acquiring knowledge, there is a silent phase where they are trying to understand the syntax and structure of their first language. The ability to acquire language depends of a variety of factors including the frequency of use, the complexity of the language and on the communicative need. Similarly, when students are exposed to implicit learning strategies, the results do not become obvious in the beginning. However in the long run, they would yield better results than the explicit approach (Terrell, 2014). While many studies have focused on short term learning goals, the study by Tode (2007) took a longitudinal approach to analyzing the effectiveness of these two learning strategies. The results of the study revealed that while explicit approach may show better results than implicit approach initially, the results change over a period of time. This is because students may learn a specific grammar rule more easily through the explicit approach but they are unable to integrate the rule into their own language speaking skills. Another body of research claims that explicit learning works as a monitoring rule for L2 students. Since students are expected to learn and apply rules while learning the language, they tend to focus on these rules more often. It is this focus on rules that allows students to self-correct themselves when employing the use of English (Terrell, 2014). A study by Mohammed (2004) took a different approach at determining the effectiveness of the two approaches. In this study, the researcher focused on the students’ preference. He exposed the students to both approaches and asked them to rate the two approaches. The results revealed that students were comfortable with both the approaches. The research concluded by recommending an integration of the two learning strategies with preference towards explicit approach at lower levels. Most research on this topic reveals that students who were taught English through the explicit approach tend to outperform when compared with those who were taught through the implicit approach. Nazari (2013) comes up with a suitable reason for such results. He claims that most foreign students (Iranian students in this case) are used to learning grammar through the explicit teaching approach. They are therefore more comfortable with this approach. Nazari (2013) also claims that when testing students for the effectiveness of implicit and explicit approach, researchers often give different tests to both the groups. The aim of the test is to test for grammar skills of these groups. The explicit group is likely to perform well in this case since the implicit group is more focused on content rather than choosing the right grammar. However, Nazari (2013) concludes that despite these reasons, the fact remains that explicit approach results in better performance and therefore this learning strategy should be adopted more widely. He further states that L2 learners are more comfortable with the explicit approach and learning through rules allows them to gain motivation and self-confidence. Terrell (2014) adds to this information by proposing that while explicit knowledge does help in improving overall performance, the strategy would be used in conjunction with implicit teaching strategies. To sum up, both approaches are important and necessary tools for improving English grammar of foreign students. They target different aspects of English language learning and therefore it would be difficult to give one preference over the other. Each approach has its advantages and limitations. Integrating Explicit and Implicit Approach Research on the topic of explicit and implicit approach also tends to favor an integrated approach where the benefits of both the approaches are considered when teaching English to foreign students. This approach is also subdivided into two models. The most widely accepted model is the top-model down. In the top-down model, students are taught first through explicit learning strategies. These are then followed by implicit learning strategies. In the second model, the bottom-up model, the reverse approach is taken; that is, teaching through implicit approach and then adopting the explicit approach. The top-down approach is favored as it facilitates the teacher in guiding the attention of the student towards a particular rule. It opens up the students towards awareness towards the rule. Furthermore, when the student is exposed to the content, he is able to relate the rule to actual sentence structures. This approach is found to be more effective in elderly students. With age, the top down approach becomes more effective. A research conducted by Madden et al (2005) , it was found that when older respondents were provided explicit knowledge regarding repetition priming, they performed better than exposing the respondents directly to implicit knowledge. Those advocating the bottom up approach claim that teaching initially through explicit learning strategies hamper the implicit learning process. This is because students begin to focus too much on the structure and do not focus on the meaning of the form. The top-down approach slows does the pace of verbal knowledge acquisition (Sun, Slusarz and Terry, 2005). Age and Second Language Acquisition A generally accepted assumption is that with age, the acquisition of second language becomes more difficult. Since language learning is a complex process, it is difficult to evaluate as to what forms the reason for difference in acquiring a second language. Research on this topic has come up with number of reasons that can attribute to the difference in acquiring first and second language. One reason includes memory loss and inflexibility towards change. With age, the brain starts losing its ability to process and retain new information. It also loses its passion to learn new things. This makes it difficult to acquire new language because learning a language requires learning rules and changing one’s sense of grammar and semantics (Curran, 1997). Research also suggests that second language can never be acquired in the way that a child acquired his first language. This is because children rely on different neurocognitive mechanism to learn their first language. L1-like brain processing cannot be achieved forL2. However, some studies claim that second language can be acquired in a similar manner as first language if the mode of teaching is appropriate (Morgan-Short et al, 2012). In a study conducted by Curram (1997), it was found that with age explicit learning strategies lose their effectiveness. College students tend to perform better when taught through explicit approach. But this same does not apply in the same of elderly people. Elderly people however scored better when taught through implicit teaching methods. These studies are still in their preliminary stages and it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. Findings Grammar forms an integral part of the language learning process. When learning a second language, students are expected to get a strong grasp over the grammatical structure. Teaching English also focuses heavily on teaching grammar to students. The strategy of teaching grammar to foreign students is divided into two approaches: the implicit approach and the explicit approach. The explicit approach focus on teaching one rule at a time to the students while the implicit approach aims to immersing the students into English language and letting them make an understanding of the grammatical structure. Recently, a lot of attention has been given to the two approaches. The focus is to determine the effectiveness of these approaches and to determine the best approach for teaching grammar to non-native speakers. However, despite the vast body of literature available of the topic, findings regarding the best approach are still inconclusive. Some studies favor the implicit approach while others favor the explicit approach. Explicit Approach is given preference over implicit research in some studies based on the fact that students generally perform better when taught through explicit learning strategies. The study conducted by Dastjderdi and Rezvani, (2010) and one conducted by Scott (1990) came to the same conclusion that development of grammatical structure improves with explicit teaching. Also explicit teaching is more appropriate when teaching complex grammar rules. Implicit teaching fails during complex rule lessons. Also explicit teaching is more effective for non-native speakers because students are used to learning a new language through this process. They are comfortable with this approach and thus perform better (Nazari, 2012). However, the above mentioned findings have been contradicted by many other researches where implicit approach is favored over the explicit one. The main claim for implicit learning tool is that people acquire their first language through the implicit approach. Since everyone attains a universal success in their first language acquisition through implicit approach, they can also gain the same level of success at L2 if implicit approach is properly implemented (Hulstijn, 2004). This claim is further backed by another research which took the long term impact of both these approaches. The study concludes that in the long run, implicit teaching strategies yield better results when compared with explicit teaching strategies (Tode, 2004). Most research favoring implicit research take into account that explicit learning strategies often produce better result. They attribute this result to the fact that explicit approach acts as a monitoring tool for students. It allows students to check for their mistakes in their use of English as second language (Terrell, 2014). Therefore the benefits of both approaches cannot be discounted. This makes researches focus on integrating the two approaches to develop an effective learning tool for teaching English as L2. Integration of these two approaches is further divided into two parts: the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach (Terrell, 2014). The top-down approach favors teaching through explicit approach and then following up with implicit teaching strategies. Students in this case are informed and taught about a grammar rule. They are then provided with content that contains the rule. This allows students to learn grammar in the real context. The teachers allow for better understanding of the rule when students are given the context of the rule. Proceeding with the explicit learning approach directs the students’ attention to that particular rule. The bottom-up approach takes the reverse stance by teaching first through implicit approach and then following up with explicit teaching strategies. Those favoring this approach argue that when explicit learning precedes implicit learning, it takes away the focus of the student from the content and shifts towards the form. This, they argue, is not the main purpose of teaching grammar to students (Sun, Slusarz and Terry, 2005) With regard to age, L2 acquisition becomes difficult as people grow older. Older people may not be able to acquire second language in the same way they acquire their first language. The reason for this can be accounted through memory loss, inflexibility towards change and changing neurocognitive mechanism. This, therefore, calls into question that right approach towards teaching English language to non-native speakers. Research suggests that elderly people are more responsive towards implicit learning strategies when compared with college students who perform better through explicit learning strategies (Corren, 1997). However the best manner for teaching English to college students is through explicit teaching strategies (Madden et al, 2005). Therefore age is an important factor when teaching English as second language. The approach towards teaching English as L2 changes with age and therefore this should be taken into account when developing learning tools. Method This literature review deals with reviewing and analyzing peer reviewed journals. To obtain these journals, different online databases were consulted. These included Ebscohost.com and Proquest.com primarily. The articles were searched once the review questions had been developed. This helped me a lot by way of giving direction. It also allowed me to form my key words easily. The key words that I used while searching for my specific articles included L2, grammar acquisition, age, explicit approach, implicit approach, learning strategies etc. While searching, I tried different combinations of these keywords to search for the relevant articles. I did not use more than three word combinations. The articles that I finalized for my review were those that were relevant to the topic and recent. Articles written before 2000 were not considered as recent. To check for relevancy, I read the abstract of the article along with the introduction section. There is a lot of research on explicit and implicit research. However, I narrowed down my research to those pertaining to acquisition of English language as foreign language. Therefore studies of Spanish and Iranian students were included as relevant articles. Even after narrowing down by research to English language grammar, I still had accumulated a lot of articles. The next step therefore was to still cut down some of the article otherwise too many articles would have posed issues of time management and information management. Therefore I used my own judgment to cut back on some of the articles. These included those that were not peer reviewed. The shortlisted articles where then read and reviewed. They were carefully analyzed by constructing a rough table of the findings of each study. This was then arranged in a systematic manner in the literature review section of this paper. Implementation The literature review concludes that both the explicit learning strategies and implicit ones have their pros and cons. In order to teach English as L2, teachers should take into account these two approaches and the studies related to them. It is only through developing an understanding of these approaches that teachers can develop an effective grammar curriculum for their students. Teachers should be aware of the limitations of both these approaches. For instance, implicit approach cannot be employed while teaching complex grammar rules. Explicit approach, on the other hand, focuses too much attention of teaching grammar rules rather than content. Understanding the limitations and benefits, teachers should seek to implement both these approaches in their teaching methodology. Even in this regard, the research is divided as to which approach should be adopted first. The bottom-up approach favors teaching through implicit strategies and then adopting explicit ones. The top-down approach takes the reverse stance. This, however, depends on the people who are at the receiving end- the students. Implicit approach works best for children and elderly people while explicit approach works the best at college level. The review presents one important implication. The current literature does not reach a conclusive stand towards the right teaching methodology. The teachers, therefore, should not give preference towards one methodology over the other. They should be aware of the students’ needs. The teachers should be willing to use both the learning methodologies. Experience of teaching will help them come up with the right teaching methodology. This review will help them guide towards the two approaches. It will also open up their minds towards the challenges that they may face when dealing with a specific learning methodology. This will then help them come up with better teaching tools. Discussion Acquiring a second language is not as easy as acquiring the first language. The acquisition of second language is a complex process and is often not accompanied with success. The difficulty in acquiring second language is often attributed to the teacher’s approach towards teaching a second language. In this review, the second language was narrowed down to English as it is the most commonly acquired second language around the world. The right teaching strategies may help in allowing students to learn English as second language. However, research on this topic does not favor one approach entirely over the other. Even while integrating the two approaches, there are differences of opinion. This implies the further research on the topic is important. Research on this topic does not take into account the opinions of the foreign students who are learning English. These students will likely provide valuable insight on the right approach to adopt. Also future research could focus on the long term impacts on these teaching tools. Right now, the biggest issue facing this topic and the reason for the lack of consensus could be that it is difficult to properly define the terms, implicit approach and the explicit approach. This review concludes on the lines that further research on the topic is vital. This is because this topic is important given the fact that English is becoming the lingua franca of the world and increasing number of foreign students need to develop strong proficiency in the language. References Andrews, K. L. Z. (2007). The effects of implicit and explicit instruction on simple and complex grammatical structures for adult English language learners. TESL-EJ, Vol. 11, Issue 2, Dastjerdi, H. V. and Rezvani, E. (2010) The Impact of Instruction on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners‘ Production of Requests in English, Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 782-790, Ellis, R., et al, (2009). Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching. The UK: Multilingual Matters. Hulstijn, J. H. (2004) Theoretical and Empirical Issues in the Study of Implicit and Explicit Second-Language Learning, SSLA, Vol 27, pp. 129–140 Madden et al (2005) Adult Age Differences in the Implicit and Explicit Components of Top-Down Attentional Guidance during Visual Search, Psychology and Aging, Vol. 20, No. 2, 317–329 Mohamed, N. (2004). Consciousness-raising tasks: a learner perspective. ELT Journal, Vol. 58, Iss. 3, pp. 228- 237. Morgan-Short et al (2012) Explicit and Implicit Second Language Training Differentially Affect the Achievement of Native-like Brain Activation Patterns, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 24:4, pp. 933–947 Nazari, N. (2013) The effect of implicit and explicit grammar instruction on learners achievements in receptive and productive modes, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 70, pp. 156 – 162 Scott, V. M (1990) Explicit and Implicit Grammar Teaching Strategies: New Empirical, The French Review, Vol. 63, No. 5, pp. 779-789 Sun, R., Slusarz, P. and Terry, C. (2005) The Interaction of the Explicit and the Implicit in Skill Learning: A Dual-Process Approach, Psychological Review, Vol. 112, No. 1, pp. 159–192 Terrell, T. D. (1991) The Role of Grammar Instruction in a Communicative Approach, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 52-63 Tode, T. (2007). Durability problems with explicit instruction in an EFL context: the learning of the English copula be before and after the instruction of the auxiliary be. Language Teaching Research, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 11- 30 Winitz, H. (1996) Grammaticality Judgement as a function of Explicit and Implicit Instruction in Spanish, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 80, pp. 32-46 Read More