The necessity of grammatical language awareness (GLA)

Table of Contents

• Necessity of grammatical language awareness (GLA)
• Language Awareness
  • Definition
  • Implicit and Explicit Instruction, Learning, Knowledge
• General Literature Review
  • Prominent findings
  • Results & Limitations
• Specific Literature Review: Implicit vs Explicit Knowledge benefits
  • Test battery
  • General results
  • Learning difficulty of grammatical structures
    • Implicit knowledge
    • Explicit Knowledge
    • Methodology
    • Results
• Discussion
  • Implications for the SL-classroom
  • Conclusion

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper aims to analyze the current consensus regarding the effectiveness of implicit versus explicit language instruction, learning, and knowledge, focusing on the acquisition of grammatical features. The paper also examines the relationship between explicit and implicit learning and knowledge, investigating which grammatical features are better learned implicitly or explicitly. Finally, the paper explores the implications for the ESL classroom based on these findings.

• The effectiveness of implicit and explicit language instruction, learning, and knowledge
• The acquisition of grammatical features through implicit and explicit processes
• The relationship between explicit and implicit learning and knowledge
• The impact of implicit and explicit instruction on learning difficulties
• Implications for the ESL classroom

Chapter Summaries

The paper begins by defining the term "language awareness" and exploring the distinction between implicit and explicit language instruction, learning, and knowledge. It then presents a general literature review, examining prominent findings and limitations in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). The paper then transitions to a specific literature review focusing on Rod Ellis's studies on implicit and explicit language acquisition and knowledge. This section analyzes the test battery used in the studies, presents the general results, and investigates the learning difficulty of specific grammatical features for both implicit and explicit knowledge. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the findings for the ESL classroom, outlining recommendations for effective teaching practices.

Keywords

The paper centers around the concepts of grammatical language awareness (GLA), implicit and explicit language acquisition, learning difficulties, and their implications for the ESL classroom. The specific focus is on the efficacy of different teaching methods, especially regarding the acquisition of grammatical features, and the potential for learning certain features through implicit knowledge. The paper also references The Marsden Project, a notable study in the field of SLA.