Loewen H2: The Nature of Second Language Knowledge
Canale & Swain (1980): communicative competence
1. Linguistic competence; knowledge of L2 morphosyntax, lexis and phonology.
2. Sociolinguistic competence: learners’ ability to use the language appropriately in
various social contexts.
3. Discourse competence: learners’ knowledge of how to produce coherent and
cohesive written and oral language.
4. Strategic competence: learners’ ability to deal with communication difficulties.
Theoretical concerns
Broader research suggests that a distinction between declarative and non-declarative
memory exists for most areas of human knowledge (Squire, 2009). For language, declarative
memory consists of the knowledge that learners are aware of and can describe; in contrast,
non-declarative memory is the knowledge that learners use unconsciously when they are
communicating in the language (explicit and implicit L2 knowledge).
Explicit: knowledge about language. Aware, able to explain.
Implicit: knowledge of language. Unaware, intuition/feeling.
Skill Acquisition Theory: declarative and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge is
knowledge that learners are aware of and can verbalize. In contrast, procedural knowledge is
automatized and available for use without awareness. Declarative and procedural knowledge
are generally viewed as a continuum, with learners able to proceduralize or automatize
declarative knowledge through practice.
3 stages:
- Acquisition of declararive knowledge; knowledge that
- Procedural knowledge; knowledge how
- Automatization; use procedural knowledge in a fluent and spontantious way
Rule-learning involves the acquisition of the systematic patterns that language follows. Item-
learning involves the memorization of specific, individual pieces of information.
Because item-learning relies heavily on memorization, which generally involves intentional,
explicit learning, it is more often associated with explicit knowledge, while rule-learning may
be more affected by implicit learning processes when the patterns in the input are acquired
by the cognitive system. Vocabulary acquisition relies heavily on item-learning as learners are
involved in making explicit form-meaning connections between the meaning of the word and
its phonological or orthographic form. Thus, much knowledge of vocabulary may be
considered to be explicit.
Issues with L2 learning:
- Language is not only grammar and vocab and does not make speakers fluent and
sufficient.
- Different appreciation for different parts of language (grammar high regard).
- Learners feel like they are not learning anything because they can’t articulate implicit
information.
- Can you teach implicit information?
,The fact that explicit knowledge is relatively easy to learn but difficult to use for spontaneous
L2 production, and that, conversely, implicit knowledge is relatively difficult to acquire but
important for L2 production is, I feel, one of the most important issues in ISLA and L2
pedagogy.
Interface hypothesis:
Can learners gain explicit knowledge in the classroom, and then assume that it will turn into
implicit knowledge? Or can implicit knowledge be gained only implicitly, while explicit
knowledge remains explicit?
Non-interface position: explicit knowledge cannot become implicit; the two are distinct and
separate. Proponents of the non- interface position argue that even though learners might
be able to become faster in accessing and utilizing their explicit knowledge, rich and plentiful
input that engages learners in communication is the optimal pedagogical choice for the L2
classroom.
Weak interface position: although the two types of knowledge are still distinct, there is a
relationship between them and they work together during L2 production. Explicit knowledge
is helpful for monitoring L2 production and increasing the likelihood that learners will notice
explicitly taught forms in the input.
Strong interface position: explicit knowledge can and does become implicit (Skill Acquisition
Theory).
Measuring explicit knowledge: explicit direct tests.
Measuring implicit knowledge: requires samples of learners spontaneous oral production or
real-time comprehension tasks that require learners to pay attention to meaning in order to
answer subsequent comprehension questions. But this is almost impossible.
A test: the fact that implicit knowledge is accessed quickly with little cognitive effort, while
the retrieval of explicit knowledge involves more time and effort, has led researchers to
design tests that measure language use in both time-pressured and -unpressured contexts.
The assumption is that time pressure will predispose learners to draw on their implicit
knowledge, while a lack of time pressure may encourage the use of explicit knowledge.
but learners may be able to quickly access a grammatical rule even if they are being asked
to judge the grammaticality of a sentence in a very limited amount of time.
The claims that can be made about the efficacy of instruction may depend on how learning
and knowledge are measured.
Pedagogical implications
The theoretical and empirical evidence regarding the nature and acquisition of L2 knowledge
has several implications for the classroom, although in large part these will be discussed in
subsequent chapters. One important implication though is that teachers and students should
be clear about the goals of instruction because different objectives may necessitate different
types of classroom instruction. Implicit instruction may contribute to the development of
implicit knowledge, but because implicit learning is time-consuming, it may be necessary to
support implicit learning with explicit instruction and focus on form (Ellis, 2007). Even
Krashen (2003), a strong proponent of implicit instruction and L2 exposure for the
development of implicit knowledge, concedes a role for explicit instruction, primarily to
, provide information to adult learners who may be more suited to learning explicitly.
Moreover, there is some evidence to suggest that explicit knowledge can result in gains in
implicit knowledge. Thus, it would seem that a combination of explicit and implicit
instruction is best for the L2 classroom.
Chapter summary
- L2 knowledge consists of two distinct types, which have been referred to as explicit
and implicit, or as declarative and procedural.
- Explicit knowledge is conscious and verbalizable, but it does not necessarily
contribute greatly to communicative competence.
- Implicit knowledge is unconscious and underlies communicative competence, but it is
time-consuming and difficult to acquire.
- Teachers and learners should be clear on their goals in studying an L2 because these
goals should inform the best types of instruction.
- Explicit instruction may not always result in the type of implicit knowledge that is
useful for spontaneous communication.
