Critically evaluate the role of implicit and explicit knowledge in second language acquisition (página 2)

One significant issue in the acquisition of the second
language is to finally determine if it is a conscious or
subconscious process.  A wide variety of criteria have been
identified and analysed by different authors. Some of them agree
with the fact that second language is acquired by means of
explicit knowledge. While others strongly consider that the best
way for acquiring the second language is by means of the implicit
knowledge. This final point is analysed by the linguistic
Krashen, who thinks that acquisition takes place subconsciously,
in other words, through implicit knowledge. Krashen's theory
about second language acquisition is based on five main
hypotheses. One of them is called the Input hypothesis, explains
how the second language is acquired and in what way it takes
place.

According to Krashen (1989:45) "The Input Hypothesis
assumes that we acquire language by understanding messages. More
precisely, comprehensible input is the essential environmental
ingredient a richly specified internal language acquisition
device also makes a significant contribution to language
acquisition." In this sense, it could be argued that, when the
Language Acquisition Devices is involved, language is
subconsciously acquired-while you are acquiring you do not know
you are acquiring; your conscious focus is on the message, not
form. Thus, the acquisition process identical learning. Also,
acquired knowledge is represented subconsciously in the brain
– it is what Chomsky has termed "tacit knowledge".
(Krashen, 1989)

"Krashen"s writing on the input hypothesis claimed that
there was only one necessary and sufficient condition for second
language acquisition, and that was the presence of comprehensible
input. Specifically, if learners are at stage "i" in their
language development, they can acquire i+1 if they understand
input containing i+1" Swain (2005 in Hinkel, 2005:
472)

Concerning the issue that second language should be
acquired by implicit knowledge, Paradis (2004:35 cited in Lowie
et al., 2005) considers that implicit learning which usually
takes place without instruction and the learner being aware of
learning something, may also result as a by – product of
explicit learning. Such a problem is also analysed by the
linguist Reber (1976, 1989 cited in Schmidt, 1995: 262) who
argues that, learners are able to implicitly acquire abstract
rule systems, i.e., grammars. Consequently, Reber (1996:5) adds
that, implicit learning is a fundamental "root" process, one that
lies at the very heart of the adaptive behavioural repertoire of
every complex organism. With respect to this point Schmidt
(1995:261) comes to the conclusion that incidental learning is
both possible and effective, when the task demands serve to focus
learners attention on what is to be learned, but that even so,
deliberately paying attention may have a facilitative effect, and
may be necessary for the acquisition of redundant grammatical
features by adult learners.

On the other hand, Dulany, Carlson and Dewey (1984 cited
in Schmidt, 1995: 262) argue that "learners" grammatically
judgements can be attributed more to the existence of conscious
rules within informal grammar and not to unconscious
representations of a formal grammar". In this sense Reber,
Kassing, Lewis and Cantor (1980 cited in Schmidt, 1995: 262)
after having done research about what combination of explicit and
implicit learning modes would be most effective in learning new
and complex grammar, they concluded that the best results were
obtained when participants were presented with explicit
information about the structure of the grammar in the initial
stages and then were given examples generated by it. A similar
analysis is offered by Ellis (1993 cited in Schmidt, 1995: 262)
when he considers that explicit learning is a more conscious
operation of creating and testing hypotheses about the nature of
structures present in the input.

Concerning the role of consciousness in input processing
Schmidt (1990 cited in Schmidt, 1995:261 ) distinguishes three
key issues, the first one the subliminal learning by which
Schmidt refers to the question of whether conscious awareness at
the level of noticing is necessary for language learning, the
second one is the incidental learning which refers to the
question of whether it is necessary deliberately to pay attention
in order to learn; and the last one the implicit learning which
Schmidt uses to refer to the question of whether learner
hypotheses based on input are the result of conscious insight and
understanding or an unconscious process of
abstraction.

In my view the subject concerning how learners should
acquire the second language is a very controversial issue. It is
not easy to identify if it would be better for learners to
acquire the language through implicit or explicit knowledge, in
an unconscious way or the other way around. For that reason
linguists have done some research about this subject and even
experiments trying to get a final conclusion.

According to van Lier (1995 cited in Roehr, 2004: 2)
"the majority of researchers in the fields of education, applied
linguistics and cognitive psychologies assume that, in general,
explicit or conscious knowledge about a domain to be acquired
will facilitate the attainment of proficiency in that domain. Not
surprisingly, this assumption has impacted on the area of second
language (L2) learning. At the level of educational policy,
proponents of language awareness regard explicit knowledge about
the nature of language and an appreciation of the role of
language in society as a major educational goal. Furthermore, an
understanding of the sociocultural functions of language is seen
as desirable, while tolerance and cross-cultural sensitivity are
to be fostered through the learning of an L2. This task is
believed to be facilitated through reflection on and analysis of
first language (L1) intuitions James & Garrett (1991 cited in
Roehr, 2004: 2)." An additional argument is considered by the
same author when argues that these holistic educational aims were
primarily formulated with school-age learners in mind. In case of
adult learners, conscious awareness about the knowledge domain to
be acquired is regarded as equally, or perhaps even more
important. The assumption that explicit knowledge about the
learning process and the L2 to be acquired in particular is
potentially beneficial is reflected in research focusing on the
metacognitive as well as the cognitive abilities of adults.
(Roehr, 2004:2)

Taking into account the metacognitive level, the role of
the learner as an autonomous individual is emphasised. Adults act
intentionally to achieve their chosen goals; they actively
plan
behaviour, analyse the situation they find themselves in, and
evaluate their own progress. While at the cognitive level, adult
learners exploit their mature analytic ability, since it permits
them to think 'scientifically', i.e. to maximise efficiency in
learning by imposing systematicity and order on the domain to be
acquired. This behaviour pattern is reflected in society at
large: We study and codify operational principles in all
knowledge domains, so that skills can be communicated more easily
(Anderson, 1995, 2000 cited in Roehr, 2004:3)

At the most general level, these research efforts have
resulted in the consensual finding that explicit learning based
on form-focused instruction is indeed facilitative and will lead
to more successful and more efficient acquisition than more
exposure to L2 input, at least in the short term, (DeKeyser,
1994, 2003; Doughty, 2003; Ellis, 2001; Norris & Ortega,
2001, cited in Roehr, 2004: 3).

When we make reference to explicit and implicit
knowledge and its contribution to the acquisition of the second
language, it is necessary to mention that both provide benefits
to the second language and allow students to acquire it but in
different ways.

Implicit knowledge contributes to the acquisition of the
second language through different actions, but mainly by means of
the interaction with native speakers. The interaction between
learners and native speakers give the possibility to acquire new
vocabulary, chunks, phrases, and even slang.

Students make a great effort trying to communicate and
being understood by people, but they face lots of difficulties
concerning communication, because the most important issue in the
implicit knowledge is to get the meaning of the messages, and
there is not focus on grammatical structures, which is a very
important element for communicating efficiently. Consequently, it
is necessary to mention that the interaction helps learners to
improve their pronunciation and to highly develop learners"
speaking skills in the second language because it will force them
to talk.

When learners are sharing with native speakers in the
second language, the culture of it should be acquired too.
Through interaction, going outside and visiting different places
such as museums, theatres, restaurants or galleries learners will
have the opportunity to acquire the second language and a general
cultural background by means of implicit knowledge. So, the
culture will allow learners understand the language they are
acquiring in a better way.

Besides implicit knowledge contributes to the
acquisition of the second language when students read. Learners
can read materials, such as newspapers or magazines with
interesting subjects written in the second language that allow
them to get and improve their level of assimilation and
interpretation concerning the second language.

Another action that favours the acquisition of the
second language through implicit knowledge is watching a T.V
program. Taking into account a film, for instance, it allows
learners to fix the content very well because they establish a
link between the visual scenes and what they are listening to.
So, they will acquire the second language in an unconscious
way.

Due to the reasons mentioned before, it is clear evident
that the role of implicit knowledge in the second language
acquisition is significant because it helps learners to obtain
certain knowledge and the culture which is part of the language.
However, explicit knowledge contributes to the acquisition of the
second language but in a different way, because it occurs in the
classrooms based on the teachers" support, using different
materials such as books, videos or software and the interaction
mainly happens between the teacher and the classmates or between
the classmates.

So, explicit knowledge contributes in an effective way
to the acquisition of the second language, because teachers
emphasise the development of the four skills, listening,
speaking, reading and writing. So, through interaction with the
teacher in the classroom learners consciously learn the
grammatical structures perfectly, because teachers focus their
attention on the explanation of the rules in order that students
can communicate correctly. As Ellis (1997: 108) points out "the
teacher can simply hint with the help of an example or can
provide a complete statement of the rule." So this unique
possibility is only seen in the explicit knowledge because
teachers transmit the knowledge using different strategies in
order students can get it, but if they do not understand, they
have the possibility to listen to teachers again, but
paraphrasing or giving examples, making the content useful and
comprehensible for the students.

It is truth that when learners are beginners they start
producing few words or some formulaic chunks taught by teachers.
According to Ellis (1997:20-21) "when learners do begin to speak
in the L2 their speech is likely to manifest two particular
characteristics. One is the kind of formulaic chunks. Teachers
provide learners with the means of performing useful language
functions such as greetings and requests. These chunks of
language can give a mistaken impression competence.

The second one of early L2 speech is propositional
simplification. Learners find it difficult to speak in full
sentences so they frequently leave words out."

By means of peer interaction in the classrooms explicit
knowledge contributes to the acquisition of the second language.
Teachers organize different types of communicative activities,
like, dialogues, dramatizations, role plays and games that favour
the acquisition and the development of the four skills, mainly
the speaking skills, based on the communicative approach. Those
activities also help them to develop creativity and to increase
motivation towards the target language. But the classrooms"
atmosphere should contribute in a positive way to the development
of the teaching-learning process. As DÃ-rnyei (2001: 40)
argues "We need to create a pleasant and supportive classroom
atmosphere." The psychocological environment of the classroom is
made up of a number of different components. One of these, the
teacher"s rapport with the students. A second
constituent, the students" relationship with each other.
What is important to mention is that in safe and supportive
classroom the norm of tolerance prevails and students
feel comfortable taking risks because they know that they will
not be embarrassed or criticised if they make a mistake.
(DÃ-rnyei, 2001: 41)

The use of some materials as a support of the second
languages" lessons is an important issue that provides the
acquisition of the target language. The use of videos, for
instance, makes learning more interesting, dynamic and motivating
and if teachers use authentic videos in which native speakers
appear, the result of the acquisition of the second language will
be better.

In conclusion there are several reasons why either the
implicit or the explicit knowledge contributes to the acquisition
of the second language because each of them provides the
knowledge of the target language but using different ways. Even
though, some authors are totally in favour of the implicit
knowledge, in my view, the explicit knowledge plays the most
significant role for learners" acquisition of the target
language, because all the support they will need, they will find
in classrooms.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DÃ-rnyei, Z., (2001). Motivational Strategies
in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Ellis, R., (1994). The Study of Second Language
Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R., (1997). S L A. Research and Language
Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R., (1997). Second Language Acquisition.
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Ellis, R., (2001). Second Language Acquisition: The
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[Accessed 17th December, 2007]

Krashen, S., (1989). We acquire vocabulary and
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[Accessed 19th December, 2007]

Lowie, W., Verspoor, M., de Bot, K., (2005). Second
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Reber, A., (1996). Implicit Learning and Tacit
knowledge. An Essay on the Cognitive. Oxford: Oxford
University University Press.

Roehr, K., (2004). Exploring the role of explicit
knowledge in adult second language learning: language
proficiency, pedagogical grammar and language learning
strategies. Centre for Research in Language Education.
Lancaster University.

Available from: http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk./groups/crile/workingpapers.htm

[Accessed 19th December, 2007]

Schmidt, S., (1995). Attention and Awareness in
Foreign Language Learning. [online] United States:
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[Accessed 19th December, 2007]

Swain, M., (2005). The Output Hypothesis:
Theory and Research. In: Hinkel, E., (2005).
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Francis Group.

Autor:

Instructor y MSc Yordanka Brunet Valle

ISP "EJV" Facultad de Lenguas
Extranjeras. Departamento DAPE