Rosemary Erlam

Implicit and Explicit Knowledge in Second Language Learning, Testing and Teaching

Part 1: Introduction Chapter 1 Implicit and explicit learning, knowledge and instruction - Rod EllisPart 2: The measurement of implicit and explicit knowledge Chapter 2 Defining and measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language - Rod Ellis Chapter 3 Elicited oral imitation as a measure of implicit knowledge - Rosemary Erlam Chapter 4 Grammaticality judgement tests and the measurement of implicit and explicit l 2 knowledge - Shawn Loewen Chapter 5 Validating a metalinguistic test - Cathie ElderPart 3: Applying the measures of implicit and explicit knowledge Chapter 6 Investigating learning difficulty as implicit and explicit knowledge - Rod Ellis Chapter 7 Implicit and explicit knowledge of an l 2 and language proficiency - Cathie Elder Chapter 8 Pathways to proficiency: Learning experiences and attainment in implicit and explicit knowledge of English as a second language - Jenefer Philp Chapter 9 Exploring the metalinguistic knowledge of teacher trainees - Rosemary Erlam, Jenefer Philp, and Cathie ElderPart 4: Form-focused instruction and the acquisition of implicit and explicit knowledge Chapter 10 The roles of output-based and input-based instruction in the acquisition of l 2 implicit and explicit knowledge - Rosemary Erlam, Shawn Loewen and Jenefer Philp Chapter 11 The incidental acquisition of 3rd person -s as l 2 implicit and explicit knowledge - Shawn Loewen, Rosemary Erlam and Rod Ellis Chapter 12 The effects of two types of input on the acquisition of l 2 implicit and explicit knowledge - Hayo Reinders and Rod Ellis Chapter 13 Implicit and explicit corrective feedback and the acquisition of l 2 Grammar - Rod Ellis, Shawn Loewen and Rosemary ErlamPart 5: Conclusion Chapter 14 Retrospect and prospect - Rod Ellis

Corrective feedback in the chatroom: An experimental study

This paper replicates in a synchronous learning environment a study that looked at the effectiveness of providing two types of corrective feedback to students in the classroom. Elementary learners of L2 English (N = 31) completed two communicative tasks, during which time they received either recasts (implicit feedback) or metalinguistic information (explicit feedback) in response to any utterance that contained an error in the regular past tense. A third group served as a control. Learning was measured by timed and untimed grammaticality judgement tests. Results, which contrast with that of the original study, show no statistically significant gains in response to either type of feedback. An examination of chatscripts suggests some possible reasons as to why learning, as measured on the tests used, did not take place in a computer-mediated communicative context.

Language aptitude and its relationship to instructional effectiveness in second language acquisition

Experimental second language acquisition research typically investigates the effectiveness of instruction in terms of overall group gains. A particular instructional method may not, however, benefit all learners uniformly. This study, conducted in a New Zealand secondary school, establishes whether there is any relationship between the effectiveness of three instructional methods, and learner aptitude. Students (n = 60) were assigned to one of three groups (deductive instruction group, inductive instruction group, structured input instruction group) and received instruction that targeted direct object pronouns in L2 French. All students were assessed on the following three measures of language aptitude: (a) language analytic ability, (b) phonemic coding ability and (c) working memory. Results indicate that deductive instruction that gives students opportunities to produce language output may neutralize individual differences in language aptitude.

What Do You Researchers Know about Language Teaching? Bridging the Gap Between SLA Research and Language Pedagogy

Abstract This paper reports on a research project that was commissioned by the Ministry of Education in New Zealand, and that has significantly impacted on the professional development of language teachers. The first part of the project aimed to make a body of information related to instructed second language acquisition accessible to teachers in the form of a published report. A survey of findings from a wide range of research informing understanding of how L2 acquisition in the classroom takes place informed 10 specific principles for instructed language learning. The researchers then went into French and Japanese language secondary school classrooms to look for evidence of the principles in classroom practice. The 10 principles and the evidence from the classroom-centred research study were subsequently published and widely circulated among teachers in New Zealand. They were also presented and discussed at regional seminars throughout the country. Reasons for why practitioners received this research so positively are discussed as ways in which the gap that often exists between research and language pedagogy can be bridged.

I'm Still Not Sure What a Task Is: Teachers Designing Language Tasks.

Ellis (2003) identifies four key criteria that distinguish a ‘task’ from the types of situational grammar exercises that are typically found in the more traditional language classroom. This study investigates how well teachers were able to design tasks that fulfilled these four criteria (Ellis, 2003) at the end of a year-long professional development programme in which TBLT figured prominently. Forty-three tasks designed by the teachers for use in their own foreign language classrooms are analysed against Ellis’s four criteria in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development programme, on the premise that adequate understanding of the construct of task underpins successful implementation of TBLT. The findings show that some aspects of task-design were difficult for teachers. Implications for professional development programmes that focus on TBLT, such as the one whose effectiveness is evaluated here, are discussed.

Opportunities to attend to language form in the adolescent near-beginner foreign language classroom

ABSTRACT This study investigated the occurrence of incidental focus on form in an under-researched context, i.e. the intact foreign language classroom with near-beginner adolescent learners. Two classes of near-beginner learners of L2 French and of L2 Spanish participated in the study. All interactions involving the teacher and a proportion of the students were audio-recorded over three consecutive lessons in each class. During each lesson there were opportunities for students to use the target language in pair and group work. A total of 27 audio tapes were transcribed and all ‘language-related episodes’ (LREs) where students attended to some aspect of language form, were identified and coded. Results, showing an average of 49 LREs per lesson, demonstrate a relatively high occurrence of incidental attention to language form in comparison with other research. There was a high incidence of student initiated focus on form and, as in other studies, learners were most often focusing on lexical features of the target language in the LREs. Overall results show that incidental attention to form is possible in foreign language classrooms with learners of low proficiency when they interact and work in groups and pairs.