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.

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Reber, A., (1996). Implicit Learning and Tacit knowledge. An Essay on the Cognitive. Oxford: Oxford University University Press.

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[Accessed 19th December, 2007]

Schmidt, S., (1995). Attention and Awareness in Foreign Language Learning. [online] United States: University of Hawaii Press. Available from: –

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Swain, M., (2005). The Output Hypothesis: Theory and Research. In: Hinkel, E., (2005). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. (pp. 471-482). United Kingdom: Routledge. Taylor and Francis Group.

Autor:

Instructor y MSc Yordanka Brunet Valle

ISP "EJV" Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras. Departamento DAPE