Implicit and Explicit Language Learning

Over the last several decades, neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists have investigated the implicit and explicit continuum in language development and use from theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives. This book addresses these perspectives in an effort to build connections among them and to draw pedagogical implications when possible.

The volume includes an examination of the psychological and neurological processes of implicit and explicit learning, what aspects of language learning can be affected by explicit learning, and the effects of bilingualism on the mental processing of language. Rigorous empirical research investigations probe specific aspects of acquiring morphosyntax and phonology, including early input, production, feedback, age, and study abroad. A final section explores the rich insights provided into language processing by bilingualism, including such major areas as aging, third language acquisition, and language separation.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
Cristina Sanz and Ronald P. Leow, Georgetown University

Part I: Theory

2. Stubborn Syntax: How It Resists Explicit Teaching and Learning
Bill VanPatten, Texas Tech University

3. An Epitaph for Grammar: An Abridged History
Arthur S. Reber, University of British Columbia

4. Implicit and Explicit SLA and Their Interface
Nick C. Ellis, University of Michigan

5. How Analysis and Control Lead to Advantages and Disadvantages in Bilingual Processing
Ellen Bialystok, York University

Part II: Methodological Issues and Empirical Research on Awareness, Pedagogical Contexts, and Individual Differences in SLA

6. Getting a Grip on the Slippery Construct of Awareness: Toward a Finer-Grained Methodological Perspective
Ronald P. Leow, Ellen Johnson, and Germán Zárate-Sández, Georgetown University

7. Aging, Pedagogical Conditions, and Differential Success in SLA: An Empirical Study
Alison E. Lenet and Cristina Sanz, Georgetown University; Beatriz Lado, University of San Diego; James H. Howard Jr., The Catholic University of America and Georgetown University Medical Center; and Darlene V. Howard, Georgetown University

8. Effects of Feedback Timing in SLA: A Computer-Assisted Study on the Spanish Subjunctive
Florencia Henshaw, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

9. Working Memory Predicts the Acquisition of Explicit L2 Knowledge
Jared A. Linck and Daniel J. Weiss, The Pennsylvania State University

10. The Effects of Formal Instruction and Study Abroad Contexts on Foreign Language Development: The SALA Project
Carmen Pérez-Vidal, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Maria Juan-Garau, University of the Balearic Islands; and Joan C. Mora, Universitat de Barcelona

11. Input Processing Principles: A Contribution from First-Exposure Data
Rebekah Rast, The American University of Paris

Part III: Empirical Research on L2 Phonology

12. What Is Implicit and What Is Explicit in L2 Speech? Findings from an Oral Corpus
Heather E. Hilton, Université Paris 8

13. Explicit Training and Implicit Learning of L2 Phonemic Contrasts
Fred R. Echman, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Gregory K. Iverson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language; Robert Allen Fox and Ewa Jacewicz, The Ohio State University, and Sue Ann Lee, Texas Tech University

Part IV: Empirical Studies on Key Issues in Bilingualism: Aging, Third Language Acquisition, and Language Separation

14. English Speakers' Perception of Spanish Vowels: Evidence for Multiple Category Assimilation
Leslie S. Gordon, The University of Georgia

15. Early Phonological Acquisition in a Set of English-Spanish Bilingual Twins
David Ingram and Virginia Dubasik, Arizona State University; Juana Liceras, University of Ottawa; and Racquel Fernández Fuertes, University of Valladolid

16. Language Learning Strategies in Adult L3 Acquisition: Relationship between L3 Development, Strategy Use, L2 Levels and Gender
Hui-Ju Lin, Georgetown University

17. Effects of Bilingualism on Inhibitory Control in Elderly Brazilian Bilinguals
Ingrid Finger, Johanna Dagort Billig, and Ana Paula Scholl, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Reviews

"Researchers and graduate students will find this book a treasured resource on implicit and explicit learning….A volume that straddles the domains of psycholinguistics and L2 pedagogy to investigate implicit and explicit learning in SLA could not be better timed or more welcome."—Studies in Second Language Acquisition

"This book is an excellent resource for those interested in SLA. Many important researchers participated in the conference from which its chapters are drawn. The empirical studies are all well-designed and cover a broad range of topics with learners from diverse language and learning backgrounds."—APPLIED LINGUISTICS

"This book contains a treasure trove of information about a central topic in second language learning, that of implicit and explicit learning. Included is a broad range of topics, all of which contribute significantly to a deeper understanding of the central roles of these two types of learning. An essential part of anyone’s library!"—Susan M. Gass, University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University

"The many important and comprehensive contributions to this book collectively advance our knowledge in one of the most interesting and productive lines of research in second language acquisition today."—Alison Mackey, professor of linguistics and head of the applied linguistics program, Georgetown University

Contributors

Ellen BialystokJohanna Dagort BilligVirginia DubasikFred R. EckmanNick C. EllisIngrid FingerRobert Allen FoxRacquel Fernández FuertesLeslie S. GordonFlorencia HenshawHeather E. HiltonDarlene V. HowardJames H. Howard Jr.David IngramGregory K. IversonEwa JacewiczEllen JohnsonMaria Juan-GarauBeatriz LadoSue Ann LeeAlison E. LenetRonald P. LeowJuana LicerasHui-Ju LinJared A. Linck Joan C. MoraCarmen Pérez-VidalRebekah RastArthur S. ReberCristina Sanz Anna Paula SchollBill VanPattenDaniel J. WeissGermán Zárate-Sández

Supplemental Materials

Awards

About the Author

Cristina Sanz is a professor of Spanish applied linguistics, director of the School of Foreign Service & Intensive Spanish Programs, and codirector of the Center for Brain Basis of Cognition at Georgetown University. She is the editor of Mind and Context in Adult Second Language Acquisition, which won the MLA’s Kenneth W. Mildenberger Award.

Ronald P. Leow is professor of Spanish applied linguistics and director of Spanish language instruction at Georgetown University. He is the coeditor of Little Words: Their History, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Acquisition.