Classroom instruction and second language acquisition: The effect of Explicit Form-Focused Instruction on L2 learners' linguistic competence.

摘要

In an attempt to account for the imbalance between the linguistic and the communicative abilities evident in the performance of L2 learners, this study investigated the effect of Explicit Form-Focused instruction on the linguistic competence of ESL university students in the United States of America. Two groups were included: (i) a Focus on Form instruction group receiving input flood and input enhancement and (ii) an Explicit Form Focused instruction group receiving the same Focus on Form instruction together with explicit negative evidence/feedback. A set of treatment and testing materials were developed for and adapted to the targeted participants. A pretest, an immediate posttest and a retention test were administered to the two groups in order to compare their performance on two measures of linguistic competence (defined as the ability both to recognize and produce contextually accurate language). Results of the study revealed that the Explicit Form-Focused instruction group performed significantly better than the Focus on Form group as evidenced by their ability to accurately recognize, as well as to accurately use the simple past tense and the present perfect aspect in various contexts. The study argues for the adoption of a particular type of explicit instruction (Explicit Form-Focused)---one which promotes perception (noticing and understanding) of target linguistic features in the input through the provision of explicit negative evidence/feedback in the context of meaning-focused activities.