Explicit grammar instruction goes nowhere

Abstract

Explicit knowledge of language is defined as conscious knowledge and it is often verbalizable knowledge about language. Implicit knowledge is defined as unconscious knowledge and it is not verbalizable. In this paper the main problems with explicit instruction will be described, as the acquisition of grammatical properties is mainly implicit (Benati, 2020). A brief explanation about the role and nature of instruction will be provided and some basic facts highlighted. Overall, the role of instruction in language acquisition is limited and constrained by a number of factors. Because of how language grows in the mind and communication develops over time, the question is: Is there any type of instruction that might be successful in terms of helping L2 learners internalize the grammatical features of a target language?