Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English

An issue of great controversy in second language acquisition (SLA) research has been the status of second language (L2) learners' explicit metalinguistic knowledge (i.e. more or less consciously represented and verbalisable knowledge of L2 grammar) in their acquisition and use of the target la...

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Main Author: Hu, Guangwei.
Other Authors: Hvitfeldt, Robert
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Published: 2008
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14045
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-140452019-12-10T11:52:50Z Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English Hu, Guangwei. Hvitfeldt, Robert Skuja-Steele, Rita National Institute of Education DRNTU::Social sciences::Education::Language and education An issue of great controversy in second language acquisition (SLA) research has been the status of second language (L2) learners' explicit metalinguistic knowledge (i.e. more or less consciously represented and verbalisable knowledge of L2 grammar) in their acquisition and use of the target language. Most teachers and learners in formal contexts of L2 instruction believe that such knowledge is indispensable. SLA theorising, on the other hand, fails to provide a consensual view in this regard. To further complicate the issue, empirical studies, limited in quantity, have yielded inconsistent findings. Yet, a clear understanding of the role of explicit metalinguistic knowledge in L2 performance bears crucially on effective language instruction. The present study aims to produce empirical evidence for a critical evaluation of the intuitive beliefs and perceptions held by L2 teachers and learners with respect to metalinguistic awareness, to test a number of hypotheses derived from current theoretical claims about the role of explicit metalinguistic knowledge in spontaneous production, and to corroborate and supplement relevant empirical findings documented in the SLA literature. It addresses the questions of whether explicit metalinguistic knowledge facilitates spontaneous L2 use; whether the usefulness of such knowledge is subject to variation across different tasks and contexts of use; and what cognitive processes promote or constrain access to, and application of, such knowledge in L2 production. Doctor of Philosophy 2008-10-20T11:17:21Z 2008-10-20T11:17:21Z 1999 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14045 Nanyang Technological University application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Education::Language and education
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Education::Language and education
Hu, Guangwei.
Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
description An issue of great controversy in second language acquisition (SLA) research has been the status of second language (L2) learners' explicit metalinguistic knowledge (i.e. more or less consciously represented and verbalisable knowledge of L2 grammar) in their acquisition and use of the target language. Most teachers and learners in formal contexts of L2 instruction believe that such knowledge is indispensable. SLA theorising, on the other hand, fails to provide a consensual view in this regard. To further complicate the issue, empirical studies, limited in quantity, have yielded inconsistent findings. Yet, a clear understanding of the role of explicit metalinguistic knowledge in L2 performance bears crucially on effective language instruction. The present study aims to produce empirical evidence for a critical evaluation of the intuitive beliefs and perceptions held by L2 teachers and learners with respect to metalinguistic awareness, to test a number of hypotheses derived from current theoretical claims about the role of explicit metalinguistic knowledge in spontaneous production, and to corroborate and supplement relevant empirical findings documented in the SLA literature. It addresses the questions of whether explicit metalinguistic knowledge facilitates spontaneous L2 use; whether the usefulness of such knowledge is subject to variation across different tasks and contexts of use; and what cognitive processes promote or constrain access to, and application of, such knowledge in L2 production.
author2 Hvitfeldt, Robert
author_facet Hvitfeldt, Robert
Hu, Guangwei.
format Theses and Dissertations
author Hu, Guangwei.
author_sort Hu, Guangwei.
title Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
title_short Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
title_full Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
title_fullStr Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
title_full_unstemmed Explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult Chinese learners of English
title_sort explicit metalinguistic knowledge at work : the case of spontaneous written production by formal adult chinese learners of english
publishDate 2008
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14045
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