In this study, the impact of in- and out-of-class L2 English on implicit and/or automatized and explicit grammar knowledge was explored. 213 Austrian and Swedish ESL learners (age 13-14) performed measures of implicit and/or automatized and explicit knowledge (aural and written TGJT, ONT, EIT, UGJT, MKT). The type of instruction learners received and their use of spare time English was gauged through learner and teacher surveys.
One of the main debates in second language teaching and learning revolves around the relative significance of implicit and explicit knowledge (e.g. DeKeyser, 2017). Yet, no study to date has investigated the differential or complementary effect on the implicit-explicit knowledge continuum of learning conditions inside and outside the language classroom. Such research is sorely needed in light of the sharp increase of out-of-class English among teenage learners across Europe and beyond.
To fill this gap, students aged 13-14 years in Austria and Sweden (N = 213) completed tests of implicit and automatized (oral narrative test, elicited imitation, aural and written timed grammaticality judgment tests) and explicit knowledge (untimed grammaticality judgment test, metalinguistic knowledge test). The participants' use of weekly amount of recreational English and the type of instruction they experienced (e.g. form-based vs. meaning-based, implicit vs. explicit) were investigated through mixed-methods learner and teacher surveys.
According to linear mixed effects models, scores on the metalinguistic knowledge test were higher in the Austrian sample, whereas Swedish participants scored higher on the aural TGJT (p < .01). This test was also predicted by out-of-class English (p < .01), a factor which further predicted performance of Swedish participants on all other measures but the written TGJT (p < .01). In Austria, classrooms with high levels of both explicit grammar teaching and speaking significantly impacted performance on the metalinguistic test and the TGJTs (p < .05). These findings are the first to demonstrate the impact of out-of-class English on the development of automatized and/or implicit knowledge. Results might also indicate that an accuracy-fluency combination in class is particularly significant in contexts affording low recreational English.
