The role of cognitive individual differences and learning difficulty in instructed adults’ explicit and implicit knowledge of selected L2 grammar points: A study with Mexican learners of English Luis Humberto Rodríguez Silva A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics Department of Language and Linguistics University of Essex, United Kingdom November, 2017 Supervisor: Dr. Karen Roehr-Brackin i Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ XIV CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 6 2.1 Implicit and explicit knowledge and learning in SLA ...................................................... 7 2.1.1 Implicit and explicit learning ................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Implicit and explicit knowledge .............................................................................. 8 2.1.3 Operationalisation of implicit and explicit knowledge .......................................... 10 2.1.4 Measures of implicit and explicit knowledge ........................................................ 11 2.1.5 The interface between implicit and explicit knowledge ........................................ 21 2.1.5.1 Non-interface position ............................................................................... 21 2.1.5.2 Strong interface position ........................................................................... 21 2.1.5.3 Weak interface position ............................................................................. 22 2.1.6 Findings of studies on implicit and explicit knowledge ........................................ 23 2.1.6.1 Correlational studies of implicit and explicit knowledge .......................... 24 2.1.6.2 Experimental studies on implicit and explicit knowledge ......................... 27 2.1.7 Interim summary .................................................................................................... 32 2.2 Learning difficulty in instructed L2 learning ................................................................... 34 2.2.1 Structural complexity as number of transformations ............................................. 34 2.2.2 The cognitive difficulty perspective ...................................................................... 37 2.2.2.1 The relative difficulty of grammar points as implicit knowledge ............. 38 2.2.2.2 The relative difficulty of grammar points as explicit knowledge ............. 39 2.2.2.3 Taxonomy of implicit and explicit learning difficulty of grammar points. ..................................................................................... 40 2.2.3 Holistic judgements of learning difficulty of grammar points .............................. 45 ii 2.2.4 Interim summary .................................................................................................... 50 2.3 Language learning aptitude............................................................................................. 51 2.3.1 A historical overview of language aptitude ........................................................... 52 2.3.2 Classic models of language aptitude .................................................................... 53 2.3.3 Recent developments of language aptitude measurement ................................... 54 2.3.3.1 The LLAMA aptitude test ........................................................................ 55 2.3.3.2 LLAMA B: Paired associates learning ..................................................... 56 2.3.3.3 LLAMA D: Sound recognition ................................................................. 56 2.3.3.4 LLAMA E: Sound-symbol association .................................................... 57 2.3.3.5 LLAMA F: Grammatical inferencing ....................................................... 57 2.3.3.6 The CANAL-F test ................................................................................... 58 2.3.4 Differences between language aptitude tests ......................................................... 59 2.3.5 Validation of the LLAMA test ............................................................................... 60 2.3.6 Empirical research on aptitude using the LLAMA test ......................................... 62 2.3.7 An overview of the role of aptitude in SLA .......................................................... 63 2.3.8 Aptitude-treatment interaction research ................................................................. 64 2.3.9 The relationship between aptitude and learning difficulty .................................... 67 2.3.10 Interim summary .................................................................................................. 72 2.4 Working memory capacity .............................................................................................. 74 2.4.1 Baddeley’s multi-componential model of working memory ................................. 75 2.4.2 Measures of phonological short-term memory ...................................................... 76 2.4.3 Measures of complex working memory ................................................................ 77 2.4.4 The relationship between WM capacity and language proficiency ....................... 78 2.4.5 The relationship between WM capacity and language aptitude ............................ 85 2.4.6 Interim summary .................................................................................................... 88 iii 2.5 Overall summary ............................................................................................................. 89 2.6 Research questions........................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 95 3.1 Research design ............................................................................................................... 95 3.2 Participants ...................................................................................................................... 95 3.2.1 Context ................................................................................................................... 95 3.2.2 Learner participants ............................................................................................... 98 3.2.2.1 L2 Proficiency level ............................................................................... 101 3.2.3 Teacher participants ............................................................................................. 103 3.3 Targeted grammar points ............................................................................................... 103 3.4 Instrumentation .............................................................................................................. 105 3.4.1 Difficulty judgement questionnaire for teachers ................................................. 106 3.4.2 Measures for learner participants......................................................................... 106 3.4.2.1 Difficulty judgement questionnaire for learners ..................................... 107 3.4.2.2 Elicited imitation and oral narrative test ................................................. 107 3.4.2.3 Metalinguistic knowledge test ................................................................ 111 3.4.2.4 Language aptitude test ............................................................................ 112 3.4.2.5 Test of working memory ........................................................................ 114 3.5 Pilot study 1 ................................................................................................................... 114 3.5.1 Test of implicit knowledge .................................................................................. 115 3.5.2 Test of explicit knowledge .................................................................................. 115 3.5.3 Difficulty judgement questionnaire ..................................................................... 116 3.5.4 Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 116 3.5.4.1 Difficulty judgement of grammar points ................................................. 116 iv 3.5.4.2 Learners’ performance on the measures of explicit and implicit knowledge ............... 118 3.6 Pilot study 2 ................................................................................................................... 120 3.6.1 Procedure ............................................................................................................. 122 3.6.1.1 Scoring, coding and data analysis ........................................................... 123 3.6.2 Learners’ performance on the measures ............................................................. 124 3.7 Main study procedure .................................................................................................... 129 3.8 Scoring, coding and data analysis .................................................................................. 134 3.8.1 Scoring and coding ............................................................................................