EXPLICIT VS IMPLICIT REVISITED

Jean Alric B. Almira

 WHAT ARE THESE TWO?
(IN GRAMMAR TEACHING)

• Explicit instruction is where students are instructed

in the rules or patterns (deductive) or guided to
induce them, themselves (inductive).
• An implicit approach makes no reference to rules
or patterns (see also a related, but somewhat
different, distinction between incidental and
intentional learning, Hulstijn, 2003).
 EXPLICIT APPROACH

• Deductive – learners are given a general rule, then

applied to examples and are practiced through
exercises.
• Inductive – learners detect, or notice patterns until
a rule is worked out, practice comes after.
• Conscious and deliberate attempt by learners to
master a rule or material as instructed by the
teacher.
 EXPLICIT APPROACH

• Conducive to knowing the rules of a language.

• Reveals ‘exceptions’ in a language.
• Better for adult learners, who have declining capacities
to acquire languages.
• CONS
- In acquiring practical use of language, sometimes, rules
aren’t really followed in natural settings.
- Achieving fluency.
- Empty memorization.
 IMPLICIT APPROACH

• May be very fitting for complex rules,

which are difficult to articulate and
internalize.
• Involves acquiring skills and
knowledge without conscious goal or
attempt to learn it.
 IMPLICIT APPROACH

• Helps in preparing learner for natural

communicative situations.
• Promotes gaining of basic linguistic skills.
• Cons: Implicit learning is severely bogged
down when a learning task requires
establishing a relationship between elements
AND SO, WHAT IS BETTER?
 AND SO, WHAT IS BETTER?

• Explicit vs implicit is too general to be

resolved categorically..
• A gentle blend of implicit and explicit
approaches will be better, if not the
perfect way to teach a language.
METALANGUAGE
 WHAT IS METALANGUAGE

• “Language used to talk about language” (McArthur, 1992,

p.652 as cited in Harun, et,al,)
• May refer to basic grammar expressions such as word,
sentence, subject/predicate, noun or verb, specialized
linguistic terminology such as phonotactics, x-bar structure
or Gricean maxims, and also non-technical words that
describe general language use such as mean, say or correct
(Ellis, 2016).
 METALANGUAGE TYPES

• Fortune (2005) as cited in Ellis (2016), identified 3 distinct types of

metalanguage. This was done in order to describe the kinds of
metalinguistic interactions between students in a task that’s
collaborative and form-focused.
1. Metalanguage A - refers to technical terms such as past, word, present
and plural.
II. Metalanguage B – refers to non-technical terms used for
generalizations about language rules such as mean, general, sense and
specific.
III. Metalanguage C to non-technical terms used in interactions about
language such as say, write, right and change.
 IS METALANGUAGE USEFUL?

In a 2016 paper by Ellis, titled: Metalanguage as a Component of the Communicative

Classroom, pedagogical implications of the Metalanguage were summarized as follows:
1) Students have different metalinguistic backgrounds, so when using metalanguage,
teachers should be conscious of this and try to standardize its use for a given class.
2) Metalanguage is most readily useful for advanced learners, but its use can be
scaffolded appropriately for intermediate and beginner learners.
3) Passive knowledge of metalanguage should be an important intermediate goal,
before expecting learners to be able to use metalinguistic terminology actively.
4) The use of metalanguage in instruction may be best suited for reading and writing
tasks. These tasks may of course include expansions which include oral
communication.
5) In addition to its value in the classroom, metalanguage may be considered an
effective learning strategy that contributes to a learner’s autonomy.
 REFERENCES

• Ellis, M. (2016). Metalanguage as a component of the communicative

classroom. International Christian University High School.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (N.A.). Teaching and Testing Grammar.
THANK YOU.