Can foreign language learners discover the rules of non-salient forms?

Résumé

Learners more easily notice some linguistic forms than others. This quasi-experiment investigates whether the effects of explicit-deductive instruction and explicit-inductive instruction are equally mediated by the perceptual salience level of target forms. It also examines whether each of these types of instruction promotes explicit knowledge, implicit knowledge, or both. The study was conducted with 65 university students aged 21 years old on average. Three conditions were tested: explicit-deductive instruction, explicit-inductive instruction, and a control. The results revealed minor learning effects due to explicit-inductive instruction of a target form with higher perceptual salience but no learning for a less salient target form. Explicit-deductive instruction resulted in learning both forms regardless of their salience level. The findings suggest that explicit-inductive instruction is suitable for teaching more salient forms, while explicit-deductive instruction seems necessary for teaching less salient forms. The pedagogical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.