Explicitly learned L2 rules can be automatized through systematic practice after a metalinguistic criterion is reached¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 1997 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Rules learned explicitly can be automatized: after subjects reached criterion on metalinguistic tests, systematic comprehension and production practice produced skill development in the taught rules. → Robert M. DeKeyser 1997

Evidence¶

Robert M. DeKeyser 1997¶

Robert M. DeKeyser. (1997). Beyond Explicit Rule Learning: Automatizing Second Language Morphosyntax. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 19, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263197002040

q3 · i? · causal · r?

Experimental study of automatization: 61 subjects first reached criterion on metalinguistic tests of grammar and vocabulary, then engaged in systematic, computer-controlled comprehension and production practice for 8 weeks, allowing explicit rules to be practiced toward automatization.

"After they hadreached criterion on a set of metalinguistic tests of grammar and vocabulary, they engaged insystematic, computer-controlled comprehension and production practice for 8 weeks."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Syntax — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Learning of second language morphosyntactic rules is highly skill-specific: comprehension practice yields comprehension skill and production practice yields production skill — related
• Automatized L2 morphosyntactic skills develop very gradually over time, following a power function learning curve like other cognitive skills — related
• A 1982 bilingual-education teacher-training packet asserts, citing Krashen, that repetitive drill and grammar-focused instruction are ineffective for second language acquisition — reports the opposite
• Explicit instruction facilitates the acquisition of L2 grammar — related
• Peer assessment skills are complex and not automatically acquired, so training and guidance are a crucial design variable — related
• Automatization of L2 skills requires extensive practice in a consistent environment, not repetition of grammar rules as in traditional exercises — related
• Learners acquired untaught syntactic properties but failed to show sensitivity to agreement they had been explicitly taught and practiced — reports the opposite
• No single rule was professed to be known by half the university students despite all having been taught the rules the previous winter — related