Automatized L2 morphosyntactic skills develop very gradually over time, following a power function learning curve like other cognitive skills¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr?·q3
Currency · newest study 1997 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2002: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Second language morphosyntactic skills develop very gradually over 8 weeks of practice, following the same power function learning curve observed for other cognitive skills. → 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?
Fine-grained analysis of extensive empirical data from 61 subjects practicing taught rules over 8 weeks of computer-controlled practice. The study reports that the skills "developvery gradually over time, following the same power function learning curve as the acquisition ofother cognitive skills."
"these skills developvery gradually over time, following the same power function learning curve as the acquisition ofother cognitive skills"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Explicitly learned L2 rules can be automatized through systematic practice after a metalinguistic criterion is reached — related
- Learning of second language morphosyntactic rules is highly skill-specific: comprehension practice yields comprehension skill and production practice yields production skill — related
- CogEvolution's simulated learning trajectory fits the human power-law trajectory far better than baselines (R²LC 0.92 vs 0.78 PEERS, 0.45 static agents) — related
- Low-frequency or low-salience L2 elements are hard or impossible to learn through mere exposure and require extensive practice to proceduralize form-meaning mappings — related
- Automatization of L2 skills requires extensive practice in a consistent environment, not repetition of grammar rules as in traditional exercises — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
l2-skill-development-power-function-curve |
title |
Automatized L2 morphosyntactic skills develop very gradually over time, following a power function learning curve like other cognitive skills |
description |
Automatized L2 morphosyntactic skills develop very gradually over time, following a power function learning curve like other cognitive skills |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
1997 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
recheck_by |
2002 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-15 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — robert-m-dekeyser-1997 |
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