Grammatical Errors as a Function of Processing Constraints and Explicit Knowledge

The first question of this study deals with the influence of the factors Time Pressure (present or absent) and Focus of Attention (on information or on grammar) on the correct use of two Dutch word‐order rules in the speech of 32 adult learners of that language. In an experimental repeated measures design using a story retelling task. Attention had a significant effect, but Time did not. The second question deals with the relation between explicitness of rule knowledge, assessed in an interview, and rule application, elicited in the experiment. Although the learners without explicit knowledge of the two word‐order rules made more errors in the story retelling task than learners with explicit knowledge, they were influenced by Time and Attention to the same extent as the learners with explicit knowledge. The results of this study are discussed in terms of Krashen's Monitor Theory and in terms of an information‐processing approach that distinguishes executive control from metacognitive knowledge.