Accuracy and explicit knowledge in second language performance: The case of dative alternation for Japanese ESL learners

This paper investigates the Japanese ESL learners' accuracy in the judgement of English sentences, the knowledge source they use for their judgement, and the relationship between accuracy and the knowledge source. In order to examine these, data were collected from 10 university-age Japanese ESL students of two different levels of English proficiency. All learners took a grammaticality judgement test consisting of 37 sentences. The test focused on English dative alternation, a structure that is constrained by many complex rules. As the learners judged the grammaticality of the English sentences, they were also asked to verbalize the reason for their judgment so that information about the knowledge source used for their judgement would be obtained. The results showed differences in the accuracy scores for the two proficiency groups, with the higher proficiency group tending to have more accurate judgements. The examination of the verbalization data revealed that learners at different proficiency levels seemed to be using different knowledge sources for their grammaticality judgment. The higher proficiency group relied more on intuitional implicit knowledge, whereas the lower proficiency learners relied more on explicitly learned knowledge and/or L1 translation. Cross-comparison of the accuracy data and verbalization data suggested that accuracy and intuitions may develop hand in hand enabling learners to judge the target language sentences more accurately and without resorting to explicit learned knowledge or L1 translation. Finally, based on the results of this study, suggestions are made regarding the need for instruction that focuses on consciousness-raising about the grammatical features with plenty of exposure to meaningful input.