The impact of explicit instruction on different types of linguistic properties
Syntactic vs. syntax-discourse properties
Joana Teixeira | CLUNL - Linguistic Research Centre of Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Over the past decades, L2 research has shown that properties involving the syntax-discourse interface are
typically more complex to acquire than strictly syntactic properties. To determine whether the complexity of the target property
moderates the effectiveness of explicit instruction, this study investigates the impact of explicit instruction on the development
of a syntactic property (the ungrammaticality of free inversion) and a syntax-discourse property (the unacceptability of locative
inversion with informationally heavy verbs) in L1 European Portuguese-L2 English (B2 and C1 levels), using a pre-test/post-test
design. Results reveal that instruction only produced lasting effects when it targeted syntax and learners were at the C1 level.
These results indicate that syntax may be more permeable to instructional effects than the syntax-discourse interface and that the
effectiveness of explicit instruction depends on learners’ stage of L2 development.
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