What Does Explicit Knowledge Look Like? An Analysis of Information Structure in Rule Formation by L2 Learners and Its Relationship With Guided Inductive Learning

Abstract

AbstractResearch examining rule formation and second language (L2) explicit knowledge during guided inductive instruction has focused on co‐constructed metalanguage or depth of processing (DoP) using think‐aloud protocols, but without analyzing rule features. Studies have not focused on the architecture of the rules that L2 learners create individually. The present study provides a research design that elicits rules in purposeful tasks controlled for uniformity across multiple participants (N = 20), establishing a framework to analyze explicit knowledge according to information structure and its relationship with language processing. Qualitative analyses yielded 4 main findings: (a) L2 explicit knowledge is learnable from guided induction, (b) it can be analyzed for information structure, (c) more complete information structure reflects greater DoP, and (d) explicit knowledge varies in its written information structure based on rule completeness, linguistic features included, and the order in which linguistic features are mentioned.