Cited by 893EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningSecond Language Acquisition and LearningNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 283 of the 283 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 8 of the 110 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

AT THE INTERFACE: DYNAMIC INTERACTIONS OF EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE

Open access
Ellis, Nick C.·2005·Studies in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

This paper considers how implicit and explicit knowledge are dissociable but cooperative. It reviews various psychological and neurobiological processes by which explicit knowledge of form-meaning associations impacts upon implicit language learning. The interface is dynamic: It happens transiently during conscious processing, but the influence upon implicit cognition endures thereafter. The primary conscious involvement in SLA is the explicit learning involved in the initial registration of pattern recognizers for constructions that are then tuned and integrated into the system by implicit learning during subsequent input processing. Neural systems in the prefrontal cortex involved in working memory provide attentional selection, perceptual integration, and the unification of consciousness. Neural systems in the hippocampus then bind these disparate cortical representations into unitary episodic representations. These are the mechanisms by which Schmidt's (1990) noticing helps solve Quine's (1960) problem of referential indeterminacy. Explicit memories can also guide the conscious building of novel linguistic utterances through processes of analogy. Formulas, slot-and-frame patterns, drills, and declarative pedagogical grammar rules all contribute to the conscious creation of utterances whose subsequent usage promotes implicit learning and proceduralization. Flawed output can prompt focused feedback by way of recasts that present learners with psycholinguistic data ready for explicit analysis. Other processes of acquisition from output include differentiation, analysis, and preemption. These processes of conscious construction in working memory underpin relationships between individual differences in working memory capacities and language learning aptitude.Thanks to Rod Ellis for first suggesting that I try to write this and to the staff and students at Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics University of Auckland (2003), the TESOL Program Temple University Japan (2003), the Chester Language Development Reading Group, and the LOT winter school (2004) for helping me think it through. I am particularly grateful to Michel Paradis, Michael Swan, Karen Roehr, Anne Feryok, and Tamar Keren-Portnoy for pointing their giant biological cameras of consciousness at a prior draft, and for sharing their awareness with me in kindly and constructive fashion. I have learned a lot from it.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This theoretical article argues that explicit and implicit language knowledge are dissociable but dynamically interactive, with conscious attention and noticing seeding constructions that implicit learning later tunes. It synthesizes cognitive, neurobiological, and SLA evidence to propose multiple interface routes during input processing, output construction, feedback, and working memory.

Key findings

  • Explicit and implicit knowledge rely on different memory systems, yet explicit processing can affect implicit learning when attention is focused on form-meaning connections; the interface occurs transiently in conscious processing but can have enduring effects.
  • Meta-analytic evidence cited reports average effect sizes above 1.2 for 25 explicit form-focused treatments and above 1.0 for 69 explicit instructional treatments, with medium effects on free constructed production; output-practice studies averaged 1.39, and pushed-output interaction tasks showed d = 1.05 versus d = 0.61 for tasks without pushed output.
  • The paper proposes that explicit learning initially registers pattern recognizers for constructions, which are then consolidated and tuned implicitly; working memory, prefrontal and hippocampal systems, and phonological rehearsal support noticing, binding, and later analysis.
  • Low-salience, communicatively redundant L2 cues may be blocked or overshadowed by L1-tuned attention; explicit instruction, input processing, recasts, and output can raise their salience and promote implicit tallying.

Methods

  • Theoretical review and synthesis, not an empirical study; no participants or new data are reported.
  • Draws on prior cognitive psychology, neuroscience, SLA experiments, meta-analyses, and connectionist/usage-based accounts.
  • Main analysis is conceptual: it integrates Global Workspace Theory, neural correlates of consciousness, complementary memory systems, and SLA interface hypotheses to outline mechanisms.

Limitations

  • The paper does not present a formal limitations section. It states that more research is needed on explicit instruction using outcome measures focused on implicit knowledge and processing, and that there is too little work directly comparing working-memory models and components as predictors of SLA.
  • Evident from the text: as a theoretical synthesis, many proposed mechanisms are not tested in a single new study; conclusions depend on cited findings and analogies, and some claims about neural mechanisms and interface are speculative.
  • Also evident: the article relies heavily on selected examples and prior literature rather than systematic review procedures, so scope and generalizability are constrained.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s027226310505014x

Cites

283 of 283 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

83 Own interpretation · 26 Sources not found · 20 No basis given · 19 Not checked yet · 12 No full text of the sources · 6 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Supported · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 3 references — free account

Show all 84 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 51
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 42
84 of 84
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Most knowledge is tacit knowledge; most learning is implicit; the vast majority of cognitive processing is unconscious.

    “Most knowledge is tacit knowledge; most learning is implicit; the vast majority of our cognitive processing is unconscious+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    We learn language while using language.

    “We learn language while using language+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There is interaction between explicit and implicit knowledge.

    “Nevertheless, there is interaction+ However unalike they are, these two types of knowledge interact+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Language is a social construction, and the ways that language typically relates to the world are culturally determined.

    “Language is a social construction, and the ways that language typically relates to the world are culturally deter-mined+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    We are internally provoked to search for meanings, just as our language tutors are motivated to spotlight the relevant alternatives.

    “We are internally provoked to search for meanings, just as our language tutors are motivated to spotlight the relevant alternatives:”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    English learners of Chinese have difficulty with tones and Japanese learners of English have difficulty with the article system, both problems resulting from zero use in the L1.

    “English learners of Chinese have difficulty with tones and Japanese learners of English have difficulty with the article system, both problems resulting from zero use in the L1+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Most words (over 80% in English) have multiple meanings, but only one can become conscious at a time.

    “Most words ~over 80% in English! have multiple meanings, but only one can become conscious at a time+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Japanese native adults perceive English /r/ and /l/ as one and the same phonemic category.

    “What might be examples of two separate phonemic categories ~0r0 and 0l0! for an L1 English language speaker are all of the same phonemic category for an L1 Japanese speaker+ Furthermore, in adulthood, the Japanese native cannot but perceive 0r0 and 0l0 as one and the same+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Consciousness is needed to change behavior.

    “Consciousness is needed to change behavior+”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Under normal L1 circumstances, usage optimally tunes the language system to the input.

    “Under normal L1 circumstances, usage optimally tunes the language system to the input+”
10 of 10

Claims other papers make about this one

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Citations

Cites

Show all 283 references

Research works printed but not linked: 15

  1. 10.1017/s0272263100001030__s0272263100001030 · DOI
  2. Poulisse, 1984, Interlanguage Studies Bulletin, 8, 70
  3. 10.1017/s0272263197002076__s0272263197002076 · DOI
  4. 10.1017/s0140525x99002149__s0140525x99002149 · DOI
  5. 10.1017/s0272263197001034__s0272263197001034 · DOI
  6. 10.1017/s0305000999003931__s0305000999003931 · DOI
  7. 10.1017/s0272263198004045__s0272263198004045 · DOI
  8. 10.1017/s0272263199003034__s0272263199003034 · DOI
  9. 10.1017/s0272263102002073__s0272263102002073 · DOI
  10. Ellis, 2002, Applied Linguistics, 24, 297
  11. Ellis, 2002, Applied Linguistics, 24, 297
  12. 10.1017/s0272263102002140__s0272263102002140 · DOI
  13. 10.1017/s0272263102002024__s0272263102002024 · DOI
  14. 10.1017/s0272263199001011__s0272263199001011 · DOI
  15. Skousen, 1995, Rivista di linguistica, 7, 213

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 601–700 of 890

Metadata

Authors
Ellis, N. C.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Ellis, Nick C.
Venue
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Published
2005-06
Volume
27
Issue
02
ISSN
  • 0272-2631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1470-1545
OpenAlex
W1980240171
Cited by
893
References
283
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 93 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 85 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 56 · 2014: 59 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 61
FWCI
177.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Studies in Second Language Acquisition (publishedVersion)
  • Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Keywords
explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, noticing, implicit language learning, explicit learning, working memory, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, episodic memory, proceduralization, recasts, feedback, analogy, grammatical rules, individual differences, working memory capacity, language aptitude, consciousness

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