Language Acquisition and Grammar Teaching

A major focus of research on language acquisition is the acquisition of grammatical rules.There are two kinds of grammar knowledge:declarative or explicit knowledge developed through formal instruction,and implicit knowledge acquired through communication.If a learner's attention can be guided to the level of awareness of linguistic knowledge,he/she may be able to notice certain important linguistic features embedded in the input.Discrepancies between a learner's noticed information and his/her existing system of linguistic competence subsequently initiate the restructuring of the learner's implicit system of linguistic knowledge.It is proposed that class activities should help learners raise their awareness of grammar forms,especially through form-rich and communicative exposures,to provide opportunities for learners to sub-consciously make comparisons and construct new hypotheses to accommodate the differences.Form-focused instruction can make grammatical structures more relevant and applicable for learners to internalize,thus,facilitate language acquisition.