Article published In: ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 119/120 (1998) ► pp.65–78
Grammatical instruction and implicational features
Evidence from an experiment
Published online: 1 January 1998
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.119-120.05lan
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.119-120.05lan
Abstract
The present study examines the relationship between direct grammatical teaching of the past tense system of standard Italian and the use of some implicational features which, without being the object of direct instruction, are normally found within the same structure and context of the instructed ones. The subjects of the experiment were 60 tertiary learners of L2 Italian from a variety of Italian regional dialect background (age 18-25), receiving a period of intensive instruction on the use of the past tense system of standard Italian. The incidence of use of implicational features was measured on the basis of a written test prior to a three week period of intensive instructional treatment, followed by immediate and delayed written posttests. Similar monitoring was carried out with a control group of 40 comparable learners, who had not received direct instruction. The results of the study support the hypothesis that explicit and intensive form-focused instruction, when combined with continuous meaning-focused practice of instructed features, encourages an increased and more accurate use of other features that are closely related to the targeted ones.
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