The Long-term Effects Of Explicit Instruction And Implicit Instruction

The present study is based on Schimit’s (1993) Noticing Hypothesis, Bialystok’s (1993) Two-dimensional Model, and Craik and Lockhart’s (1972) Depth of Processing Theory. A quasi-experimental study in the.form of pretest-immediate posttest-delayed posttest was carried out to explore the effect of pragmatic instruction. The instructional targets of the present study are English request realization strategies. The experimental data on learners’pragmatic competence of request were collected by three questionnaires: a pretest questionnaire, an immediate posttest questionnaire and a delayed posttest questionnaire. The Discourse Completion Test (DCT) was adopted to elicit subjects’data on pragmatic competence of request. The present study aims to ascertain the effects of explicit instruction and implicit instruction on students’ pragmatic competence, particularly on their long-term effects. Results from the study indicate that:(1) Pragmatic instruction has short-term effects, with both learners who received explicit instruction and implicit instruction outperformed those who didn’t;(2) Learners benefited more from explicit instruction than implicit instruction in the short run;(3) The positive effect of instruction maintained in the long-term;(4) The students in explicit group outperformed those in the implicit group in the long-term. Being an experimental research in pragmatic teaching and learning, the present study offers an experimental basis for improving college English pragmatic teaching and learning and also enlarges the application field of the two teaching dimensions, namely explicit and implicit instructions. Meanwhile, the study provides useful insights into our understanding of pragmatic instruction that is of pedagogical significance to EFL instruction.