The Effects of Explicit and Implicit Syntax Instruction on the Grammatical Accuracy of English Major Students
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Abstract
The comparative effectiveness of explicit and implicit grammar instruction remains a central issue in second language acquisition. This is especially important in tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, where classroom instruction often serves as the main source of linguistic input. This study investigated the effects of explicit and implicit syntax instruction on the grammatical accuracy of second-year English major students in a Thai tertiary context and examined whether learners’ perceived instructional effectiveness predicted improvement in grammatical accuracy. The participants were selected because they had a similar level of grammatical proficiency and were enrolled in the compulsory Introduction to Syntax course in the English Program at Phetchaburi Rajabhat University (PBRU) in the first semester of the 2025 academic year. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was implemented with two intact classes (N = 60). The explicit group received rule-based instruction with metalinguistic explanation and structured practice, whereas the implicit group participated in meaning-focused communicative tasks without overt grammatical explanation. Data were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), effect size calculations, and linear regression.
Results revealed significant improvement in grammatical accuracy in both groups, with the explicit instruction group outperforming the implicit group. Learners’ perceived instructional effectiveness was also found to significantly predict improvement in grammatical accuracy. The findings suggest that explicit instruction yields stronger short-term gains in accuracy, while learners’ perceptions play an important role in facilitating learning outcomes. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the relatively short intervention period and the use of a single performance measure, which may limit the extent to which long-term or multidimensional language development is captured.
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ข้อความรู้ใดๆ ตลอดจนข้อคิดเห็นใดๆ เป็นของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านโดยเฉพาะ คณะมนุษยศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยนเรศวร และกองบรรณาธิการวารสารมนุษยศาสตร์ฯ ไม่จำเป็นต้องเห็นพ้องด้วย
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