A01_RICH4603_04_SE_A01.QXD

(Chris Devlin) #1
implicational universal

The symbol [+] in any row in the table implies a +symbol in any column
to the right of it in the same row or in any row below it. In this way the
students are ranked from student C through student E, who is the best stu-
dent, because he or she has 100% correct use of all the rules. Implicational
scaling has been used to show the order of acquisition of rules by foreign
languageand second languagelearners, and by people who are moving
from a creoletowards a standard variety.
see also variable^1

implicational universaln
see language universal


implicaturen
see conversational maxim


implicit knowledgen
also tacit knowledge, intuitive knowledge
knowledge that people can be shown (by their behaviour, their judgements
about grammaticality, and so forth) to possess intuitively, but which they
are unable to articulate. Implicit knowledge is contrasted with explicit
knowledge, which is verbalizable.
For example, native speakers of English intuitively know the regularities of
article use (when to use the definite, indefinite, or zero article), but they are
usually unable to say what any of those principles are. Foreign language
learners of English, on the other hand, may have quite a lot of explicit
knowledge about the rules for using English articles, while their unmoni-
tored production may reveal that this explicit knowledge has not been
internalized.


implicit learningn
in general, non-conscious learning, contrasted with explicit learning, which
is more conscious. Various writers define the difference between implicit
and explicit learning in slightly different ways, for example:
1 Explicit learning involves such conscious operations as hypothesis
formation and testing, while implicit learning does not.
2 Implicit learning is learning without awareness of what has been learned,
while in explicit learning the learner is aware of what has been learned.
3 Explicit learning is accompanied by awareness that one is learning, while
implicit learning is not.
Differing definitions and difficulties involved in operationalizing terms like
“awareness” have given rise to many long-standing controversies.

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