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Language Testing in Asia

Table 1 Key characteristics of implicit and explicit knowledge (Adapted from Ellis, 2005)

From: Assessing the effect of focused direct and focused indirect written corrective feedback on explicit and implicit knowledge of language learners

Characteristics Implicit knowledge Explicit knowledge
Awareness Intuitive awareness of linguistic norms Conscious awareness of linguistic norms
Type of knowledge Procedural knowledge of rules and fragments Declarative knowledge of grammatical rules and fragments
Systematicity Variable but systematic knowledge Anomalous and inconsistent knowledge
Accessibility Access to knowledge by means of automatic processing Access to knowledge by means of controlled processing
Use of L2 knowledge Access to knowledge during fluent performance Access to knowledge during planning difficulty
Self-report Nonverbalizable Verbalizable
learnability Potentially only within critical period Any age
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