The non-referential It and third language aquisition

Abstract

Linguists, grammarians and professors seek to come to an apt and final approach to grammar teaching to Foreign Language learners. Studies about language acquisition investigate the non-referential it in the theoretical framework of the pro-drop parameter and researchers limit the findings that deal with the non-referential it strictly to the English language. The specific problem this study addresses is how to accommodate the needs of implicit or explicit instruction of grammar of established grammatical approaches to the needs of French L2 students learning intermediate level English as a third language at a French-based university, Université St. Joseph (USJ). Experimentation on the methods used on control and experimental groups of undergraduates through varieties of tasks, analysis of its effects and a detailed study are of particular value to Applied Linguistics and to Teaching English as a Foreign Language. The results of the comparison between direct grammar learners and indirect grammar learners that this study offers seek to reveal the basis of this research: whether explicit grammar learning is better achieved when compared to implicit grammar learning by third language intermediate learners.