Concept-based instruction and the acquisition of L2 Spanish

The rekindling of interest in teaching grammar in foreign language classrooms is arguably the result of concern about the lack of control over the grammatical features of the L2 (secondary language) observed among learners who have passed through pedagogical programs in which opportunities to communicate are given greater emphasis than are the formal features of learners' performance. A problem confronting those who wish to bring grammar back into focus is the need to develop a clear understanding of what grammar consists of in the first place (Odlin 1994). For instance, Ellis (2004) notes that L2 researchers do not seem to agree on either the relevance or even the relationship between such concepts as implicit versus explicit grammatical knowledge, automatic and controlled processing of grammar, metalinguistic knowledge versus grammatical rules, deductive versus inductive learning of grammatical features, and so on (see also Ellis 1997,2002; Hinkel and Fotos 2002).