Grammar can be used with some profit as a Monitor. Also, it can be used as subject-matter, or for “language appreciation”.
What Can be Monitored
The third condition of for Monitor use (Know the rule) drastically limits Monitor use.
Rules of English Formal linguists’ knowledge Applied linguists’ knowledge Best teachers’ knowledge Rules taught Rules actually learned by the best students Rules used in performance
For this reason, even the best students will be able to learn and utilize a small part of the grammar of a language as a conscious Monitor.
Rule Learnability
| Simple Form | Complex Form | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Meaning | third-person singular ending capitalize the first letter of every sentence | forming a “wh- questions” |
| Complex Meaning | definite and indefinite article | uses of the comma and semicolon |
| The Matrix of Rule Learnability |
Rules to be learned should thus meet these three requirements:
- Learnable (simple form and simple meaning).
- Portable (readily accessible knowledge).
- Not yet acquired.
Permutations and movements of constituents from one part of a sentence to another are quite difficult to do “in your head” while in the middle of a conversation or even when writing for content. For example, forming a “wh- questions” involves following operations:
- Placing the “wh- word” first (She reads what → What she reads).
- Performing subject-auxiliary inversion, unless there is a helping verb (No auxiliary is present).
- Performing “do-support” (What she reads → What do she reads).
- Inflecting “do” correctly for tense and number (What do she reads → What does she read?).
Table 4.1 4.2 Morpheme order obtained in monitor and monitor-free condition (Order: relative accuracy)
| Morpheme | Free I | Edited I | Free II | Edited II |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ing | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.88 | 0.82 |
| copula | 0.79 | 0.95 | 0.86 | 0.85 |
| plural | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.77 | 0.78 |
| article | 0.86 | 0.85 | 0.76 | 0.83 |
| auxiliary | 0.82 | 0.79 | 0.77 | 0.76 |
| irregular past | 0.69 | 0.81 | 0.82 | 0.77 |
| third person singular | 0.54 | 0.61 | 0.32 | 0.65 |
- Free: “write as much as you can” in five minutes.
- Edited: “pay careful attention to grammar and spelling and take your time”. Table 4.3 Accuracy differences in free and edited conditions for grammatical morphemes
Accuracy of Self-correction
Fig. 4.1. Self-correction accuracy.
When performers focus on form they can increase accuracy in unacquired but learned parts of grammar. However, the effects of self-correction on accuracy is modest. Second language performers can typically self-correct only a small percentage of their errors, even when deliberately focussed on form.
Error correction
Error correction affects learned competence by informing the learner that his or her current version of a conscious rule is wrong. It can be effective on written work and grammar exercises, though not in free conversation. This process can work if the rules are learnable, portable, and not yet acquired. In addition, frequency, contributions to communication, and irritability may be relevant