Abstract
This study investigated the degree to which L2 learners of English possess implicit and explicit knowledge. Two types of tests, one without hints and one with hints, contained the same 12 erroneous sentences. Twenty-eight Japanese university students were first provided with tests without hints, directed to underline the erroneous parts of the 12 sentences and asked to correct the errors. Then, the participants were given tests with hints (i.e., underlining of errors) and asked to correct the errors. They were also asked to write relevant rules upon which they had based their corrections. The results showed that the participants corrected errors significantly better than they provided correct rules, indicating that they possessed implicit knowledge of the targeted rules. However, it was also revealed that Japanese learners of English seem to have less implicit knowledge than German learners of English (Green & Hecht, 1992). Another finding was that the participants corrected more errors in a test with hints than in a test without hints. In other words, underlining of errors in a test affected the participants' performance. Furthermore, I argue that tests with underlined errors may overestimate levels of implicit knowledge.
