Acquisition of grammar through comprehensible input versus explicit instruction

This paper examines the significance of acquired grammar through comprehensible input and the value of learned grammar through explicit instruction. Acquisition of grammar through listening and reading will enable learners to apply it intuitively in the actual language use without paying conscious attention to forms of the language. Learning grammar through explicit instruction will take up massive amounts of students’ time and mental energy and they may not be able to apply the learned rules in the actual performance. The data, collected through a test on grammar and through discussions, revealed that performance of the learners in the test was on a par with their exposure to aural and written input and their acquired competence. Therefore, it is suggested that if the time spend on learning conscious rules is used for acquiring language through input, learners can acquire a great deal of language and they can incidentally acquire grammar while they are exposed to repetitive comprehensible input.