Is explicit instruction effective? The learning of English noun-noun and adjective-noun structures by L1 Spanish school children (¿Es efectiva la instrucción explícita? El aprendizaje de las estructuras nombre-nombre y adjetivo-nombre del inglés por escolares de L1 español)

The relative order of constituents within determiner phrases (DP) in which the noun is modified by an adjective (AN) has traditionally been taught in English as an L2 subject in the Spanish context. This is not the case for the same type of phrase in which the N-head is modified by another N (NN). This study aims to assess the impact of direct instruction in English NNs as part of the school curriculum. Acceptability judgement data and production have been elicited from two groups of L1 Spanish-L2 English children living in Spain, one receiving explicit NN instruction and the other following the regular only-AN instruction. Results show an advancement of the instruction group not only in NNs but also in ANs. This has a double implication: that NNs and ANs might share a common morphosyntactic underlying structure and that explicit teaching of grammatical properties that are shared by different structures might result in better attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]