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EXTRAMURAL ENGLISH ACTIVITIES AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNER DIFFERENCES and unconscious language learning is a more complex phenomenon and cannot be captured solely through the learning vs acguisition dichotomy. Additionally, several further issues should be considered, such as noticing and the role of awareness as well as intention, which are more suitable to better capture the essence of the learning processes taking place in second language acquisition through EE activities. Krashen (1982) also claimed that explicit language teaching and metalinguistic awareness have a negligible impact on the success of second language acquisition. Most researchers in the field now agree that the opposite is true and that explicit language teaching, as well as a higher level of metalinguistic awareness, largely contribute to the success of second language acquisition (Alanen 1995, Brooks—Kempe 2013, DeKeyser 1995, Hama—Leow 2010, Leow 1997, 2001, Rebuschat—Williams 2012, Rosa—Leow 2004, Rosa—O’Neill 1999). Even though there is consensus among researchers that awareness is important, there is still debate concerning the extent of its significance in the implicit and explicit processes in their impact on language acquisition (Hama—Leow 2010, Leow 2015a, 2015b, Williams 2005). Recent research in the field, therefore, focuses on two major dimensions characterizing the learning process (Reinders—Benson 2017: 563): 1. intention, i.e., whether learning in extramural English contexts is intentional (with learners’ attention focused on language learning) or incidental (with learners’ attention focused elsewhere and language learning as a by-product) (DeKeyser 2008); 2. consciousness, i.e., whether learning in extramural English contexts is explicit (adding to the learner’s conscious knowledge) or implicit (adding to abilities or skills that lie below the level of conscious awareness) (Ellis 2008). The following sections aim to provide an overview of the concepts highlighted by Reinders and Benson (2017). First, the role of intention in learning through extramural English activities is discussed, followed by an overview of explicit and implicit learning theories. 2.2.2.1 The role of intention in SLA: incidental and intentional learning According to DeKeyser (2008), intention to learn an L2 is a key factor in second language acquisition. Learners may decide to learn certain grammatical rules and vocabulary or they simply acquire them unknowingly, i.e., foreign language acquisition may occur through intentional or incidental learning. The Incidental Learning Hypothesis holds that learners may acquire new linguistic forms + 24 +
