Which is more effective in teaching grammar to L2 learners, implicit or explicit approach?

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Research says explicit, followed by communicative application of rules. Context however is very influential. in England, secondary MFL, participant teachers fully supported in their CLIL approach were observed sustaining explicit metalinguistic activities in the target language, effectively conducting both implicit and explicit focus on form. Interestingly, two were observed in a selective school, and one in an inner London comprehensive. Multicultural context were their only common feature. I have just completed a PhD on this topic. Liviero, 2014; Exeter.ac.uk ORE repository

One often-cited study supporting the view that explicit is better is Norris and Ortega (2000):

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0023-8333.00136/abstract

However, I think that we shouldn't take this to mean we should only do 100% explicit and 0% implicit. There are pros and cons to both, and so the best kind of teaching should try to strike a balance between the two. In thinking through these issues, you might find these articles useful:

• languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/Implicit+vs.+Explicit+Teaching
• eslbase.com/articles/grammar-implicit-explicit
• myenglishpages.com/blog/explicit-implicit-grammar-teaching/