TASK COMPLEXITY, LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, AND KOREAN EFL LEARNERS’ QUESTION DEVELOPMENT

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
YouJin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Simple Complex ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Question Development ◽  
Korean Efl Learners

Building on the cognitive and interactive perspectives of task research, the cognition hypothesis states that increasing task complexity promotes greater interaction and feedback and thus facilitates second language (L2) development (Robinson, 2001b, 2007a). To date, very little research has explored this claim during learner-learner interactions in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom contexts in which a task-based syllabus is implemented. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of task complexity on the occurrence of interaction-driven learning opportunities and question development in such a classroom context. Korean university students (N= 191) from four intact English classes were randomly assigned to one comparison group and three experimental groups with various task-complexity levels (i.e., simple, +complex, and ++complex) based on Robinson’s framework. Their interactions were audiorecorded, and occurrences of learning opportunities, operationalized as language-related episodes (LREs), were identified. Question development was identified between pretest and posttests on the basis of the learners’ stage advancement using Pienemann and Johnston’s (1987) developmental sequence. Results indicated that more complex tasks promoted a greater number of LREs and particularly led to LREs targeting developmentally advanced question structures, which result in question development.

scholarly journals A Study of Young Gifted Learners’ and Their Teachers’ Perceptions of Effective EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Rana Yıldırım ◽  
Duygu İspinar Akcayoglu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Gifted Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Repertory Grids ◽  
Research Questions

This study compared gifted learners’ and their English teachers’ perceptions of who is an effective English as a foreign language (EFL) learner. The research questions include the following: (a) What are young gifted learners’ perceptions of an effective EFL learner? (b) What are English teachers’ perceptions of an effective EFL learner? and (c) Is there a match between young gifted learners’ and their English teachers’ perceptions of an effective EFL learner? The participants were two gifted learners attending the English classes at the Science and Arts Center (BILSEM) in Adana, Turkey, and two English teachers working with these students. Data were collected through repertory grids, written accounts of the students, and retrospective interviews. Findings include implications for designing appropriate instruction for gifted EFL learners and teacher educators who work with these specific learners.

scholarly journals Task repetition and the public performance of speaking tasks in EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Newton ◽  
Bao Trang Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Public

Abstract This study investigated the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs) in interactive tasks performed by pairs of Vietnamese English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and the extent to which linguistic knowledge targeted in these LREs was transferred to subsequent public performance (PP) of the same tasks in front of the class. Task performance data was collected from 24 pairs of learners from six intact grade 11 EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school as they carried out two interactive speaking tasks in consecutive weeks, first privately in pairs and then, within the same lesson, publically in front of the class. Teachers and learners were also interviewed. Results showed LREs to be frequent in task rehearsals. The majority of LREs were resolved correctly by the learners and led to more accurate use of the targeted linguistic items in subsequent public performance. The results and supporting interview data shows how, in this school, the practice of asking learners to repeat the performance of tasks in front of the class positively affected learner engagement and enriched the language learning opportunities available through interactive oral tasks.

Task complexity, L2 proficiency and EFL learners’ L1 use in task-based peer interaction

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110046
Author(s):  
Jinfen Xu ◽  
Yumei Fan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
First Language ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Complex Tasks ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
L1 Use ◽  
The Impact

This study is aimed to identify the effects of task complexity on first language (L1) use and the functions it may serve when two groups of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) work on collaborative tasks. Twenty-four pairs of Chinese EFL learners from two universities were assigned to a lower-proficiency and a higher-proficiency group, each with twelve pairs. Each group completed two collaborative tasks of different cognitive complexity. The results showed that task complexity had an appreciable impact on the use of L1 and its functions. It is also found that the impact of task complexity was dependent on learners’ English proficiency. Specifically, the higher-proficiency group employed more L1 to perform complex tasks than they did in the simple versions of the tasks. These learners also devoted significantly more L1 turns to fulfill the functions of metacognitive and grammar talk to complete the complex tasks. These trends did not hold for the lower-proficiency group.

scholarly journals BRAZILIAN EFL LEARNERS’ AWARENESS ABOUT L2 PHONES: IS MALL PRONOUNCED AS ‘MAL’?

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-258
Author(s):  
Hanna Kivistö-de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Lower Sensitivity ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Pronunciation Instruction ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to examine the extent of non-verbalizable knowledge L1 Brazilian Portuguese (BP) learners of English possess about the segmental inventory of the L2. The study had two aims: i) to determine to what extent L1 BP EFL learners are aware of contrastive and non-contrastive L2 segments, ii) to determine which type of segments present the lowest level of awareness. To the date, little research has been carried out about the non-verbalizable aspect of L2 phonological awareness, most studies having relied on participants’ verbalization of the acquired knowledge (e.g., KENNEDY & TROFIMOVICH, 2010; WREMBEL, 2011). Whereas language learners are frequently taught grammar explicitly, pronunciation of the L2 is rarely addressed in the foreign language classroom. Moreover, phonology is in nature less susceptible to conscious processing than other aspects of L2 learning, making the noticing, and especially the explicit explanation, of phonological aspects difficult. Nevertheless, high L2 phonological awareness is beneficial for L2 pronunciation (KIVISTÖ-DE SOUZA, 2015), making its examination a priority in the foreign language classroom context. The participants of the study were 71 advanced EFL learners and 18 native speakers of American English. Participants performed a perception test which presented English segments spoken by native and non-native speakers. The ability to identify pronunciation deviations in the non-native speaker trials was taken as a measure for phonological awareness. The results showed that the L1 BP participants manifested a significantly lower sensitivity to English segmental phonology than the native English speakers (F[1, 87] = 40.56, p <.001, η2=.31). Pronunciation deviations involving consonants were identified to the greatest extent (52%), whereas the trials involving short-lag VOTs were identified the poorest (33%). The results reveal a need for explicit pronunciation instruction and the employment of consciousness-raising activities in the Brazilian EFL classroom.

scholarly journals The assessment of Bosnian EFL learners’ knowledge by two different measures: test and writing assignment

ExELL ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Tankosić ◽  
Vildana Dubravac
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Writing Assignment ◽  
Two Measures

AbstractEnglish is taught as a foreign language in elementary and high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). However, since the number of English classes per week is very limited they should be utilized in the best possible way to produce proficient users of English. Nowadays, when language proficiency is viewed as one’s ability to speak and write in the target language and not about it, the need for the proficiency evaluation in schools arises. The present study attempts to shed a spot of light on this issue, investigating two very common ways of assessing students’ knowledge in schools, namely tests and writing assignments. Hence, through the interviews with English teachers and the analysis of students’ tests and writing assignments, the current paper explores the ways in which these two measures are realized, the tasks they consist of, the type of linguistic knowledge they are used to evaluate, their levels of difficulty, and the type of corrective feedback teachers provide on both of them. The results suggest that teachers on both measure rather students’ explicit than their implicit knowledge, focusing much more on accuracy than fluency development.

scholarly journals Task repetition and the public performance of speaking tasks in EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Newton ◽  
Bao Trang Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Public

Abstract This study investigated the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs) in interactive tasks performed by pairs of Vietnamese English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and the extent to which linguistic knowledge targeted in these LREs was transferred to subsequent public performance (PP) of the same tasks in front of the class. Task performance data was collected from 24 pairs of learners from six intact grade 11 EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school as they carried out two interactive speaking tasks in consecutive weeks, first privately in pairs and then, within the same lesson, publically in front of the class. Teachers and learners were also interviewed. Results showed LREs to be frequent in task rehearsals. The majority of LREs were resolved correctly by the learners and led to more accurate use of the targeted linguistic items in subsequent public performance. The results and supporting interview data shows how, in this school, the practice of asking learners to repeat the performance of tasks in front of the class positively affected learner engagement and enriched the language learning opportunities available through interactive oral tasks.

scholarly journals Task repetition and the public performance of speaking tasks in EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Newton ◽  
Bao Trang Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Public

Abstract This study investigated the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs) in interactive tasks performed by pairs of Vietnamese English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and the extent to which linguistic knowledge targeted in these LREs was transferred to subsequent public performance (PP) of the same tasks in front of the class. Task performance data was collected from 24 pairs of learners from six intact grade 11 EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school as they carried out two interactive speaking tasks in consecutive weeks, first privately in pairs and then, within the same lesson, publically in front of the class. Teachers and learners were also interviewed. Results showed LREs to be frequent in task rehearsals. The majority of LREs were resolved correctly by the learners and led to more accurate use of the targeted linguistic items in subsequent public performance. The results and supporting interview data shows how, in this school, the practice of asking learners to repeat the performance of tasks in front of the class positively affected learner engagement and enriched the language learning opportunities available through interactive oral tasks.

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