The Influence of Choice The Influence of Choice Upon Complex Output in Upon Complex Output in TBLTTBLTJohn ThurmanHokkaido University3rd Biennial International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching13-16 September 2009Lancaster University

johnt@imc.hokudai.ac.jp

The QuestionThe QuestionWill a method of increasing students’

interest in conducting a task, that of the introduction of topic choice, have an effect upon the complexity of the oral output of the students?◦The introduction topic choice has shown

to improve participants’ interest in conducting a language learning task (Thurman, 2008), intrinsic motivation (Zuckerman et al, 1978), vigilance (Dember et al, 1992), and to reduce anxiety (Stotland & Blumenthal, 1964).

Complexity in TBLTComplexity in TBLTConcerns the cognitive demands of

a task and the attentional resources that students utilize during a task

Highly Important.◦AILA 2008

Often a central area of research (e.g., Gilabert, 2007), such as in Skehan’s (2007) Trade-off and Robinson’s (2007) Cognition models of language acquisition.

Complexity . . .Complexity . . .Indicates change and

development in the interlanguage system.

Is based on the ability of learners to take risks and use more language subsystems with the possibility that such language may not be controlled effectively.

Is how advanced (i.e., subordinated) the language is.

Complexity . . .Complexity . . .Concerns cognitive factors

affecting students’ cognitive challenge:◦Resource-directing: Demands which

direct learner attention and effort in using the L2 system.

◦Resource-dispersing: Demands which increase task complexity without directing learner attention and effort to any particular aspects of language code (i.e., planning).

Assessing Complexity . . .Assessing Complexity . . .Interactional

◦TurnsGrammatical

◦SubordinationLexical

◦Variation◦Density◦Sophistication

Would positive affect* Would positive affect* influence complexity?influence complexity?Isen (2000, 2002):

◦More willing to take a chance◦More exploration and trying new things◦Increases in variety-seeking◦Increases cognitive flexibility◦Promotes effective thinking

Fredrickson (2001):◦Broadens the scope of attention and

cognition◦Creates urge to explore and take in

new information* Positive emotions, greater interest, greater intrinsic motivation

Would positive affect* Would positive affect* influence complexity?influence complexity?McDaniel et al (2000):

◦May reduce costs required to allocate attention to various aspects of text processing

◦May allow reader to focus on organizational and structural elements and less on extracting meaning

Hidi (1990):◦Greater automaticity of attentional

allocation◦Involves attention, concentration,

persistence* Positive emotions, greater interest, greater intrinsic motivation

Would positive affect* Would positive affect* influence complexity?influence complexity?Rowe et al (2007):

◦Decreases capacity to processing irrelevant information

◦Facilitates tasks requiring a more global style of information processing

Robinson (2007):◦Affect plays a greater role on speech

production, interaction, uptake, memory and focus on form for complex tasks

* Positive emotions, greater interest, greater intrinsic motivation

Would positive affect* Would positive affect* influence complexity?influence complexity?Derryberry & Tucker (1994):

◦Motivational processes in part control attention

◦Influences direction (spotlight) and breadth (zoom lens) of attention

◦Breadth of attention is the working memory

◦Attention to local features requires left-brain; to global features requires right-brain

◦Anxiety enhances left-brain processing Anxiety reduced by choice (Stotland &

Blumenthal, 1964)* Positive emotions, greater interest, greater intrinsic motivation

ParticipantsParticipants43 pairs of students

◦31 female/female pairs◦10 male/male pairs◦ 2 mixed sex pairs

First-year university students in Japan taking a required English communication course

Average age = 19 yearsFirst language was JapaneseBeginning

Tasks (One-way, Info-gap)Tasks (One-way, Info-gap)Descriptive tasks

◦Modified pictures from Nicholson and Sakuno (1982)

Narrative tasks◦6-pane stories in Heaton (1966)

ProceduresProcedures

Descriptive task; No Descriptive task; No ChoiceChoice

Descriptive task; Limited Descriptive task; Limited Choice*Choice*

*chosen by 26 pairs

*chosen by 8 pairs

*chosen by 6 pairs

Narrative TaskNarrative Task

No Choice of Topic Limited Choice of Topic(chosen by 25 pairs)

Limited Choice of Topic(chosen by 6 pairs)

Limited Choice of Topic(chosen by 9 pairs)

Measures of ComplexityMeasures of ComplexityInteractional

◦Turns (Duff, 1986)◦Words per Turn (Duff, 1986)

Grammatical◦Ratio of S-nodes per T-Unit (Gilabert,

2007)Lexical (Wolfe-Quintero et al, 1998)

◦Ratio of lexical to function words◦Percentage of lexical to total words◦Percentage of advanced words◦Guiraud’s Index (Gilabert, 2007)

ResultsResultsSignificance examined using t-tests

(non-significant results not shown to save space)

Interest (from survey Interest (from survey data)data)

(solid lines = all students who participated; dashed lines = same pairs only)

Time on Task (Time on Task (secondsseconds))

Results from Transcript Results from Transcript datadataFirst two minutes after the

students commenced the interaction in a consistent fashion.◦In order to more evenly account for

early finishers.

Words-per-turnWords-per-turn

Ratio of S-nodes per T-Ratio of S-nodes per T-UnitUnit

Guiraud’s Index of Lexical Guiraud’s Index of Lexical RichnessRichness

ConclusionsConclusionsThe descriptive task seemed to be

the most salient with statistically significantly greater increases of words-per-turn (interactional complexity), subordination (grammatical complexity), and Guiraud’s Index (lexical complexity).

Task affect (Interest or time-on-task) was mixed but higher for both types of tasks.

WHAT IS THE WHAT IS THE MOTIVATIONAL BASIS MOTIVATIONAL BASIS OF TBLT?OF TBLT?

Food for Thought

Affect in TBLTAffect in TBLTSome researchers in the TBLT

field claim that task-based language teaching is more motivating, compared to the more traditional (i.e., P-P-P) methods.

Why is TBLT more motivating?

Affect in TBLTAffect in TBLTDornyei (2002) found that the pooled

scores of the pairs of course attitude and task attitude correlated significantly with the number of words produced by the pairs and the number of turns by the pairs (Table 5).◦In this study, there were no significant

correlations of Task Interest nor Time on Task with any of the dependent variables for either the descriptive task or the narrative task (limited choice treatments only).

Affect in TBLTAffect in TBLTGilabert (2007) found that

students had significantly higher stress with a There-and-Then narrative task, as compared to a Here-and-Now narrative task, and significantly higher confidence with the Here-and-Now task, but there were no differences for interest or motivation between the two types of tasks.

Affect in TBLTAffect in TBLTThere has been the claim that

The Attribution Model of motivation (Skehan, 1989) may be a motivational basis in TBLT*◦The reason for this was that students

would attribute success to their skill or knowledge more in the TBLT environment, as compared to luck.

*The claim was not made by Skehan.

Affect in TBLTAffect in TBLTIt is my belief that the motivational

basis of TBLT may be the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of human motivation◦In tapes, students would at times be

surprised as to how well they did on the task and in using English (i.e., competence)

◦There is a great deal of autonomy in TBLT. Even though there may be focused tasks (Ellis, 2003), students still have the autonomy as to where to start and which language to use.

How well does the How well does the motivational basis of TBLT motivational basis of TBLT relate to a new model of relate to a new model of language learning language learning motivation?motivation?

The L2 Motivational Self The L2 Motivational Self SystemSystemDeveloped in Dörnyei (2009) based

on the theory of ideal self and ought-to self by Markus and Nurius (1986).◦The ideal self refers to the attributes

that one would ideally like to posses. Includes integrative and internalized

instrumental motivations.◦The ought-to self refers to the attributes

one believes one ought to posses. Includes the more extrinsic types of

instrumental motives.

A Link Between SDT and the A Link Between SDT and the L2 Motivational Self SystemL2 Motivational Self SystemNoels (2009) maintains that SDT, with

its levels of internalisation of engaging in an activity, from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation, underscores the central role of the self in language learning and that SDT is closely aligned with the L2 Motivational Self System.

Lynch et al (2009) found that the support of autonomy was related to lower ideal self- and actual self-concept* discrepancies.

*Aspects of the self-concept deemed acceptable “determined by the nature of one’s interactions with others.”

TBLT and the L2 Motivational TBLT and the L2 Motivational Self SystemSelf SystemIt is intuitively intriguing that TBLT,

with its design of the tasks that fosters actual language use, with its implementation features that fosters autonomy for the students, and with its syllabus designed to meet the needs of the students, will promote the L2 Motivational Self System.

Future research combining L2 Motivational Self System research methodology and TBLT could prove to be insightful in linking a teaching methodology and a motivational theory in the classroom.

Thank You for ListeningThank You for ListeningIs there a possibility for a

colloquium in 2011 where affect (motivation, beliefs, anxiety, etc.) in TBLT is a central research focus?

John Thurman◦johnt@imc.hokudai.ac.jp

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