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Application of Interactional Tasks in Foreign Language Pedagogy

Junko Hondoj.hondo@lancaster.ac.uk

Paper Presentation at the International Conference on Task Based Language Teaching

September, 2005 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 

Mitoko Yamabemitoko@cat.zero.ad.jp

Tsuda College

Junichi Saitojunta@tkk.att.ne.jp

Kanagawa University

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Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT)

The primary features of tasks:1) an activity or work 2) that encompasses a specific goal or

purpose 3) that facilitates language learning 4) via language use 5) focusing on meaning

“form is best learnt when the learner’sattention is on meaning” (Prabhuquoted by Brumfit, 1984), Focus on Form (Johnson, 1983, Widdowson, 1978Long, 1991, Doughty &Williams, 1998)

Tasks “provide a vehicle for thepresentation of appropriate targetlanguage samples to learners” (Longand Crookes, 1992. p. 43 )

Communicative LanguageTeaching (CLT) i.e. the language should be presented in such ways as to reveal its character as communication (Allen and Widdowson, 1979, Johnson and Morrow, 1981 among others)

Advanced concerns regarding theproduct of CLT as fluent butinaccurate language use

↓

Partial response: Development of TBLT 1970 – current

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Interaction Hypothesis : Socio-Cultural Perspectives

“negotiation of meaning, and especiallynegotiation work that triggers interactionaladjustment … facilitates acquisition” (Long,1996, pp. 451-2) - Line of feedback studies

Re introduction of ZPD (Vygotsky,193?)“Peer learning has the potential of learners toshare their strength with one another,together producing performance that is of a higher level than” individual learning (Ohta,2001, pp. 74).

Socio-cultural oriented claims also found inDonato, 1988, Lantolf, 1990 among others.

Having these additional theoretical supports for TBLT -

How applicable is TBLT in FL settings?

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Research Questions

I. Does peer interaction provide scaffolding for language learning in FLA classes?

II. What type of feedback in L2 takes place during peer interactions? eg: Clarification requests, Confirmation checks, Comprehension checks, Recasts, Overt error correction?

III. Are there any indications of interactional adjustments facilitating acquisition?

IV. Is form attainment possible during a task?

V. If item IV above is shown to be true, does form focused intervention play a role in the rate of attainment?

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Experimental Design

Pre-TaskActivity

Pre-test(immediatelybefore task)

Task(videotaped)

Form FocusedIntervention

Post-test(immediatelyafter task)

Class A X X X X X

Class B X X X X X

Class C X X X - X

Class D X X X - X

•EFL University Students in Japan, 4 classes, Total of 92 Ss•Closed, structure based interactional task: Spot the Difference •Unit type: dyads•Focused form: tense aspect was selected in consideration of learnability and it’s universally problematic character •Pre task activity: Familiarize Ss with the task activity

Sample Task Steps: 1. Spot the difference, 2. Discuss, 3. Revise entry Goal of Task: Form accuracy in entry submission 90 minutes total

Michael J. Fox has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease since 1991. He is an actor who played a major role in Back to the Future… In 1997, he stood on Capital Hill, shaking but strong enough to ask for government funds to find a medicine that controls the effect of the disease.

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L1 or Target Language?

L1 was the primary language for communication

No peer assistance, provision of scaffolding observed (Actual communication – ‘which is correct;’ ‘don’t know’ etc.)

In Target Language (TL), Clarification request? None Confirmation check? None Comprehension check?None Recast? None Error correction? None Interaction None

Mutual intelligibility might be relinquished prior to theonset of conversation in TL/L2

Learners who share the same L1,TL/L2 use in task is notguaranteed

Between NNS/NNS, individualparticipants might not own astrong belief system or hold a solidopinion of their own L2 use evento initiate an inquiry

Voices from the everydaypractitioner in the actualClassroom -

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L1? L2?L1? L2?

In all of our studies, L1 was used for the medium of the In all of our studies, L1 was used for the medium of the communication during the taskcommunication during the task

FL environmental issuesFL environmental issues Incentives for English learningIncentives for English learning Cultural mattersCultural matters ……....

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Form Attainment during a Task

0

5

10

15

20

25

ABCD

Delta STD

Class A 18 % 1.00

Class B 14 % 0.89

Class C 4 % 1.26

Class D 4 % 0.98

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Results:

I. Does peer interaction provide scaffolding in FLA classes? - Not observed

II. What type of feedback in L2 takes place during the interaction? - NONE

III. Is there any indication of interactional adjustment facilitating acquisition? Not necessarily acquisition but initial attainment of form is indicated by thethe positive delta.

IV. Is form attainment possible during a task? - YES

V. If the above is proven, does the form focused - YES intervention play a role in attainment rate?+ form focused intervention 14%-18% - form focused intervention 4%

+ form focus intervention group a higher attainment rate compared to the – form focus intervention.

Initial stage for attainment: Cognitive operational stage at which information is being encoded in the sensory system (in a bottom-up operation) or at which the executive control initiates the expression of attention (in a top

down operation). This is presumed to be either voluntary or involuntary. This may constitute preliminary uptake or the triggering agent for attainment.

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Discussion

What actually took place during the task?

• Noticing of form : 100% of differing forms were marked and notes made• The conveyance of information occurred in ‘semantically contingent sequences’

(Pica, 2002) “Conveyance of information and communication are similar, though not identical”

(Johnson, 1979, p. 200). • Contemplation of focused form occurred with repetition

Noticing form → Conveying information → Noticing the gap between what theyalready know about the particular form and what they do not know→Orienting/integrating knowledge within a contextualized situation → Operating reflected focused form on-line with repetition

• “conscious content can evoke selective attention…(attention) resembling a bright spot on the stage of immediate memory, directed there by a spotlight of attention…the sovereign remedy for learning” (Baars, 2002)

• noticing is the necessary condition for converting input to intake (Schmidt, 1990)

• contingency learning tuned with frequency (N. Ellis, 2004)

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Summary

• Among the learners who share the same L1, interaction in TL/L2 is not necessarily guaranteed.

• However, the specific type of task could promote the conveyance of information in contingent sequences – leading to securing the attentional orientation on the essential forms, and repeated reflections on target forms.

• Without the usage of TL/L2, the results still indicated the attainment of form during a task completion.

• Explicit information in the form focused intervention produced a higher attainment of forms.

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Thank you

j.hondo@lancaster.ac.uk mitoko@cat.zero.ad.jp

junta@tkk.att.ne.jp