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TASK-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING: INVESTIGATING THE DYNAMICS OF LEARNERS’ ORAL INTERACTION

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 5, 570 - 580, 26.08.2016

Abstract

For learning to occur, interaction among learners is vital. Interaction is crucial as a channel for exchanging knowledge that would promote both development and learning. In second language learning, interaction has always been regarded as important in the language classroom as it is believed that language is best learned and taught through interaction. Interaction is important due to its contribution to gains in second language (L2) acquisition. One possibility of providing interaction opportunities to learners is through the use of tasks.  The aim of this study was to investigate how learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) interacted during task completion. The investigation focused on the dynamics of learner interaction and the kind of oral interactions generated by the participants. Two different communication task types were used in this study i.e. jigsaw and decision-making. The data for the study comprised transcribed recordings of learner interaction working on both given task types. They were analyzed focusing on the social processing. Findings revealed that the participants attempted task completion collaboratively for both task types. The collaborative interaction was characterized by argumentative episodes. However, close examination showed that the participants engaged in more intensive argumentative negotiations which were highly collaborative during decision-making task completion than during task completion of the jigsaw task type. The results suggest that communication task types can be used to elicit collaborative interaction episodes with argumentative negotiations and these kinds of interactions are believed to be important particularly for learners at the tertiary level. The findings are discussed in relation to their pedagogical implications in the EFL classrooms.

Keywords: oral interaction, collaborative interaction, argumentative episodes, communication tasks

References

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  • Basturkmen, H. (2002). Negotiating meaning in seminar-type discussion and EAP. English for Specific Purposes, 21(3), 233-242.
  • Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for Education: An introduction to theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  • Brooks, F., Donato, R., & Mcglone, V. (1997). When are they going to say ‘it’ right? Understanding learner talk during pair-work activity. Foreign Language Annals, 30(4), 524-541.
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  • Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In J. P. Lantolf & G. Appel (Eds.), Vygotskian approaches to second language research (pp. 33-56). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
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  • Mercer, N., Phillips, T. & Somekh, B. (1991). Research notes, spoken language and new technology (SLANT). Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7, 195-202.
  • Merriam, S. B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Nassaji, H., & Tian, J. (2010). Collaboative and individual output tasks and their effects on learning English phrasal verbs. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 397-419.
  • Nuevo, A. M., Adams, R., & Ross-Feldman, L. (2011). Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Second language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and performance (pp. 175-204). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.
  • Ohta, A. S. (1995). Applying sociocultural theory to an analysis of learner discourse: Learner-learner collaborative interaction in the Zone of Proximal Development. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 93-121.
  • Olsen, J. W.-B., & Kagan, S. (1992). About cooperative learning. In C. Kessler (Ed.), Cooperative language learning (pp. 1-30). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Pica, T., Kanagy, R., & Falodun, J. (1993). Choosing and using communicative tasks for second language instruction. In Crookes, G. & Gass, S. (Eds.), Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice (pp. 9-34). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
  • Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Stake, R. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 97-114). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), The handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 471-483). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2000). Task-based second language learning: The uses of the first language. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 251-274.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2001). Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: Exploring task effects. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P. & Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 99-118). Essex, UK: Pearson Education.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2002). Talking it through: Two French immersion learners’ response to reformulation. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(3), 285-304.
  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Wells, G. (1986). The meaning makers: Children learning language and using language to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.
  • Yang, Y., & Lyster, R. (2010). Effects of form-focused practice and feedback on Chinese EFL learners’ acquisition of regular and irregular past tense form. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 235-263.
  • Yi, B., & Sun, Z. (2013). An empirical study of the effectiveness of negotiation of meaning in L2 vocabulary acquisition of Chinese learners of English. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 120-131.
Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 5, 570 - 580, 26.08.2016

Abstract

References

  • Bailey, C. A. (2007). A guide to qualitative field research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
  • Basturkmen, H. (2002). Negotiating meaning in seminar-type discussion and EAP. English for Specific Purposes, 21(3), 233-242.
  • Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for Education: An introduction to theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  • Brooks, F., Donato, R., & Mcglone, V. (1997). When are they going to say ‘it’ right? Understanding learner talk during pair-work activity. Foreign Language Annals, 30(4), 524-541.
  • Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. K. (Eds.). (2001). Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing. New York, NY: Longman.
  • Cohen, E. (1994). Restructuring the classroom: Conditions for productive small groups. Review of Educational Research, 64(1), 1-35.
  • Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In J. P. Lantolf & G. Appel (Eds.), Vygotskian approaches to second language research (pp. 33-56). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
  • Ellis, R. (1999). Learning a Second Language through Interaction. Philadelphia PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
  • Ellis, R. (2004). Task-based language learning. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Franco, M. E. P. (1996). Designing a writing component for teen courses at a Brazilian language institute. In Kathleen G. (Ed.), Teachers as course developers (119-150). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Gerlach, J. M. (1994). Is this collaboration? New Directions in Teaching and Learning, 59, 5-14.
  • Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Pak, CA: Sage.
  • Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1989). Language, context, and text. London, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/English-As-A-Foreign-Language-Efl.htm
  • Kumpulainen, K., & Wray, D. (Eds). (2002). Classroom interaction and social learning: From theory to practice. New York, NY: Routledge Falmer.
  • Lantolf, J. P. (2000). Second language learning as a mediated process. Language Teaching, 33(2), 79-96.
  • Lee, J. F. (2000). Tasks and communicating in language classrooms. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
  • Mackey, A. (2007). Introduction: the role of conversational interaction in second language acquisition. In A. Mackey (Ed.), Conversational interaction in second language acquisition: A collection of empirical studies (pp. 1-25). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Mercer, N., Phillips, T. & Somekh, B. (1991). Research notes, spoken language and new technology (SLANT). Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7, 195-202.
  • Merriam, S. B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Nassaji, H., & Tian, J. (2010). Collaboative and individual output tasks and their effects on learning English phrasal verbs. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 397-419.
  • Nuevo, A. M., Adams, R., & Ross-Feldman, L. (2011). Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Second language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and performance (pp. 175-204). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.
  • Ohta, A. S. (1995). Applying sociocultural theory to an analysis of learner discourse: Learner-learner collaborative interaction in the Zone of Proximal Development. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 93-121.
  • Olsen, J. W.-B., & Kagan, S. (1992). About cooperative learning. In C. Kessler (Ed.), Cooperative language learning (pp. 1-30). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Pica, T., Kanagy, R., & Falodun, J. (1993). Choosing and using communicative tasks for second language instruction. In Crookes, G. & Gass, S. (Eds.), Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice (pp. 9-34). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
  • Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Stake, R. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 97-114). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), The handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 471-483). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2000). Task-based second language learning: The uses of the first language. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 251-274.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2001). Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: Exploring task effects. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P. & Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 99-118). Essex, UK: Pearson Education.
  • Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2002). Talking it through: Two French immersion learners’ response to reformulation. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(3), 285-304.
  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Wells, G. (1986). The meaning makers: Children learning language and using language to learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.
  • Yang, Y., & Lyster, R. (2010). Effects of form-focused practice and feedback on Chinese EFL learners’ acquisition of regular and irregular past tense form. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 235-263.
  • Yi, B., & Sun, Z. (2013). An empirical study of the effectiveness of negotiation of meaning in L2 vocabulary acquisition of Chinese learners of English. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 120-131.
There are 36 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Hazleena Baharun

Harison Mohd Sidek

Mohd Muzhafar Mohd Idrus

Noor Saazai Mat Saad

Publication Date August 26, 2016
Submission Date August 24, 2016
Published in Issue Year 2016Volume: 2 Issue: 5

Cite

EndNote Baharun H, Mohd Sidek H, Mohd Idrus MM, Mat Saad NS (August 1, 2016) TASK-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING: INVESTIGATING THE DYNAMICS OF LEARNERS’ ORAL INTERACTION. IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences 2 5 570–580.

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