Speaker
Description
This study examined individual cases of beginner- and intermediate-level learners in increasing time-pressured tasks, seeking to determine whether each learner could achieve the goal of repeating the same information in less time. Results suggested that the intermediate learners repeated more information and were more able to reorganize their ideas into shorter utterances in subsequent task iterations. The presentation will also discuss how teachers might evaluate the suitability of task repetition for specific learners.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
In this study, a case study approach was used to explore the associations between proficiency level and performance in increasing time-pressured task repetition activities, examining data from task performances across an academic semester. The research questions focused on: 1) the amount of information learners were able to repeat across 3 iterations of a task, 2) how each learner reorganized information in subsequent task iterations, and 3) CALF measures of improvement across performances.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
While all 4 students made fluency gains, results suggested that within lessons, the 2 intermediate learners repeated more information which was reorganized into shortened utterances in subsequent task iterations. Furthermore, the 2 beginner students repeated fewer utterances with more grammatical inaccuracies, although errors were often unique to a particular performance. In general, performance across the semester was stable for all 4 learners. The presentation will conclude by discussing how teachers might evaluate the suitability of task repetition for specific groups of learners and implementing task repetition to investigate learner development in terms of task outcomes.
Abstract section 5: References
Bygate, M. (2020). Some directions for the possible survival of TBLT as a real world project. Language Teaching, 53(3), 275-288.
de Jong, N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2011). Fluency training in the ESL classroom: An experimental study of fluency development and proceduralization. Language Learning, 61(2), 533-568.
Ellis, R. (2009). Task‐based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Research into task repetition has mainly focused comparisons of different task conditions (Bygate, 2020). Yet given that tasks are meaningful goal-directed activities with real world outcomes (Ellis, 2009), it is important to investigate desired task outcomes in addition to performance measures of complexity, accuracy, lexis and fluency (CALF). While research has shown that increasing time-pressured tasks can promote fluency development through the repetition of lexis (de Jong & Perfetti, 2011), little is known about the nature of language that learners repeat and how well it aligns with the task’s goal of repeating the same information in less time.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Data were collected from 4 students from 2 proficiency levels (beginners and intermediate), with 3 performances transcribed from 8 lessons across a semester, a total of 96 performances. To examine whether learners achieved the task goal of repeating the same information in less time, utterances used in all 3 performances were identified and compared with the amount of language produced. The repeated language was also analyzed in terms of utterance length and CALF measures.
| Title | Performance goals and task repetition |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |