Task Complexity and Variation in L2 Learner’s Oral Discourse

There are many factors which affect the L2 learner’s performance at the levels of phonology, morphology and syntax. Consequently when L2 learners attempt to communicate in the target language, their language production will show systematic variability across the above mentioned linguistic domains. This variation can be attributed to some factors such as interlocutors, topic familiarity, prior knowledge, task condition, planning time and tasks types. This paper reports the results of an on going research investigating the issue of variability attributed to the task type. It is hypothesized that the particular type of task learners are required to perform will result in variation in their performance. Results of the statistical analyses of this study investigating the issue of variation in the performance of twenty L2 learners at the English department of Tabriz University provided evidence in support of the hypothesis that performance of L2 learners show systematic variability attributed to task

Investigating effects of task structure on EFL learner's oral performance

It is argued that tasks with different structures yield different performances in terms of accuracy, fluency and complexity. The present study is thus an attempt to investigate the impact of task structure on second language task performance. Thirty two upper-intermediate Iranian learners of English performed two narrative tasks (Structured vs. Unstructured) based on cartoon scripts. The performances, then, were recorded, transcribed and coded to measure the accuracy, fluency and complexity of the participants' performances. Next, the paired samples t-test was employed to analyze the collected data. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that task structure had no effect on the accuracy, fluency and complexity of performance. Findings have pedagogical implications in the area of syllabus design

Teacher-Students’ Interactions in Task-Based vs Form-Focused Instruction

International audienc

Task types and discursive features: mediating role of meta-talk in focus

Exploring opportunities by which learners can internalize new knowledge and consolidate existing knowledge has long been a point of interest in English as a foreign language research. This study investigated how meta-talk opportunities on discourse markers created by four task types including text reconstruction, dictogloss, translation and jigsaw can promote language learning at discourse level. To this end, 80 participants were assigned into four groups of twenty students. They were 10 pairs in each group. Having considered homogeneity issues in participants' selection, the researchers assigned one type of tasks to be performed in each group. Students' performances were audio recorded and transcribed for the purpose of analyzing the potentials of different tasks in engaging participants in language at the level of discourse through meta-talk opportunities. ANOVA results followed by post hoc pairwise comparisons indicated that translation and jigsaw tasks had the highest potentials and dictogloss and text reconstruction had the least potentials in creating meta-talk opportunities on discourse. The findings imply how design features of tasks set up differentiated language use. Also, the findings imply that teachers and material developers need to make principled decisions about which task has the highest potentials in maximizing learning opportunities

Examining Teacher and Student Gender Influence in Task-Prompted Oral L2 Variability

Variability appears to be a worthwhile strand for research in SLA arising out of the realistic, communicative approach to language learning. In accounting for variability, different frameworks have been proposed, each focusing on certain aspects of the learners. Gender is an instance of the variables that is “always present but not always apparent” (Sunderland, 2000, p. 203). In addressing the gap in literature on the relationship between gender, task and variable learner performance, this study concentrated on 20 male and 20 female university English majors’ fluency, complexity and accuracy. Spoken protocols as samples of their task-prompted monologic speech addressed to the same male and female teacher were transcribed and coded for each of the three variables. Results of 2×2 (i.e. teacher gender × student gender) Repeated Measure Mixed Factorial ANOVA indicated a) overall higher fluency when addressing the female teacher, b) no significant differences in complexity in terms of neither the teacher nor the participant gender, c) females’ higher accuracy regardless of the addressee, d) overall higher accuracy with the male teacher, and finally, and e) significantly higher accuracy in female participants’ speech addressed to the male teacher than in any other participant-teacher pair. Implications of the study are discussed in the light of earlier findings as well as theoretical perspectives in literature