6 research outputs found
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The Interactional Dimension of LOA: Within and Beyond the Classroom
Learners, teachers and peers constantly interact in classroom settings. Indeed, within the framework of learning-oriented assessment (LOA), the interactional dimension plays a critical role in bridging learning gaps (Purpura & Turner, 2014). For this reason, this dimension resounded throughout the talks at the 2014 Roundtable in Second Language Studies on Learning-Oriented Assessment. Although certain speakers discussed it as a component of classroom-based assessment (CBA), others proved that interaction applies not only to unplanned, oral exchanges in the classroom, but also to elicitations not involving the traditional agents of LOA. Technology can facilitate continued exchange beyond the classroom, and it can even provide a substitute for human interaction. Furthermore, as large-scale testing companies shift their focus to LOA, they recognize the importance of creating authentic scenarios which emulate real interactions. This paper surveys the different modes of interaction discussed by the speakers as facilitated in the classroom but also in these other interactional contexts
The Interactional Dimension of LOA: Within and Beyond the Classroom
Learners, teachers and peers constantly interact in classroom settings. Indeed, within the framework of learning-oriented assessment (LOA), the interactional dimension plays a critical role in bridging learning gaps (Purpura & Turner, 2014). For this reason, this dimension resounded throughout the talks at the 2014 Roundtable in Second Language Studies on Learning-Oriented Assessment. Although certain speakers discussed it as a component of classroom-based assessment (CBA), others proved that interaction applies not only to unplanned, oral exchanges in the classroom, but also to elicitations not involving the traditional agents of LOA. Technology can facilitate continued exchange beyond the classroom, and it can even provide a substitute for human interaction. Furthermore, as large-scale testing companies shift their focus to LOA, they recognize the importance of creating authentic scenarios which emulate real interactions. This paper surveys the different modes of interaction discussed by the speakers as facilitated in the classroom but also in these other interactional contexts
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Complex Dynamic Systems and Interlanguage Variability: Investigating Topic, Syntactic Complexity, and Accuracy in NS-NNS Written Interaction
Studies adopting a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory framework have often fallen into one of two camps: those investigating variable linguistic subsystems (namely, CAF studies) and those concerned with non-linguistic variables displaying the characteristics of dynamic systems, with little concern for their connection to linguistic development. Examining asynchronous interactional data in an 8-week email exchange between a bilingual speaker of Spanish and English and an advanced Chinese learner of English, this study attempts to reconcile these two camps by exploring the extent to which syntactic complexity and article accuracy vary situationally as a function of topic and willingness to communicate (WTC) in L2 written performance over time and by investigating any potential relationships between complexity and accuracy. A qualitative, inductive analysis reveals that topic bears the characteristics of a dynamic system. The results also show that, for both the native speaker (NS) and non-native speaker (NNS), syntactic complexity, measured as subordinate clauses per T-unit and complex nominals per T-unit, varies situationally with topic, shifting not just over time but within a single email. As might be anticipated, article accuracy exhibits the typical instability of a dynamic system for the NNS but not for the NS, whose stable performance may reflect a permanent attractor state. Both the NNS’ and NS’ article accuracy are subject to cross-linguistic influence. Evolving correlations between complexity and accuracy suggest that certain topics and the WTC associated with them may induce trade-offs between the two subsystems
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Introduction: Investigating Written Dyadic Interaction through a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory Perspective
Since its inception in the late 1960’s, the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has undergone many transformations. As pre-existing theories have been expanded upon and new theories introduced, researchers and practitioners have come to a deeper understanding of the second language (L2) learning process. The past two decades, in particular, have seen a shift in the way that L2 learning is conceived. Ever since Diane Larsen-Freeman published her seminal article on complex systems and L2 development (Larsen-Freeman, 1997), the theory known as Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has brought a new orientation into SLA discourse. Since then, researchers have transferred their attention from acquisition to development, linearity to nonlinearity, and stability to variability. It is this shift that provides the impetus for this special issue of the Teachers College Working Papers in TESOL and Applied Linguistics.
In this issue, four studies apply CDST concepts and various methods of data analysis to a single, naturalistic dataset, which consists of an asynchronous, dyadic written e-mail interaction between a native speaker (NS) and non-native speaker (NNS) of English. The findings within the different studies are varied and together provide a complex, yet not entirely complete, view of intercultural interaction and developing interlanguage as dynamic systems.
This introduction will provide some historical background for CDST, followed by a discussion of the characteristics of dynamic systems. Prior empirical research within the CDST framework will also be discussed. Finally, the context of the special issue will be described in more detail along with a brief summary of the four studies that comprise this special issue
Recommended from our members
The Interactional Dimension of LOA: Within and Beyond the Classroom
Learners, teachers and peers constantly interact in classroom settings. Indeed, within the framework of learning-oriented assessment (LOA), the interactional dimension plays a critical role in bridging learning gaps (Purpura & Turner, 2014). For this reason, this dimension resounded throughout the talks at the 2014 Roundtable in Second Language Studies on Learning-Oriented Assessment. Although certain speakers discussed it as a component of classroom-based assessment (CBA), others proved that interaction applies not only to unplanned, oral exchanges in the classroom, but also to elicitations not involving the traditional agents of LOA. Technology can facilitate continued exchange beyond the classroom, and it can even provide a substitute for human interaction. Furthermore, as large-scale testing companies shift their focus to LOA, they recognize the importance of creating authentic scenarios which emulate real interactions. This paper surveys the different modes of interaction discussed by the speakers as facilitated in the classroom but also in these other interactional contexts