This book examines current research centered on the second language classroom and the implications of this research for both the teaching and learning of foreign languages. It offers illuminating ...insights into the important relationship between research and teaching, and the inherent complexities of the teaching and learning of foreign languages in classroom settings.Offers an accessible overview of a range of research on instruction and learning in the L2 classroomBridges the relationship between research, teachers, and learnersHelps evolve the practice of dedicated current language teachers with research findings that suggest best practices for language teaching
‘Focus on form’ (FonF) is a central construct in task-based language teaching. The term was first introduced by Michael Long to refer to an approach where learners’ attention is attracted to ...linguistic forms as they engage in the performance of tasks. It contrasts with a structure-based approach – ‘focus on forms’ (FonFs) – where specific linguistic forms are taught directly and explicitly. However, there is perhaps no construct in second language acquisition (SLA) that has proved so malleable and shifted in meaning so much. This review article begins by considering how Long’s original definition of it has stretched over time and then offers an updated definition of the construct based on the view that the term is best used to refer to specific kinds of ‘activities’ or ‘procedures’ rather than to an ‘approach’. A classification of different types of focus-on-form activities/procedures is then presented. There follows a discussion of focus on form from a psycholinguistic and discoursal perspective along with a review of research relevant to these perspectives. The article addresses a number of criticisms that have been levelled against focus on form, with special consideration paid to how focus on form can be utilized in instructional contexts where more traditional (i.e. FonFs) approaches have been the norm.
The advocacy of task-based language teaching (TBLT) has met with resistance. The critiques of TBLT and the misconceptions that underlie them have already been addressed in Ellis (2009) and Long ...(2016). The purpose of this article is to move forward by examining a number of real problems that TBLT faces – such as how a ‘task’ should be defined, the nature and timing of the ‘focus-on-form’ required, how to determine task complexity and sequence tasks, the role of explicit instruction, the timing of focus on form and the teacher training needed to ensure effective uptake of TBLT – and to also consider what solutions are possible. Disagreements exist regarding the relative merits of task-based and task-supported language teaching. I will propose that a hybrid/modular syllabus that allows for a balance between an object-oriented and a tool-oriented view of language teaching offers the most promising way forward.
This paper begins by offering a definition of ‘task’ and by emphasizing that there is no single ‘task‐based teaching’ approach. It then evaluates a number of criticisms of TBT, drawing on recent ...critiques by Widdowson, Seedhouse, Sheen, and Swan. It is argued that many of these criticisms stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of what a ‘task’ is, and of the theoretical rationales that inform task‐based teaching. These criticisms also reflect a failure to acknowledge that multiple versions of task‐based teaching exist. In particular, it is argued that task‐based teaching need not be seen as an alternative to more traditional, form‐focused approaches but can be used alongside them. The paper concludes with an examination of a number of genuine problems with implementing task‐based teaching, as reflected in evaluation studies.
The implicit/explicit distinction is central to our understanding of the nature of L2 acquisition. This book begins with an account of how this distinction applies to L2 learning, knowledge and ...instruction. It then reports a series of studies describing the development of a battery of tests providing relatively discrete measurements of L2 explicit/ implicit knowledge. These tests were then utilized to examine a number of key issues in SLA - the learning difficulty of different grammatical structures, the role of L2 implicit/ explicit knowledge in language proficiency, the relationship between.
The study compared the effects of two types of form‐focused written feedback—direct corrective feedback (DCF) and metalinguistic explanation (ME) given to the whole class—on Japanese university ...students’ accuracy of use of two grammatical structures: indefinite article and the hypothetical conditional. Both types of feedback were given with and without an opportunity to rewrite. Accuracy of use was measured in new pieces of writing. The feedback led to increased accuracy for the hypothetical conditional but not for the indefinite article. The effectiveness of the DCF proved longer lasting than the ME. Also, providing opportunity for revision enhanced the effect of the feedback. Overall, DCF followed by revision proved the most effective type of feedback. The results suggest that when form‐focused written feedback is directed at two features that vary in saliency and complexity, learners are likely to focus on the structure that contributes more to the global meaning of the text. The results also indicate that directly correcting the errors learners make with respect to a complex syntactical structure is more beneficial than giving them a metalinguistic explanation.
A number of theories of second language (L2) acquisition acknowledge a role for explicit L2 knowledge. However, the testing of these theories remains problematic because of the lack of a widely ...accepted means for measuring L2 explicit knowledge. This article seeks to address this lacuna by examining L2 explicit knowledge from two perspectives. First, it considers explicit knowledge as a construct. How can explicit knowledge be defined? How does it differ from other constructs such as L2 proficiency and language aptitude? Second, the article considers how L2 explicit knowledge can be measured. It critically reviews some of the ways in which explicit knowledge has been operationalized in second language acquisition research and discusses some of the instruments that have been used to measure L2 explicit knowledge. It concludes with some guidelines for investigating explicit knowledge as analyzed knowledge and as metalanguage.
The article reports on a study investigating the comparative effects of immediate and delayed corrective feedback in learning the English past passive construction, a linguistic structure of which ...the learners had little prior knowledge. A total of 120 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from 4 intact classes at a Chinese middle school were randomly assigned to conditions: immediate feedback, delayed feedback, task-only, and control. The 3 experimental groups attended a 2-hour treatment session where they performed 2 dictogloss (narrative) tasks in groups, each followed by a reporting phase in which they took turns telling the narrative to the class. The 2 feedback groups received either immediate or delayed corrective feedback in the form of a prompt, followed by recasts of utterances containing errors in their use of the target structure. No effect for the corrective feedback was found on elicited imitation test scores, but both the immediate and delayed feedback resulted in gains in grammaticality judgment test scores, with immediate feedback showing some advantage over delayed feedback. We interpret these results as showing that the feedback only aided the development of declarative/explicit knowledge and that the advantage found for immediate feedback was due to the learners using the feedback progressively in the production of new past passive sentences, whereas this did not occur in the delayed feedback condition.
This study investigated the effectiveness of explicit, incidental, and intentional learning conditions on vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension in a multimedia environment. A total of 99 ...university learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were asked to read computer-based reading texts including text-picture-audio glosses of the target lexical items. In the explicit learning condition, learners received explicit instruction about the target lexical items before reading (EIG). In the intentional condition, learners were instructed to check the multimedia glosses while reading the texts (+IG) whereas in the incidental condition, they did not receive such instruction (-IG). Reading comprehension was measured through multiple-choice and written recall tests and vocabulary acquisition was measured through the vocabulary knowledge scale (VKS) and word recognition test (WRT). The results indicated that there were vocabulary gains for all the groups regardless of the learning conditions. While the EIG and +IG achieved a similar VKS performance, the EIG made greater gains of target vocabulary in the WRT. In addition, EIG was the only condition to maintain a long-term knowledge of the learned words. For reading comprehension, results varied according to the tests, with the +IG faring better in multiple-choice test and EIG achieving a higher written recall.
This article reports a meta‐analysis of studies that investigated the relative effectiveness of comprehension‐based instruction (CBI) and production‐based instruction (PBI). The meta‐analysis only ...included studies that featured a direct comparison of CBI and PBI in order to ensure methodological and statistical robustness. A total of 35 research projects in 30 published studies were retrieved. The studies were coded for three types of effect sizes: comparative, absolute, and pre‐to‐post change. The comparative effect sizes were used in a subsequent moderator analysis to test the impact of two mediator variables—CBI with and without Processing Instruction and PBI involving text creation versus text manipulation. The results showed that (1) overall, both types of instruction had large effects on both receptive and productive knowledge; (2) for receptive knowledge, CBI had a greater effect than PBI when the acquisition was measured within one week but the difference diminished in the delayed tests (i.e., posttests administered between 1 week and 75 days after the treatment); (3) for productive knowledge, CBI and PBI had similar effects in short‐term measurement but PBI was more effective in the delayed tests; and (4) the initial advantage found for CBI was largely due to Processing Instruction. We discuss the theoretical and pedagogical significance of these findings.
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