Negotiation of Form by EFL Learners: Effect of Task Modality and L1 Use.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

One issue that faces second language (L2) teachers when they use task-based language teaching (TBLT) is how they should integrate focus on form into goal-oriented, meaning-focused tasks. This issue is particularly relevant to Japanese secondary school teachers, who need to prepare students for entrance examinations that heavily emphasize grammar. Researchers have proposed various ways to address this issue, one of which is shifting task modality from speaking to writing (Richards, 2002; Skehan, 1998). Studies have shown that learners engage in negotiation of form (i.e., an interactional sequence in which learners attempt to resolve a linguistic problem in their output) more frequently when they are required to produce written output (Adams, 2006; Niu, 2009). Another way of promoting focus on form during task-based interaction is to have learners use their first language (L1) to negotiate forms. Research has demonstrated that the use of metalanguage enables learners to discuss forms in detail and helps them maintain their attention on the forms (Fortune, 2005; Fortune & Thorp, 2001). Learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) typically develop explicit knowledge of English through the medium of L1 metalanguage. Thus, it is assumed that EFL learners will negotiate forms more frequently and effectively if teachers allow them to speak their L1 during task work.
This study investigated the effectiveness of the two manipulations---shifting production modality to writing and having learners use their L1---in facilitating negotiation of form during task work. First-year university students in two EFL classes at a university in Tokyo participated in two data collection sessions. In the first session, both classes completed a picture story jigsaw task and then wrote the story in pairs. In the second session, both classes completed another picture story jigsaw task and then orally narrated the story in pairs. In both sessions, one class was instructed to speak English only during the post-task while the other class was allowed to speak their L1 (Japanese). Students' interactions were transcribed, and language-related episodes (LREs) were identified in the transcripts. LREs refer to interactional sequences in which the learners question or correct the use of an L2 item in their own or each other's utterance (Swain & Lapkin, 1998; Williams, 1999). When all LREs were identified, they were classified according to focus, outcome, and L1 use. Then, to investigate the effect of modality, the writing post-task and the speaking post-task were compared in terms of the frequency, focus, and outcome of LREs. To investigate the effect of L1 use, the English-only (EO) class and the English/Japanese (EJ) class were compared in terms of the frequency, focus, and outcome of LREs. In addition, to study the effect of L1 use further, the texts that students composed in pairs on the writing post-task were analyzed, and the two classes were compared in terms of the accuracy of the compositions and types of errors they made. Finally, LREs in which students used Japanese (L1 Use) and LREs in which they used English exclusively (L2 Only) were compared in terms of metalanguage use and length. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).