Home Linguistics & Semiotics Chapter 9. The role of ‘roles’ in task-design
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 9. The role of ‘roles’ in task-design

An exploration of framing as a feature of tasks
  • Joshua Kraut
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Usage-inspired L2 Instruction
This chapter is in the book Usage-inspired L2 Instruction

Abstract

An important strand of research in the field of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has aimed to better understand the variables of task-design which render different tasks more or less effective in facilitating L2 acquisition (e.g., Pica, Kanagy, & Falodun, 1993). The current study aimed to investigate an as-yet little-studied dimension of tasks, the phenomenon of framing. Framing derives from Goffman’s (1974) notion of activity frames, the idea that any stretch of human activity is organized by certain rules and principles to which people “fit their actions” including, crucially, their language. Framing thus represents a basic element of what speakers perceive as the context of a given interaction (Gumperz & Cook-Gumperz, 2012). Framing therefore varies as the social purpose of interaction varies, which in turn should have an impact on the quality of interactions a given task yields. The study reveals that, while the particular manipulation in framing of learner’s talk featured had little effect on negotiation for meaning as traditionally measured (cf. Long, 1980), it had a marked impact on (1) the amount and quality of assistance learners provided each other in conversation, measured in co-constructions, other-corrections and continuers (Foster & Ohta, 2005), and (2) the type of questions produced, with one of the two experimental groups asking substantially more content questions, maintaining a highly argumentative dialogue. The construct of framing is thus seen as a potentially exploitable feature of task design, and one that is promising in moving TBLT closer to usage-inspired thinking about L2 instruction.

Abstract

An important strand of research in the field of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has aimed to better understand the variables of task-design which render different tasks more or less effective in facilitating L2 acquisition (e.g., Pica, Kanagy, & Falodun, 1993). The current study aimed to investigate an as-yet little-studied dimension of tasks, the phenomenon of framing. Framing derives from Goffman’s (1974) notion of activity frames, the idea that any stretch of human activity is organized by certain rules and principles to which people “fit their actions” including, crucially, their language. Framing thus represents a basic element of what speakers perceive as the context of a given interaction (Gumperz & Cook-Gumperz, 2012). Framing therefore varies as the social purpose of interaction varies, which in turn should have an impact on the quality of interactions a given task yields. The study reveals that, while the particular manipulation in framing of learner’s talk featured had little effect on negotiation for meaning as traditionally measured (cf. Long, 1980), it had a marked impact on (1) the amount and quality of assistance learners provided each other in conversation, measured in co-constructions, other-corrections and continuers (Foster & Ohta, 2005), and (2) the type of questions produced, with one of the two experimental groups asking substantially more content questions, maintaining a highly argumentative dialogue. The construct of framing is thus seen as a potentially exploitable feature of task design, and one that is promising in moving TBLT closer to usage-inspired thinking about L2 instruction.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of contributors xi
  4. Acknowledgements xvii
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1. Usage-inspired L2 instruction 3
  7. Part I. Usage-inspired L2 instruction through three lenses
  8. Chapter 2. L2 developmental education and systemic theoretical instruction 29
  9. Chapter 3. Foreign language instruction from a dynamic usage-based (DUB) perspective 55
  10. Chapter 4. On the relationship between interaction and language learning 75
  11. Part II. How effective is usage-inspired L2 instruction?
  12. Chapter 5. Conceptual frameworks and L2 pedagogy 95
  13. Chapter 6. Student perception and different performance in a combined usage-based and sociocultural theory approach to learning Japanese polysemous particles 117
  14. Chapter 7. The impact of prior knowledge on second language grammar practice 143
  15. Chapter 8. Using metacognitive strategies to induce phase shifts 165
  16. Chapter 9. The role of ‘roles’ in task-design 187
  17. Chapter 10. Do findings from artificial language learning generalize to second language classrooms? 211
  18. Part III. A central role for corpus linguistics in usage-inspired L2 instruction
  19. Chapter 11. Compounds and productivity in advanced L2 German writing 237
  20. Chapter 12. A systemic functional linguistic approach to usage-based research and instruction 267
  21. Chapter 13. Examining multifaceted sources of input 291
  22. Conclusion
  23. Chapter 14. Usage-inspired L2 instruction 315
  24. Index 323
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.49.09kra

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of contributors xi
  4. Acknowledgements xvii
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1. Usage-inspired L2 instruction 3
  7. Part I. Usage-inspired L2 instruction through three lenses
  8. Chapter 2. L2 developmental education and systemic theoretical instruction 29
  9. Chapter 3. Foreign language instruction from a dynamic usage-based (DUB) perspective 55
  10. Chapter 4. On the relationship between interaction and language learning 75
  11. Part II. How effective is usage-inspired L2 instruction?
  12. Chapter 5. Conceptual frameworks and L2 pedagogy 95
  13. Chapter 6. Student perception and different performance in a combined usage-based and sociocultural theory approach to learning Japanese polysemous particles 117
  14. Chapter 7. The impact of prior knowledge on second language grammar practice 143
  15. Chapter 8. Using metacognitive strategies to induce phase shifts 165
  16. Chapter 9. The role of ‘roles’ in task-design 187
  17. Chapter 10. Do findings from artificial language learning generalize to second language classrooms? 211
  18. Part III. A central role for corpus linguistics in usage-inspired L2 instruction
  19. Chapter 11. Compounds and productivity in advanced L2 German writing 237
  20. Chapter 12. A systemic functional linguistic approach to usage-based research and instruction 267
  21. Chapter 13. Examining multifaceted sources of input 291
  22. Conclusion
  23. Chapter 14. Usage-inspired L2 instruction 315
  24. Index 323
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 18.2.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/lllt.49.09kra/html
Scroll to top button