Reframing task performance
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Ernesto Macaro
Abstract
Task-based research in the area of second language (L2) writing has begun to address learner-verbalized internal processes, but there is a need for much more understanding of how learners go about the process of composing during an L2 writing task and the factors that might influence that process. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) research in general has also focused somewhat obsessively on task completion and task outcomes, thereby neglecting the role that tasks can have in furthering language acquisition and skill development. This chapter contributes to the aims of Part 1 of this book by proposing that a useful way to remedy this situation is to examine both theoretically and empirically the relationship between tasks, strategic behaviour, and linguistic knowledge.
Abstract
Task-based research in the area of second language (L2) writing has begun to address learner-verbalized internal processes, but there is a need for much more understanding of how learners go about the process of composing during an L2 writing task and the factors that might influence that process. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) research in general has also focused somewhat obsessively on task completion and task outcomes, thereby neglecting the role that tasks can have in furthering language acquisition and skill development. This chapter contributes to the aims of Part 1 of this book by proposing that a useful way to remedy this situation is to examine both theoretically and empirically the relationship between tasks, strategic behaviour, and linguistic knowledge.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Series editors’ preface to volume 7 ix
- Task-based language learning 1
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PART I. Tenets, methods, and findings in task-oriented theory and research: The case of writing
- The internal dimension of tasks 27
- Reframing task performance 53
- Theorizing language development at the intersection of ‘task’ and L2 writing 79
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PART II. Empirical findings
- Task repetition and L2 writing development 107
- Planning and production in computer-mediated communication (CMC) writing 137
- Task complexity and linguistic performance in advanced college-level foreign language writing 163
- Differences across modalities of performance 193
- Storyline complexity and syntactic complexity in writing and speaking tasks 217
- Linking task and writing for language development 237
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PART III. Coda
- Task, task performance, and writing development 267
- About the contributors 301
- Author index 305
- Subject index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Series editors’ preface to volume 7 ix
- Task-based language learning 1
-
PART I. Tenets, methods, and findings in task-oriented theory and research: The case of writing
- The internal dimension of tasks 27
- Reframing task performance 53
- Theorizing language development at the intersection of ‘task’ and L2 writing 79
-
PART II. Empirical findings
- Task repetition and L2 writing development 107
- Planning and production in computer-mediated communication (CMC) writing 137
- Task complexity and linguistic performance in advanced college-level foreign language writing 163
- Differences across modalities of performance 193
- Storyline complexity and syntactic complexity in writing and speaking tasks 217
- Linking task and writing for language development 237
-
PART III. Coda
- Task, task performance, and writing development 267
- About the contributors 301
- Author index 305
- Subject index 309
