Task, task performance, and writing development
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Heidi Byrnes
Abstract
This closing chapter aims to assess the contribution of the book to TBLT theory and research and to put forward directions for advancing TBLT constructs and research agendas. We consider the volume’s overall contribution to the TBLT field to lie in linking the psycholinguistic with the textual, meaning-making nature of writing and in presenting theoretical and methodological refinements along with empirical advances that reflect that orientation. We have organized the details of that contribution as well as the suggestions for future research directions along four closely inter-related foci, namely: (a) a learner-internal perspective that explores the volume’s findings regarding the learner dimension of tasks and the learner’s agency in task execution; (b) a learning orientation that summarizes the studies’ findings and suggests new research paths that elaborate the proposed new theoretical positions, particularly in terms of their ability to specify the nature of learning and development through task-based writing; (c) a textual meaning-making orientation that expands the empirical research agenda for tasks as meaning-making environments and considers implications for assessing task performance from a psycholinguistic and a textual perspective; and (d) a curricular orientation that would illuminate what instructed learners might be able to accomplish when they have the benefit of a principled task- and text-oriented instructional framework.
Abstract
This closing chapter aims to assess the contribution of the book to TBLT theory and research and to put forward directions for advancing TBLT constructs and research agendas. We consider the volume’s overall contribution to the TBLT field to lie in linking the psycholinguistic with the textual, meaning-making nature of writing and in presenting theoretical and methodological refinements along with empirical advances that reflect that orientation. We have organized the details of that contribution as well as the suggestions for future research directions along four closely inter-related foci, namely: (a) a learner-internal perspective that explores the volume’s findings regarding the learner dimension of tasks and the learner’s agency in task execution; (b) a learning orientation that summarizes the studies’ findings and suggests new research paths that elaborate the proposed new theoretical positions, particularly in terms of their ability to specify the nature of learning and development through task-based writing; (c) a textual meaning-making orientation that expands the empirical research agenda for tasks as meaning-making environments and considers implications for assessing task performance from a psycholinguistic and a textual perspective; and (d) a curricular orientation that would illuminate what instructed learners might be able to accomplish when they have the benefit of a principled task- and text-oriented instructional framework.
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
