The influence of task complexity and task modality on learners’ topic and turn management
-
Wei Ren
Wei Ren is Professor of Linguistics at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, China. His research interests include Pragmatics and second language acquisition. His recent publications include articles in
Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics Review, Assessing Writing, Discourse Context & Media, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, International Journal of Multilingualism, Journal of Pragmatics, System and a bookSecond Language Pragmatics (Cambridge University Press).
,
Yuchen Peng
Yuchen Peng is a PhD candidate at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Beijing, China. Her research interest is second language pragmatics.
and
Yiman Wu
Yiman Wu is a PhD candidate at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Beijing, China. Her research interest is pragmatics. She has published in journals such as Pragmatics and Society.
Abstract
Peer interaction is examined as an important indicator of performance in task-based language learning. However, little research has explored learners’ interactional competence under the influences of task factors. This study investigates the effects of task complexity and task modality on learners’ interactional competence in terms of topic management and turn management. Four tasks were designed – written-simple, written-complex, oral-simple, and oral-complex – and 40 Chinese EFL learners completed them in counterbalanced sequences. The results showed the significant influences of task complexity and task modality on learners’ topic and turn management. Task modality and complexity interactively influenced learners when they were expanding on topics in the role of the current speaker. Considering the cognitive demands of increasing complexity and differences between the two modalities, this paper discusses the implications of the findings for developing L2 interactional competence in speech- and text-based interactions.
Funding source: National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences, P. R. China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 20BYY066
About the authors
Wei Ren is Professor of Linguistics at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, China. His research interests include Pragmatics and second language acquisition. His recent publications include articles in Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics Review, Assessing Writing, Discourse Context & Media, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, International Journal of Multilingualism, Journal of Pragmatics, System and a book Second Language Pragmatics (Cambridge University Press).
Yuchen Peng is a PhD candidate at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Beijing, China. Her research interest is second language pragmatics.
Yiman Wu is a PhD candidate at the School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Beijing, China. Her research interest is pragmatics. She has published in journals such as Pragmatics and Society.
Acknowledgments
This paper is sponsored by the research grant from the National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences, P. R. China (20BYY066).
Appendix: Tasks and instruction
The task instructions were presented on slides. The experimenters shared the screen with the participants to present the instructions.
Task 1 (oral-simple):
Description:
Please debate with your partner about the viewpoint “ Digital Technology Makes Young People’s Lives Better ” for 5 min.
Student A: Yes.
Student B: No.
You will have 3 min of planning time. Please speak in English and discuss as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the teacher. Let’s start!
Task 2 (oral-complex):
Description:
You two are best friends. You two want to hang out tomorrow. Now you need to decide on entertainment. Please discuss with your partner and choose an entertainment.
Discuss your options with your partner, but choose only one place that you both agree on.
You have no planning time and 5 min to complete the task. Please speak in English and discuss as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the teacher. Let’s start!
Task 3 (written-simple):
Description:
Please debate with your partner about the viewpoint “ Should Homework be Banned in Universities? ” for 5 min.
Student A: Yes.
Student B: No.
You should communicate with your partner in the chat box.
You will have 3 min of planning time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the teacher. Let’s start!
Task 4 (written-complex):
Description:
You and your partner are sophomores. You want to register for a student club together. Please discuss with your partner and choose a student club.
Discuss your options with your partner, but choose only one student club that you both agree on.
You have no planning time and 5 min to complete the task. You should communicate with your partner in the chat box.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the teacher. Let’s start!
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© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Broadening the appliability of systemic functional linguistics
- Research Articles
- Functional linguistics in life: an embodied approach in teacher education
- Teaching citation to university students
- Patterns of interaction between experiential and interpersonal meanings in student texts in Spanish: grounds for system-based applications in an academic writing context
- System networks as a resource in L2 writing education
- Teaching Chinese grammar through International Chinese Language Education micro-lectures: negotiating mass and presence through multimodal pedagogic discourse
- Meaning-making in English-medium instruction science classroom interaction: from the systemic functional linguistics perspective
- Scaffolding instruction in an EFL drama lesson: a systemic functional analysis
- Teaching mental processes to EFL learners: a blended-learning proposal
- SFL as a socially accountable praxis: who and what are we working for?
- Regular Articles
- The influence of task complexity and task modality on learners’ topic and turn management
- Explicit grammar instruction in the EFL classroom: studying the impact of age and gender
- Language pedagogies and late-life language learning proficiency
- The relative effects of corrective feedback and language proficiency on the development of L2 pragmalinguistic competence: the case of request downgraders
- Unraveling the dynamics of English communicative motivation and self-efficacy through task-supported language teaching: a latent growth modeling perspective
- Effects of random selection tests on second language vocabulary learning: a comparison with cumulative tests
- Determining the L2 academic writing development stage: a corpus-based research on doctoral dissertations
- Dynamic development of cohesive devices in English as a second language writing
- What pronunciation specialists believe CELTA tutors need to know to prepare student teachers to teach pronunciation
- The effect of collaborative prewriting on L2 collaborative writing production and individual L2 writing development
- Beyond learning opportunities: focused encounters in a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition and teaching
- Funds of knowledge for synchronous online language teaching: a translanguaging view on an ESL teacher’s pedagogical practices
- A frequency, coverage, and dispersion analysis of the academic collocation list in university student writing
- Fostering well-being in the university L2 classroom: the “I am an author” project
- How teaching modality affects Foreign Language Enjoyment: a comparison of in-person and online English as a Foreign Language classes
- Toward a better understanding of student engagement with peer feedback: a longitudinal study
- Chinese EFL learners’ basic psychological needs satisfaction and foreign language emotions: a person-centered approach
- Are foreign language teaching enjoyment and motivation two sides of the same coin?
- Orchestrating listening in EMI university lectures: how listening proficiency and motivation shape students’ use of metacognitive listening strategies
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Broadening the appliability of systemic functional linguistics
- Research Articles
- Functional linguistics in life: an embodied approach in teacher education
- Teaching citation to university students
- Patterns of interaction between experiential and interpersonal meanings in student texts in Spanish: grounds for system-based applications in an academic writing context
- System networks as a resource in L2 writing education
- Teaching Chinese grammar through International Chinese Language Education micro-lectures: negotiating mass and presence through multimodal pedagogic discourse
- Meaning-making in English-medium instruction science classroom interaction: from the systemic functional linguistics perspective
- Scaffolding instruction in an EFL drama lesson: a systemic functional analysis
- Teaching mental processes to EFL learners: a blended-learning proposal
- SFL as a socially accountable praxis: who and what are we working for?
- Regular Articles
- The influence of task complexity and task modality on learners’ topic and turn management
- Explicit grammar instruction in the EFL classroom: studying the impact of age and gender
- Language pedagogies and late-life language learning proficiency
- The relative effects of corrective feedback and language proficiency on the development of L2 pragmalinguistic competence: the case of request downgraders
- Unraveling the dynamics of English communicative motivation and self-efficacy through task-supported language teaching: a latent growth modeling perspective
- Effects of random selection tests on second language vocabulary learning: a comparison with cumulative tests
- Determining the L2 academic writing development stage: a corpus-based research on doctoral dissertations
- Dynamic development of cohesive devices in English as a second language writing
- What pronunciation specialists believe CELTA tutors need to know to prepare student teachers to teach pronunciation
- The effect of collaborative prewriting on L2 collaborative writing production and individual L2 writing development
- Beyond learning opportunities: focused encounters in a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition and teaching
- Funds of knowledge for synchronous online language teaching: a translanguaging view on an ESL teacher’s pedagogical practices
- A frequency, coverage, and dispersion analysis of the academic collocation list in university student writing
- Fostering well-being in the university L2 classroom: the “I am an author” project
- How teaching modality affects Foreign Language Enjoyment: a comparison of in-person and online English as a Foreign Language classes
- Toward a better understanding of student engagement with peer feedback: a longitudinal study
- Chinese EFL learners’ basic psychological needs satisfaction and foreign language emotions: a person-centered approach
- Are foreign language teaching enjoyment and motivation two sides of the same coin?
- Orchestrating listening in EMI university lectures: how listening proficiency and motivation shape students’ use of metacognitive listening strategies
