Volume 47, Issue 3-4

This paper specifically focuses on the findings of research on interaction in foreign language contexts in which time and L2 input are both limited. Although theoretical work on the relationship between interaction and second language development has placed great emphasis on the benefits of input, feedback and modified output when they arise from meaningful communication between learners in L2 settings, these aspects have not been greatly considered in a range of FL contexts. The authors argue for the need for further research on the nature and outcomes of interaction in this setting, and particularly on how interactional features and effects differ according to instructional context. Such research needs to explore the extent to which interaction facilitates L2 development in contexts where target-like input and opportunities for interaction are greatly limited.

This research explores learner-learner interactions (n = 18) in an authentic EFL classroom. First, we examined the nature of interactional feedback provided during two decision-making tasks. We then investigated whether the learners had made use of the feedback by looking at whether (and if so, how) they had modified their output immediately after receiving feedback. Quantitative results indicated a relatively low rate of interactional feedback while qualitative analysis of the interactions revealed interesting trends in the nature of the feedback that was provided. In discussing the findings we draw on learners' written reports elicited at the end of class as well as their verbal introspections elicited through individual stimulated recall sessions with each learner. The study sheds light on how patterns of interaction may be shaped by cultural, contextual, and interlocutor-related factors, thus helping to inform considerations for task-based instructional design.

In an attempt to test the generalizability of the role and contributions of interactional feedback in second language acquisition, this study examines the issue in the context of learning Korean as a less-commonly-taught foreign language at the post-secondary level. Further, it looks into the explicitness of feedback as a factor in foreign language learning. While explicit feedback contains an alternative correct form, along with metalinguistic comments on a learner's non-target-like form, implicit feedback partially or fully repeats or reformulates a learner's ill-formed utterance with no reference to the source of the non-target-like form. Thirty-four English-speaking learners of Korean were randomly assigned to the following groups: (1) explicit feedback; (2) implicit feedback; and (3) no feedback (control). The research design of pre-test – post-test – delayed post-test consisting of one grammaticality judgment test and one picture description test was utilized. Analyses of the results showed that the experimental groups outperformed the control group, which supports the beneficial role of feedback in the context of learning Korean as a foreign language. There was no statistically significant difference between explicit vs. implicit feedback in facilitating learner knowledge of the target form. The findings provide support for the potential benefits of implicit feedback without interrupting the flow of conversation during dyadic interaction. Implications for further research on interactional feedback and its explicitness are discussed.

The role of the first language (L1) in the learning of a second language (L2) has been widely studied as a source of cross-linguistic influence from the native system (Gass and Selinker, Language Transfer in Language Learning, John Benjamins, 1992). Yet, this perspective provides no room for an understanding of language as a cognitive tool (Vygostsky, Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Harvard University Press, 1978), that is, language as a mediating tool in all forms of higher-order mental processing. Recent findings in both foreign language classrooms (Antón and DiCamilla, The Modern Language Journal 83: 233–247, 1999; Brooks and Donato, Hispania 77: 262–274, 1994) and immersion classrooms (Swain and Lapkin, Language Teaching Research 4: 251–274, 2000) suggest that the L1 may be a useful tool for learning the L2. This line of research argues that an L1 shared by learners provides cognitive support that allows them to work at a higher level than that which would be possible if they were just using the L2. This paper reports the findings of a study which analyses the use of the L1 and its functions in the oral interaction of twelve pairs of undergraduate EFL learners with low proficiency in the target language while engaged in three collaborative tasks (jigsaw, text reconstruction and dictogloss). Our findings indicate that the L1 is an important tool for these learners and that there is task-related variation in its use.

This descriptive study reports findings on the relationship between focus on form, learner uptake and subsequent lexical gains in learners' oral production. The data for the study consisted in 17 45-minute audio-recorded teacher-led conversations, 204 learners' diaries (17 sessions × 12 learners) reporting what they had learned after each conversational class, and data obtained from oral tasks created on the basis of the items reported in learners' diaries after each lesson and administered in three periods of time (post-tasks 1, post-tasks 2 and post-tasks 3). Results of the study show that uptake is influenced by the type of feedback and the complexity of negotiation, thus indicating that explicit feedback and complexity of the interaction seem to be more effective at promoting uptake. However, both explicit and implicit feedback seem to provide learners with opportunities for noticing. Findings related to the relationship between noticing and subsequent lexical gains in learners' oral production indicate that there is a relationship between noticing and immediate lexical gains, although these gains seem to be deteriorated in the delayed oral tasks. The article concludes by claiming that the findings of this exploratory study should be tested in future studies, and argues that classroom research is a setting in which to merge description of interactional features and opportunities for learning with quasi-experimental research.

The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of manipulating the cognitive complexity of three different types of oral tasks on interaction. The study first considers the concepts of task complexity and interaction and then examines the specific studies that have looked at the effects of increasing task complexity on conversational interaction. In the experiment, learners of English as a foreign language organized into 27 dyads carry out three different types of tasks: a narrative reconstruction task, an instruction-giving map task, and a decision-making task. Two different versions of each task, one simple and one complex, are presented to learners in different sequences. Task complexity is manipulated along the degree of displaced, past time reference, the number of elements, and the reasoning demands. Audio recordings are transcribed and coded for interactional feedback, which is measured in terms of negotiation of meaning (i.e., confirmation checks, clarification requests, and comprehension checks), recasts, language-related episodes (LREs), and repairs, all of which have been described in the literature as being conducive to acquisition. Both parametric and non-parametric statistical tests are used. Results are discussed in the light of previous studies that have looked at the specific relationship between task complexity and interaction, attention models (Robinson, Applied Linguistics 22: 27–57, 2001a, Second Language Studies 21: 45–105, 2003, International Review of Applied Linguistics 55: 1–32, 2005, International Review of Applied Linguistics 45: 193–213, 2007b; Skehan and Foster, Cognition and tasks, Cambridge University Press, 2001), and how different task types may variously affect the way interaction proceeds during task performance.