西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Learner Autonomy in Focus-on-Form: Task Explicitness and Language Proficiency

Su Yunwen

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Purpose

learner-generated attention to form focus-on-form instruction task explicitness & language proficiency

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

The Study — Focus-on-Form (FonF)

Any instructional activities, no matter planned or incidental, reactive or preemptive, which are meaning-based but with a focus on language form

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

The Study — Independent Variables

1. Task Explicitness

2. Learner Proficiency Level

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

U: unobtrusive O: Obtrusive

U ←────────────→ O Input flood * Task-essential language * Input enhancement * Negotiation * Recast * Output enhancement * Interaction enhancement * Dictogloss * Consciousness-raising tasks * Input processing * Garden path *

Task Explicitness

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Picture Sequencing (PS)

Task-essential language (TE)

Dictogloss (DG)

Task Explicitness

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

PL1: 24 1st year non-English majors from A classes

PL2: 24 2nd year non-English majors form CET-4 classes

PL3: 24 2nd year non-English majors from CET-6 classes

Language Proficiency

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

The Study — Dependent Variable

Learner Autonomy:

Language-related Episode (LRE)

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Discourse in which the learners talk or ask about language, or question, implicitly or explicitly their own language use or that of others.

Definition

Iris: Were moored on Kim: Sorry, I reckon in River Thames Iris: Why in? Kim: On…yes on… on the River Thames on the Yarra not in the Yarra

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

LREs of different exchange types -Preemptive LREs (learner-

initiated) Learner-learner (LLP) Learner-teacher (LTP) -Reactive LREs (learner-learner) Implicit (IR) Explicit (ER)

Typologies

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

LREs with different linguistic focuses

Phonological

Lexical

Syntactical

Typologies

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

LREs with different move structures

With an uptake move

Without an uptake move

Typologies

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

1. Is individual proficiency level related to the extent to which learners pay attention to form?

2. Is explicitness of FonF task (planned/incidental) related to the extent to which learners pay attention to language form?

3. Is there any interaction of proficiency level and task type on learners’ attention to form?

4. How do LREs vary (number and type) at different proficiency level and in different FonF tasks?

Research Questions

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Proficiency Level and Learner Autonomy

Task Type

DGTEPS

Mea

n LR

Es12

10

8

6

4

2

0

PL

PL1

PL2

PL3

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Task Type and Learner Autonomy

Proficiency Level

3.002.001.00

Mea

n LR

Es12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Task Type

PS

TE

DG

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Interaction of Task Type & Proficiency Level

Proficiency Level

3.002.001.00

Mea

n LR

Es12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Task Type

PS

TE

DG

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

PL

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent

50

0

LRE Type

IR

ER

L-LP

L-TP

7

10

8

18

32

25

56

402932

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

Task Type

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent50

0

LRE Type

IR

ER

L-LP

L-TP

8

913

36

2315

49

17

31

55

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

1. Significantly more preemptive LREs than reactive ones

2. The number of reactive LREs rises up as learners’ proficiency increases.

3. With the increase of explicitness of the task, the portion of reactive LREs in all the LREs found in the same FonF task rises.

LREs –Exchange Types

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

PL

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent

50

0

LRE Type

Phnological

Syntactical

Lexical

8

13

52

5365

70

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

Task Type

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent50

0

LRE Type

Phonological

Syntactical

Lexical

912

13

41

35

53

101

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

1. Significantly more lexical LREs than syntactical and then phonological ones

2. The number of all the three types of LREs rises as learners’ proficiency increases, with the number of syntactical LREs at the highest rate

3. Both lexical and syntactical LREs increase in number as the explicitness of the task rises, with the latter at a significantly higher rate.

LREs –Linguistic Focuses

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

PL

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent

50

0

LRE Type

No uptake moves

Uptake moves

26

29

46

29

53

84

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Results — Investigation into LRE Types

Task Type

1.002.003.00

Num

ber o

f LRE

s160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Percent50

0

LRE Type

no uptake moves

uptake moves

1827

56

3840

88

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

1. Significantly more LREs with an uptake move than those without

2. LREs with uptake an move and LREs without am uptake move increase in number at almost the same rate when the proficiency level and/or the explicitness of the task increases.

LREs –Uptake Move

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Discussion — Pedagogical Implications

1. Directing learners’ attention to language form without intervening with the process so much

2. Encouraging learners to make response to other’s language or feedback to increase awareness of language form and the association between form and meaning

3. Calling learner attention to other aspects of language other than lexical ones

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组

Discussion — Further Research

1. Longitudinal studies that address the effectiveness of learner-generated attention to form are needed.

2. Whether teacher intervention to increase attention to form can accelerate learners’ acquisitional processes. If so, how and when?

3. Do learners’ perception of task difficulty and their beliefs in language learning influence their attention to form and in what way?

西安交通大学精品课“大学综合英语”课程组