Politeness: some universals in language usage

In this article, we examine current practices in the measurement of syntactic complexity to illustrate the need for more organic and sustainable practices in the measurement of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in second language production. Through in-depth review of examples drawn from research on instructed second language acquisition, we identify and discuss challenges to the evidentiary logic that underlies current approaches. We also illuminate critical mismatches between the interpretations that researchers want to make and the complexity measures that they use to make them. Building from the case of complexity, we point to related concerns with impoverished operationalizations of multidimensional CAF constructs and the lack of attention to CAF as a dynamic and interrelated set of constantly changing subsystems. In conclusion, we offer suggestions for addressing these challenges, and we call for much closer articulation between theory and measurement as well as more central roles for multidimensionality and dynamicity in future CAF research.

Towards an Organic Approach to Investigating CAF in Instructed SLA: The Case of Complexity

A cognitive approach to language learning

Cognition and Second Language Instruction

To investigate the pedagogical effectiveness of oral corrective feedback (CF) on target language development, we conducted a meta-analysis that focused exclusively on 15 classroom-based studies (N = 827). The analysis was designed to investigate whether CF was effective in classroom settings and, if so, whether its effectiveness varied according to (a) types of CF, (b) types and timing of outcome measures, (c) instructional setting (second vs. foreign language classroom), (d) treatment length, and (e) learners’ age. Results revealed that CF had significant and durable effects on target language development. The effects were larger for prompts than recasts and most apparent in measures that elicit free constructed responses. Whereas instructional setting was not identified as a contributing factor to CF effectiveness, effects of long treatments were larger than those of short-to-medium treatments but not distinguishable from those of brief treatments. A simple regression analysis revealed effects for age, with younger learners benefiting from CF more than older learners.

Oral Feedback in Classroom SLA

Tasks have received increased attention in SLA research for the past decade, as has the role of focus on form. However, few empirical studies have investigated the relationship among tasks, focus-on-form techniques, and second language (L2) learning outcomes. To help address this gap, the present study examined how the task variable +/−contextual support combined with the focus-on-form technique known as recasting affects L2 morphosyntactic development. The participants were 90 adult learners of English as a foreign language, randomly assigned to one of fi ve groups: four comparison groups and a control group. The comparison groups differed as to (a) whether they received recasts while describing photos and (b) whether they could see the photos while describing them. The control group only participated in the testing sessions. A pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design was employed to detect any improvement in participants’ ability to use the linguistic target, which was the past progressive form. Results from multifaceted Rasch measurement yielded two main findings. First, learners who received recasts but did not view photos outperformed learners who received recasts while viewing photos. Second, the group that viewed photos but did not receive recasts achieved greater L2 gains than the group who neither viewed photos nor received recasts.

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Task complexity, focus on form, and second language development

Motivated by cognitive-interactionist frameworks for task-based learning, this study explores whether task complexity affects the extent to which learners focus on form–meaning connections during task-based work in a classroom setting, and whether this relationship is modulated by 3 individual difference factors—linguistic self-confidence, anxiety, and self-perceived communicative competence. Forty-three English as a second language learners from 6 intact classes worked in self-selected groups during their normal English classes. Each group performed 2 versions of the same argumentative task—a simple version and a complex version. The topics of the discussions were comparable, and the sequence of the tasks was counterbalanced. Twenty-three hours of audio- and videotaped data were collected and coded in terms of global and specific measures of speech production and various interactional features hypothesized to facilitate attention to second language constructions. Self-report questionnaires were employed to determine the mediating effects of the individual difference variables. Quantitative analyses revealed a few significant trends. One such trend is that participants demonstrated lower syntactic complexity but greater accuracy and lexical diversity when task complexity was increased. In addition, the more complex task proved more effective in inducing the use of specific, developmentally advanced constructions and in promoting interaction-driven language learning opportunities. However, no significant effects were observed for individual differences.

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Task Complexity, Focus on L2 Constructions, and Individual Differences: A Classroom-Based Study.

This study examined whether the observed effectiveness of recasts is influenced by the type of outcome measure used and whether different aspects of working memory are differentially associated with learners’ performance on the various outcome measures. The participants were 90 learners of English as a foreign language, who were randomly assigned to a recast, a nonrecast, and a control group. A pretest–posttest–delayed posttest design was employed to detect any improvement in the learners’ knowledge of one usage of the English past progressive construction. Many-facet Rasch measurement and correlational analyses yielded two main findings. First, recasts generated the greatest gains on an oral production test, lesser gains on a written production test, and the least gains on a written grammaticality judgment test. Second, in the recast group, participants with higher reading spans achieved more development on the written tests, while those with higher digit and nonword spans showed greater improvement on the oral test. For the nonrecast group, no association was found between the working memory and developmental measures.

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Working Memory and the Observed Effectiveness of Recasts on Different L2 Outcome Measures.

This study explored the usefulness of dual-task methodology, self-ratings, and expert judgments in assessing task-generated cognitive demands as a way to provide validity evidence for manipulations of task complexity. The participants were 96 students and 61 English as a second language (ESL) teachers. The students, 48 English native speakers and 48 ESL speakers, carried out simple and complex versions of three oral tasks—a picture narrative, a map task, and a decision-making task. Half of the students completed the tasks under a dual-task condition. The remaining half performed the tasks under a single-task condition without a secondary task. Participants in the single condition were asked to rate their perceived mental effort and task difficulty. The ESL teachers provided expert judgments of anticipated mental effort and task difficulty along with explanations for their ratings via an online questionnaire. As predicted, the more complex task versions were found and judged to pose greater cognitive effort on most measures.

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Measuring cognitive task demands using dual task methodology, subjective self-ratings, and expert judgments: A Validation Study

This commentary discusses some methodological innovations and challenges in testing two cognitive models of task-based instruction and learning: Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis (2001) and Skehan’s Trade-Off Hypothesis (1998). My focus, in view of these models’ key constructs, is the extent to which current methodological approaches are adequate to address the theoretical questions posed. I argue that there is a need for more extensive use of methods that can provide independent evidence of construct validity for the independent variables and causal processes invoked by the frameworks. By exploring some innovative task-based research and drawing on examples from other fields, I offer suggestions for improving our practices in future research.

Andrea Révész

Papers

Task complexity, focus on form, and second language development

Task Complexity, Focus on L2 Constructions, and Individual Differences: A Classroom-Based Study.

Working Memory and the Observed Effectiveness of Recasts on Different L2 Outcome Measures.

Measuring cognitive task demands using dual task methodology, subjective self-ratings, and expert judgments: A Validation Study

Towards a Fuller Assessment of Cognitive Models of Task-Based Learning: Investigating Task-Generated Cognitive Demands and Processes