Cover not available

Article In: TASK: Online-First Articles

Effective pre-task planning strategies for decision-making tasks in CLIL geography

ORCiD logo with link | University of Vienna, Austria
ORCiD logo with link | University of Vienna, Austria
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This study explored second language learners’ strategic processes during pre-task planning, aiming to identify a set of ‘effective pre-task planning strategies’ based on Levelt, W. J. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar model of speaking. Seventeen lower-secondary learners worked in pairs to perform oral decision-making tasks under two planning conditions. In the guided planning condition, participants received a structured worksheet addressing both task content and the language required for task completion. In contrast, the unguided planning worksheet had no such structure. Following task completion, participants were interviewed about the role of planning and the specific strategies they employed during the planning phase. Guided pre-task planning enhanced linguistic complexity, while unguided planning improved accuracy. Further analysis of interviews, planning worksheets, and task performances and outcomes revealed some generalizations regarding effective pre-task planning strategies
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • Pre-task planning
    • Guided vs. unguided planning
    • Pre-task planning in CLIL young classrooms
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Tasks
    • Interview
    • Procedure
    • Data analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
References (56)
References
Artieda, G., Roquet, H., & Nicolás-Conesa, F. (2017). The impact of age and exposure on EFL achievement in two learning contexts: Formal instruction and formal instruction + content and language integrated learning (CLIL). International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(4), 1–19. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blasco, A. B. (2014). L2 English young learners’ oral production skills in CLIL and EFL settings: A longitudinal study. [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona].
Bui, H. Y. G. (2014). Task readiness: Theoretical framework and empirical evidence from topic familiarity, strategic planning, and proficiency levels. In P. Skehan (Ed.), Processing perspectives on task performance: Volume 5 (pp. 63–94). John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bui, G., & Teng, M. (2018). Exploring learners’ self-reported behavioral patterns in two task-readiness conditions: A qualitative study. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41, 129–149. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bygate, M. (2001). Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of oral language. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks, second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 23–48). Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dalton-Puffer, C. (2013). A construct of cognitive discourse functions for conceptualizing content-language integration in CLIL and multilingual education. European Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(2), 216–253. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009). The differential effects of three types of task planning on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy in L2 oral production. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 474–509. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2022). Does planning before writing help? Options for pre-task planning in the teaching of writing. ELT Journal, 76(1), 77–87. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Foster, P., & Skehan, P. (1999). The influence of source of planning and focus of planning on task-based performance. Language Teaching Research, 3, 215–247.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García Mayo, M. P., & Imaz Agirre, A. (2016). Task repetition and its impact on EFL children’s negotiation of meaning strategies and pair dynamics: An exploratory study. The Language Learning Journal, 44(4), 451–466. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Genesee, F. (1987). Learning through two languages: Studies of immersion and bilingual education. Harper and Row.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (2013). Two case studies of content-based language education. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1(1), 3–33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hunt, K. W. (1970). Recent measures in syntactic development. In M. Lester (Ed.), Readings in applied transformation grammar. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnson, M. D., & Abdi Tabari, M. (2022). Task planning and oral L2 production: A research synthesis and meta-analysis. Applied Linguistics, 43(6), 1143–1164. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Juan-Garau, M., Prieto-Arranz, J. I., & Salazar-Noguera, J. (2015). Lexico-grammatical development in secondary education CLIL learners. In M. Juan-Garau & J. Salazar-Noguera (Eds.), Educational linguistics: Content-based language learning in multilingual educational environments (pp. 179–195). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2021). Effects of timing and availability of isolated FFI on learners’ written accuracy and fluency through task repetition. The Language Learning Journal, 49(5), 568–580. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2022). Insights into task-based language teaching. Castledown Publishers. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Focus on form in task repetition through oral and written task modelling. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 61(2), 479–518. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2024). Effects of task repetition with consciousness-raising in wiki-mediated collaborative writing on the development of explicit and implicit knowledge. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 37(1–2), 243–278. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2026a). TBLT for young learners: Challenges, opportunities and goals (TBLT series). John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2026b). Trainee EFL teachers’ development and implementation of tasks in young learner classrooms. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 176(2), 219–243. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, M., & Lu, X. (2024). L2 English speaking syntactic complexity: Data preprocessing issues, reliability of automated analysis, and the effects of proficiency, L1 background, and topic. The Modern Language Journal, 108(1), 270–296. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y. (2013). Effects of pre-task modelling on attention to form and question development. TESOL Quarterly, 47, 8–35. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kyle, K., Crossley, S. A., & Berger, C. (2018). The tool for the analysis of lexical sophistication (TAALES): Version 2.0. Behavior Research Methods 50(3), pp. 1030–1046. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kyle, K., Crossley, S. A., & Jarvis, S. (2021). Assessing the validity of lexical diversity using direct judgements. Language Assessment Quarterly 18(2), pp. 154–170. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levelt, W. J. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lialikhova, D. (2021). The impact of a short-term CLIL intervention project on Norwegian different ability ninth graders’ oral development. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(5), 671–692. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lo, Y. Y., & Lin, A. M. Y. (2019). Teaching, learning and scaffolding in CLIL science classrooms. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 7(2), 151–165. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michel, M., Kormos, J., Brunfaut, T., & Ratajczak, M. (2019). The role of working memory in young second language learners’ written performances. Journal of Second Language Writing, 45, 31–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mochizuki, N., & Ortega, L. (2008). Balancing communication and grammar in beginning-level foreign language classrooms: A study of guided planning and relativization. Language Teaching Research, 12(1), 11–37. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nielson, K. B., & DeKeyser, R. (2012). Working memory and planning time as predictors of fluency and accuracy. Journal of Second Language Studies, 2(2), 281–316. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ortega, L. (1995). The effect of planning on L2 Spanish narratives. Research Note 15. University of Hawai’i Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Centre.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1999). Planning and focus on form in L2 oral performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21(1), 109–148. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005). What do learners plan? Learner-driven attention to form during pre-task planning. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pang, F., & Skehan, P. (2014). Self-reported planning behavior and second language performance in narrative retelling. In P. Skehan (Ed.), Processing perspectives on task performance. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pinter, A. (2023). Engaging children in applied linguistics research. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). How big is “big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64(4), 878–912. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2001). Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: A triadic framework for examining task influences on SLA. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Roquet, H., & Pérez-Vidal, C. (2017). Do productive skills improve in content and language integrated learning contexts? The case of writing. Applied Linguistics, 38(4), 489–511. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sangarun, J. (2005). The effects of focusing on meaning and form in strategic planning. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segura, M., Roquet, H., & Pérez-Vidal, C. (2021). The effects of a CLIL program on linguistic progress at two different points in time. Journal of Language and Education, 7(1), 171–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). The story of planning: 1987–2017. Paper presentation, Birkbeck University, London, England.
Skehan, P., Bui, G., Wang, Z., & Shum, S. (2024). Re-examining accuracy measures in second language task-based spoken performance. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 3 (1) (2024), Article 100098, Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Snow, M. A. (1991). Teaching language through content. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 315–27). Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–253). Newbury House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tedick, D. J., & Lyster, R. (2020). Scaffolding language development in immersion and dual language classrooms. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
UNICEF (2002). State of the world’s children 2002. UNICEF.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weinburgh, M., Silva, C., Smith, K. H., Groulx, J., & Nettles, J. (2014). The intersection of inquiry-based science and language: Preparing teachers for ELL classrooms. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 25(5), 519–541. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wesche, M., & Skehan, P. (2002). Communicative, task-based, and content-based language instruction. In R. Kaplan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 207–228). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue