Cover not available
Part of
Task-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing Pragmatics
Edited by Naoko Taguchi and YouJin Kim
[Task-Based Language Teaching 10] 2018
► pp. 113–136

Chapter 5
Task modality effects on Spanish learners’ interlanguage pragmatic development

| Georgetown University
| Université du Québec à Montréal
Within the field of second language acquisition (SLA), we have witnessed a rise in research on task-based language teaching (TBLT) and its effects on L2 development (Kim, 2015). However, few studies have examined how TBLT could facilitate the development of interlanguage pragmatics (Taguchi & Kim, 2015), an issue which this volume aims to address. Moreover, whether task modality (i.e., oral versus written tasks) mediates development has yet to be investigated. The current study with learners of Spanish focused on the effects of using pedagogical tasks and on the manipulation of task modality on learners’ L2 pragmatic competence through the production of Spanish requests and speech act modifications. Two intermediate classes (n = 25) of Spanish completed either an oral or written story completion task. Drawing on oral and written Discourse Completion Tests, we found that tasks positively impacted learners’ production of L2 requests. However, significant differences between modality groupings were not identified.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • Interlanguage pragmatics
    • Previous research on instruction of pragmatics
    • Task-based language teaching research
      • Teaching pragmatics via tasks
      • Task modality
    • Purpose of the study
  • Methods
    • Instructional context
    • Participants
    • Instructional pragmatic targets
    • Instructional task
    • Assessment materials
  • Procedure
    • Data coding
    • Reliability and analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 15 August 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.10.05rea
References (60)
References
Adams, R., & Ross-Feldman, L. (2008). Does writing influence learner attention to form? In D. D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), The oral-literate connection: Perspectives on L2 speaking, writing, and other media interactions (pp. 243–266). Ann Arbor, IN: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Ahmadian, M. J., & Tavakoli, M. (2010). The effects of simultaneous use of careful online planning and task repetition on accuracy, complexity, and fluency in EFL learners’ oral production. Language Teaching Research 15, 35–59.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). The effects of simultaneous use of careful online planning and task repetition on accuracy, complexity, and fluency in EFL learners’ oral production. Language Teaching Research, 15(1), 35–59. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blum-Kulka, S., House, J., & Kasper, G. (1989). Cross-cultural pragmatics: Requests and apologies. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Bygate, M. (2001). Effects of task repetition on the structure and control of language. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Task-based learning: Language teaching, learning, and assessment (pp. 23–48). London: Longman.Google Scholar
Child, L., & Hurst, B. (2011). Look after your planet. London: Puffin Books.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Félix-Brasdefer, J. C. (2005). Indirectness and politeness in Mexican requests. In D. Eddington (Ed.), Selected proceedings of the 7th Hispanic linguistics symposium (pp. 66–78). Somereville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Félix-Brasdefer, J. C. (2008). Pedagogical intervention and the development of pragmatic competence in learning Spanish as a foreign language. Issues in Applied Linguistics 16, 49–84.Google Scholar
Flores Salgado, E. (2011). The pragmatics of requests and apologies developmental patterns of Mexican students. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., & Mackey, A. (2007). Input, interaction and output in second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (pp. 175–200). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
(2015). Input, interaction, and output in second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition. An introduction, (pp. 180–206). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gilabert, R., Barón, J., & Llanes, À. (2009). Manipulating cognitive complexity across task types and its impact on learners’ interaction during oral performance. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 47(3–4), 367–395. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gilabert, R., Manchón, R., & Vasylets, O. (2016). Mode in theoretical and empirical TBLT research: Advancing research agendas. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36 117–135. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Golato, A. (2003). Studying Compliment Responses: A Comparison of DCTs and Recordings of Naturally Occurring Talk. Applied Linguistics, 24(1), 90–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jeon, E. H., & Kaya, T. (2006). Effects of L2 instruction on interlanguage pragmatic development: A meta-analysis. In J. M. Norris & L. Ortega (Eds), Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 165–211). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kasper, G. (1996). Introduction: Interlanguage pragmatics in SLA. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18(02), 145–148. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2001). Classroom research on interlanguage pragmatics. In K. Rose & G. Kasper (Eds.), Pragmatics in language teaching (pp. 33–62). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kasper, G., & Rose, K. R. (2002). Pragmatic development in a second language. Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies, 52(1), 1–352.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kasper, G., & Schmidt, R. (1996). Developmental issues in interlanguage pragmatics. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18(02), 149–169. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kim, Y. (2013). Promoting attention to form through task repetition in a Korean EFL Context. In K. McDonough & A. Mackey (Eds.), Second language interaction in diverse educational Contexts (pp. 3–24). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kim, Y., & Payant, C. (2014). A pedagogical proposal for task sequencing: An exploration of task repetition and task complexity on learning opportunities. In M. Baralt, R. Gilabert, & P. Robinson (Eds.), Task sequencing and instructed second language learning (pp. 151–177). London: Bloomsbury Academic.Google Scholar
Kim, Y. (2015). The role of tasks as vehicles for learning in classroom interaction. In N. Markee (Ed.), Handbook of classroom discourse and interaction (pp. 163–181). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Kim, Y., & Taguchi, N. (2015). Promoting task-based pragmatics instruction in EFL classroom contexts: The role of task complexity. The Modern Language Journal, 99(4), 656–677. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kim, Y., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2013). The role of task repetition in L2 performance development: What needs to be repeated during task-based interaction? System, 41(3), 829–840. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koike, D. A., & Pearson, L. (2005). The effect of instruction and feedback in the development of pragmatic competence. System, 33(3), 481–501. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J. (2014). Differences across modality of performance: An investigation of linguistic and discourse complexity in narrative tasks. In H. Byrnes & R. Manchón (Eds.), Task-based L2 language learning: Insights from and for L2 writing (pp. 193–216). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Kormos, J., & Trebits, A. (2012). The role of task complexity, modality, and aptitude in narrative task performance. Language Learning, 62(2), 439–472. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2011). Task performance and linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking: The effect of mode. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Second language task complexity: Researching the Cognition Hypothesis of language learning and performance (pp. 91–104). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Langer, B. D. (2013). Teaching requests to L2 learners of Spanish. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(6), 1147–1159. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S. (2015). Introduction to instructed second language acquisition. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lynch, T. & Maclean, J. (2000). Exploring the benefits of task repetition and recycling for classroom language learning. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 221–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Newton, J. (2013) Incidental vocabulary learning in classroom communication tasks. Language Teaching Research, 17(2), 164–187. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Niu, R. (2009). Effect of task-inherent production modes on EFL learners’ focus on form. Language Awareness, 18(3–4), 384–402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Payant, C., & Kim, Y. (2015). Language mediation in an L3 classroom: The role of task modalities and task types. Foreign Language Annals 48, 706–729. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Payant, C. & Reagan, D. (2018). Manipulating task implementation variables with incipient Spanish language learners: A classroom-based study. Language Teaching Research, 22(2), 169–188.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pinter, A. (2005). Task repetition with 10-year-old children. In C. Edwards & J. Willis (Eds.), Teachers exploring tasks in English language teaching (pp. 113–126). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007a). Some benefits of peer-peer interaction: 10-year-old children practicing with a communication task. Language Teaching Research, 11(2), 189–207. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007b). What children say: Benefits of task repetition. In K. Van den Branden, K. Van Gorp, & M. Verhelst (Eds.), Tasks in action: Task-based language education from a classroom-based perspective (pp. 131–158). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Plonksy, L., & Kim, Y. (2016). Task-based learner production: A substantive and methodological review. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36 73–97. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Philp, J., Oliver, R., & Mackey, A. (2006). The impact of planning time on children’s task-based interactions. System 34 547–565. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Révész, A., Sachs, R., & Mackey, A. (2011). Task complexity, uptake of recasts, and second language development. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Researching task complexity: Task demands, task-based language learning and performance (pp. 203–238). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2011). Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Second language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and performance (pp. 3–38). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rose, K. R. (2005). On the effects of instruction in second language pragmatics. System, 33(3), 385–399. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second language learning. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sample, E., & Michel, M. (2015). An exploratory study into trade-off effects of complexity, accuracy, and fluency on young learners’ oral task repetition. TESL Canada Journal, 31, 23–46.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.) Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 471–483). Mahwah, NJ: Lawerence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1998). Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. Modern Language Journal, 82, 320–337. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sykes, J. (2009). Learner request in Spanish: Examining the potential of multiuser virtual environments for L2 pragmatics acquisition. In L. Lomika & G. Lord (eds.), The Second Generation: Online collaboration and social networking in CALL, 2009 (CALICO Monograph). San Marcos: TX, 199–234.Google Scholar
(2013). Multiuser virtual environments: Learner apologies in Spanish. In N. Taguchi & J. Sykes (eds.), Technology in interlanguage pragmatics research and teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 71–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taguchi, N. (2015). Instructed pragmatics at a glance: Where instructional studies were, are, and should be going. State-of-the-art article. Language Teaching 48 1–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taguchi, N., & Kim, Y. (2016). Collaborative dialogue in learning pragmatics: Pragmatics-related episodes as an opportunity for learning request-making. Applied Linguistics, 37, 416–437.DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Takahashi, S. (2001). Explicit and implicit instruction of L2 complex request forms. In P. Robinson, M. Sawyer, & S. Ross (Eds.), Second language acquisition research in Japan (pp. 73–100). Japan: The Japan Association for Language Teaching.Google Scholar
(2010). Assessing learnability in second language pragmatics. In A. Trosborg (Ed.), Pragmatics across languages and cultures (pp. 391–421). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Van den Branden, K. (Ed.) (2006). Task-based language education: From theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). Task-based language teaching. In G. Hall (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of English language teaching (pp.238–251). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Williams, J. (2012). The potential role(s) of writing in second language development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(4), 321–331. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Collentine, Karina
2024. Chapter 10. Pragmatic competence in virtual environments. In Recent Developments in Hispanic Linguistics [Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 41], ► pp. 245 ff. DOI logo
Collentine, Karina & Joseph Collentine
2023. Chapter 8. Promoting Spanish L2 pragmatic competence in a virtual environment. In Innovative Approaches to Research in Hispanic Linguistics [Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 38], ► pp. 173 ff. DOI logo
Li, Shuai
2023. Chapter 7. Working memory and task difficulty as factors of L2 pragmatics. In L2 Pragmatics in Action [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 58], ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo
Timpe-Laughlin, Veronika, Judit Dombi, Tetyana Sydorenko & Shoko Sasayama
2023. L2 learners’ pragmatic output in a face-to-face vs. a computer-guided role-play task: Implications for TBLT. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
González-Lloret, Marta
2022. Technology-mediated tasks for the development of L2 pragmatics. Language Teaching Research 26:2 ► pp. 173 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.