The influence of task repetition type on young EFL learners’ attention to form

Task repetition (TR) is a valuable tool to direct learners’ attention from meaning to language form. The first time learners perform a task their focus is on conveying meaning, whereas during the second enactment they tend to focus on the form of their message. Collaborative writing also promotes le...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language teaching research : LTR 2021-07, Vol.25 (4), p.565-586
Main Authors: Hidalgo, María Ángeles, García Mayo, María del Pilar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention
Collaboration
Collaborative Writing
Comparative Analysis
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Elementary School Students
English (Second Language)
English as a second language
English as a second language learning
Foreign Countries
Grammar
Language Acquisition
Language Tests
Language Usage
Learning outcomes
Learning Processes
Meaning
Peer Relationship
Repetition
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Second language writing
Sociocultural Patterns
Task Analysis
Teaching Methods
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Summary:Task repetition (TR) is a valuable tool to direct learners’ attention from meaning to language form. The first time learners perform a task their focus is on conveying meaning, whereas during the second enactment they tend to focus on the form of their message. Collaborative writing also promotes learners’ focus on form, allowing extra time to pay attention to language use, and providing multiple opportunities for learners to pool their linguistic resources and co-construct meaning. Despite the increasing body of research on young learners’ (YLs) second language acquisition process, few studies have addressed the effect of the repetition of collaborative writing tasks on this population’s output. The present study aims to fill this gap by analysing the impact of TR on YLs’ (age 11–12) attention to form, operationalized as language-related episodes (LREs). Forty (n = 40) beginner learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) worked with two types of TR: exact TR (ETR), where the participants repeated exactly the same task, and procedural TR (PTR), where the participants repeated task type but with different content. Contrary to most previous research, most LREs were form-focused, and resolved target-like in both groups. The results also revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of LREs at time 3 in the ETR group, whereas the LREs in the PTR group remained stable. Pedagogical implications of these findings will be discussed.
ISSN:1362-1688
1477-0954
DOI:10.1177/1362168819865559