This dissertation investigated the occurrence and the effect of incidental noticing in a text-based Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) environment on enhancing second language learning. Learning proficiency was also examined as a possible intervening variable. This was a quasi-experimental study of sixteen nonnative English speakers from a four-year college in Taiwan, collaborating with sixteen native speaking peers in Texas, via chat agents in order to complete two communicative learning tasks over a two-month period of time. Two posttests were customized for each Nonnative English Speaker (NNES) in order to assess his/her second language learning outcomes. In addition, Language- Related Episode’s (LRE’s) characteristics were expected to serve as powerful predictors of NNES’ correct language learning outcomes. In order to unveil the possible impact of the learner’s language proficiency level and its effect on noticing, eight low- intermediate and eight high- intermediate NNESs were included in the study. The findings revealed that CMC context and native and nonnative English speaking task-based peer interactions promoted learner’s noticing and affected the learning performance of NNESs of different levels. The posttest performance showed that incidental noticing facilitated learner’s linguistic knowledge intake and memory retention. Text-based CMC created a visual and collaborative context which allowed NES peers to offer NNESs of different levels personalized feedback. Among LRE’s characteristics, successful uptake, as a powerful predictor, constantly entered all the models generated by logistic regression analysis, which underpinned the importance of quality uptake during the two-way communication for second language learning. In addition, directness (explicit feedback) and response (elicitation) also appeared in regression models of the subsets of LRE data, which indicated the particular type of feedback needed by learners, especially lower proficiency level ones. In addition, NESs’ involvement also facilitated NNESs’ noticing; NES peers applied elicitation techniques to redirect learner’s attention to the problematic utterances and initiated meaning negotiation. The findings reveal that incidental noticing is beneficial to learning, especially when learners are provided with explicit feedback and incorporate the targeted linguistic items into their language production.

There has been a strong advocacy of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in China since the 1980s. One underlying assumption behind this approach is that acquisition is a process which depends on conversational interaction (Wagner-Gough & Hatch, 1975). A specific kind of interaction, meaning negotiation, which “includes routines or exchanges that involve indications of non-understandings and subsequent negotiations of meaning” (Gass & Varonis, 1991, p. 127) has long been considered to be a key factor in L2 development research. From the interactionist perspective, the facilitative role of meaning negotiation in L2 learning is that it provides comprehensible input, and elicits corrective feedback, helps learners to produce comprehensible output, and has the potential to draw learners’ attention to non-target-like aspects of language output. However, recognising the growing role of synchronous computer-medicated communication (SCMC) in language learning, how EFL learners negotiate meaning and whether the claim of the interactionist approach still holds true in this new medium needs further investigation. Moreover, considering the complexity of tasks used in eliciting meaning negotiation and the SCMC involved in negotiating meaning, the exclusively cognitive approach applied by previous studies seems insufficient to explain the meaning negotiation elaborated. For instance, considering the Chinese culture of learning, some Chinese students may be reluctant to produce negotiated interaction. Also, little research has been carried out to investigate the effect of social factors, such as the context and relationship between interlocutors, in generating meaning negotiation. Furthermore, there is little conclusive evidence in previous research regarding the effects of tasks on the quality and quantity of meaning negotiation. This case study investigated 48 EFL students studying mechanical engineering in a Chinese university. Using the variationist perspective on the interaction approach, this study aimed to investigate the features of learners’ negotiated interaction during task-based SCMC, and their similarities and differences with face-to-face negotiated interaction, based on the Varonis and Gass model. Moreover, it also investigates the relationship between task (i.e., task type and task content) and meaning negotiation (i.e., quality and quantity), and the perceived benefits and difficulties of the use of paired task-based SCMC interaction. Also, as previous studies have neglected the individual differences and social factors, the last aim was to investigate how the social and cognitive factors were inextricably intertwined by studying the participants’ perceptions and their actual performances. The main results of the study indicate a low ratio of negotiated turns in paired task-based SCMC interaction due both to linguistic and social factors. Moreover, task did have an influence on the meaning negotiation generated. However, the five-task typology (Pica et al., 1993) applied by most previous studies investigating meaning negotiation cannot fully explain the influence of task on meaning negotiation in peer-peer SCMC context. Apart from the two recurrent features in task definitions, “interactional activity” and “communication goal”, “task complexity” and “task difficulty” (Robinson, 2003) are also influential factors. Overall, this study argues that task, SCMC, the relationship between interlocutors and the learners themselves are all factors which can influence learners’ generation of meaning negotiation. Both personal information and learning contexts have the potential to shape not only the quantity and quality of meaning negotiation but also the attention to the interaction and further influence the production of learners’ language.

3D virtual worlds are emerging distance education technologies that offer collaborative learning environments and provide effective ways to apply task-based activities. The aim of this case study was to examine the contribution of task-based language learning in 3D virtual worlds to speak English as a foreign language among university preparatory class students in terms of anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence. Therefore, different English speaking practice tasks/activities were designed in Second Life. Participants had different roles based on the determined tasks and had speaking experiences with native speakers, friends, and instructors of METU preparatory school. Fifteen upper-intermediate level preparatory class students in the Department of Basic English at Middle East Technical University participated in the study which comprised a four week time span in May 2011. Data of the study included the qualitative data, gathered from the interviews. Those interviews were administered after the study to understand the effectiveness of task-based language learning in Second Life for students&#039 / anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence towards speaking English. According to the results, this study revealed important findings for language education field. The results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of task-based language learning in Second Life environment which had positive impact on students. In this respect, it is suggested that the Second Life experience provided students to gain motivation and self-confidence and overcome their anxiety related problems towards speaking English. Therefore, this study may offer an insight for further studies to investigate the effectiveness of 3D virtual environments in language education, especially in Turkey.

Thesis (MA (African languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The central purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and properties of communication tasks employed in generic communication in isiXhosa on a university campus in South Africa within the framework of current second language theories of task-based language learning and teaching, and syllabus design for analysing those tasks, taking into account the needs of second language learners of isiXhosa in the context of campus communication. The study aims to explore questions relating to how meaning-based approaches to language teaching such as Task-based language learning and teaching have contributed to the teaching and learning of a second language in regard to the performance of the learner. One of the main aims of the task-based language learning and teaching (TBL and T) approach is to provide learners with input that are relevant to their everyday life in and outside of the language learning classroom. The aim is to further provide teachers with theorectical principles of teaching in order to influence the second language development and performance of the learner in an optimal manner. Thus the concern of TBL and T is to promote the motivation of the learner, negotiations of meanings among the learners and teacher in the classroom and optimal language development. The performance of the learners are thus positively influenced because they are now in more control of their own learning and the teacher no longer has to be the only provider of information and interaction to the language learning classroom. In order to explore the various possibilities that exist in the designing of tasks for the context of a university campus in regards to learning isiXhosa as a second language or additional language, this study investigates several components of tasks relating to cognitive and linguistic complexity, the effects the manipulation of these components might have on the language learning and elements and components of designing a syllabus, and how they influence the teaching and learning of the second language. Furthermore analyses regarding various complexity properties are conducted on the isiXhosa dialogues in order to determine criteria for syllabus designers on how tasks can be graded and sequenced within a task-based language learning and teaching syllabus for second language learners of isiXhosa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die sentrale fokus van hierdie studie behels die ondersoek in die natuur en eienskappe van kommunikasietake wat gevind word in generiese kommunikasietake in isiXhosa by ’n universiteit kampus in Suid-Afrika, binne die konteks van hedendaagse tweede taal teorieë van taakgebasseerde taalleer en onderrig sowel as syllabus ontwerp en die analisering van daardie take aan die hand van die behoeftes van tweede taal leerders van isiXhosa in die konteks van kampus kommunikasie. Die studie beoog om vas te stel hoe betekenis-gebaseerde benaderings tot taal onderrig soos byvoorbeeld taakgebaseerde taalleer en onderrig bydra tot die onderrig en leer van ’n tweede taal in verband met die werkverrigtinge en prestasies van die leerder. Die taakgebaseerde benadering tot die leer en onderrig van ’n tweede taal beoog om die leerders toe te rus met relevante en alledaagse temas wat leerders binne en buite die klaskamer ervaar. Verder beoog hierdie benadering om opvoeders toe te rus met die nodige teoretiese beginsels van onderrig sodat tweede taal ontwikkeling sowel as die prestasies en werkverrigtinge van die leerders in ’n optimale en positiewe wyse beinvloed word. Hierdie benadering tot die leer en onderrig van taal is veral gemoeid met die positiewe bevordering van die motivering van die leerder sowel as die interaksies en vrae van betekenis tussen die leerders en die opvoeders binne die omgewing van die klaskamer sodat optimale taal ontwikkeling plaasvind. Die werkverrigtinge en prestasies van die leerder word dus positief beinvloed omdat die leerder in beheer is van sy/haar eie leer en die opvoeder is nie meer die enigste bron van inligting en interaksie in die klakamer nie. Verder ondersoek hierdie studie verskeie komponente van take wat verband hou met kognitiewe en linguisities kompleksiteit, die effek van manipulasie op hierdie komponente met betrekking tot die taalleer en die elemente en komponente van sillabus ontwerp asook hoe hierdie komponente die leer en onderrig van ’n tweede taal beinvloed. Hierdie insigte op die komponente van take skep verskeie moontlikhede vir die ontwikkeling van take in die konteks van ’n universiteit kampus met betrekking tot die leer van isiXhosa as ’n tweede taal of additionele taal. Verder verskaf die studie ook ontledings met betrekking tot die kompleksiteitseienskappe van verskeie isiXhosa dialoeë sodat ’n kriteria vir sillabus ontwerpers geskep word waarvolgens hulle take kan gradueer en in volgorde plaas binne die taakgebaseerde leer en onderrig sillabus vir tweede taal leerders van isiXhosa.

Cette recherche s'inscrit dans le domaine de la didactique des langues étrangères et porte sur l'apprentissage du français oral soutenu par la technologie mobile. En nous appuyant sur la recherche-action, nous avons créé un dispositif de formation destiné à des apprenants coréens de FLE leur permettant de s'entraîner à prendre la parole librement. La culture coréenne étant influencée par la philosophie confucéenne, l'enseignement-apprentissage des langues est caractérisé par une relation hiérarchique entre le « maître savant » et « son disciple » et souvent centré sur l'écrit. Notre scénario didactique prévoyait un travail de la langue en dehors d'un cours formel et soutenu par un tuteur à distance. Deux expériences ont été menées en 2008 et 2010 avec deux groupes d'apprenants coréens de FLE résidants en Corée auxquels nous avons demandé de réaliser des tâches langagières par enregistrement vidéo. Les apprenants ont été amenés à réaliser leurs productions orales en réponse à une vidéo enregistrée par un locuteur natif vivant en France. Grâce au recours à la téléphonie mobile intégrant l'accès à Internet et l'utilisation d'un réseau social en ligne coréen (Cyworld), les apprenants pouvaient échanger avec l'interlocuteur en temps différé leur permettant de s'enregistrer à plusieurs reprises et ainsi s'entraîner à la prise de parole tout en étant accompagnés par un tuteur. L'analyse des discours et des stratégies de réalisation des vidéos ainsi que les résultats des entretiens semi-directifs menés en amont et en aval avec les apprenants-participants, nous ont permis de répondre à nos questions de recherche, à savoir de quelle manière le tutorat en ligne, les tâches communicatives réalisées avec un outil mobile et la communication asynchrone sur un réseau social en ligne influent sur la production orale et l'autonomisation des apprenants coréens de FLE. / This research is in the field of foreign language didactics. It is particularly about learning spoken French via mobile technology. We carried out a research action while we elaborated a training device which would allow Korean learners of French to practice oral speech. As Korean culture is influenced by Confucian philosophy, teaching-learning foreign languages is characterized by a hierarchical relationship between the "master" and his "disciple" and is often focused on writing. Our didactic scenario included language learning tasks outside of formal learning and supported by distance tutoring. A couple of experiments were conducted in 2008 and 2010 with two Korean sets of French language learners living in Korea who were asked to perform language tasks using video recording. The learners were asked to perform oral productions in response to videos recorded by a native French speaker living in France. Through a mobile phone connected to the Internet and an Korean online social network (Cyworld), learners could exchange with the French native asynchronically. This allowed them to record themselves several times and practice speaking skills by the way, benefiting from advice given by a tutor. We analyzed discourse, video-implemented strategies and semi-directed interviews conducted upstream and downstream with the learners. This brought us to find out to which extent online tutoring, communicative tasks performed with a mobile device, and asynchronous communication via an online social network may influence oral production and autonomy of Korean learners of French.

English is the second language of almost 89,9% of all South Africans (Bull, 1990:3). A concern about the low levels of proficiency in English in South African primary schools prompted this study. The majority of pupils (both in schools that use English as medium of instruction and schools that offer English as a subject only), as well as many teachers of English are not proficient in English. The aim of this study is to design a task-based syllabus for English in South African primary schools that will address this problem through its potential to provide extensive support for the teaching and learning of English. The syllabus is the single most influential document all English Second Language (ESL) teachers receive, as it directs and guides teaching. In order to propose a syllabus for ESL in primary schools, the following aspects were investigated in this study: the teaching and learning of ESL in the primary school approaches to syllabus design, task-based approaches to syllabus design, current language syllabuses and the present situation in South African primary schools. Task-based approaches to language learning are increasingly proposed as a viable option for syllabus design. There is a firm theoretical rationale for task-based approaches to language learning. Task-based models proposed by Prabhu, Breen and Candlin and Long and Crookes have been influential in the design of task-based syllabuses for language learning. A survey was undertaken to ascertain to what extent language syllabuses from various countries can be regarded as task-based, and what information they specify. Seven representative task-based syllabuses were studied, namely Graded Levels of Achievement for Foreign Language Learning (GLAFLL), the Alabama Course of Study - English Language Arts and the Alaska Model Curriculum Guide: Language Arts (both for English as L1), and the Dutch Syllabus for ESL, the Botswana Syllabus for ESL, the Australian Language Levels (ALL) Project and the Target Oriented curriculum (TOC) of Hong Kong. The Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) of Hong Kong is regarded as the most suitable model on which to base a task-based model for language teaching and learning in South African primary schools. Not only does it provide firm support for classroom practice in a teacher-friendly and concise manner, but it also provides examples of how the various components of the syllabus can be integrated in the planning of a scheme of work. A core task-based syllabus for English in South African primary schools is proposed. It consists of a situation analysis, the aims and objectives of the course, its content, teaching-learning opportunities and guidelines for assessment. / Proefskrif (PhD (Vakdidaktiek))--PU vir CHO, 1997

English is the second language of almost 89,9% of all South Africans (Bull, 1990:3). A concern about the low levels of proficiency in English in South African primary schools prompted this study. The majority of pupils (both in schools that use English as medium of instruction and schools that offer English as a subject only), as well as many teachers of English are not proficient in English. The aim of this study is to design a task-based syllabus for English in South African primary schools that will address this problem through its potential to provide extensive support for the teaching and learning of English. The syllabus is the single most influential document all English Second Language (ESL) teachers receive, as it directs and guides teaching. In order to propose a syllabus for ESL in primary schools, the following aspects were investigated in this study: the teaching and learning of ESL in the primary school approaches to syllabus design, task-based approaches to syllabus design, current language syllabuses and the present situation in South African primary schools. Task-based approaches to language learning are increasingly proposed as a viable option for syllabus design. There is a firm theoretical rationale for task-based approaches to language learning. Task-based models proposed by Prabhu, Breen and Candlin and Long and Crookes have been influential in the design of task-based syllabuses for language learning. A survey was undertaken to ascertain to what extent language syllabuses from various countries can be regarded as task-based, and what information they specify. Seven representative task-based syllabuses were studied, namely Graded Levels of Achievement for Foreign Language Learning (GLAFLL), the Alabama Course of Study - English Language Arts and the Alaska Model Curriculum Guide: Language Arts (both for English as L1), and the Dutch Syllabus for ESL, the Botswana Syllabus for ESL, the Australian Language Levels (ALL) Project and the Target Oriented curriculum (TOC) of Hong Kong. The Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) of Hong Kong is regarded as the most suitable model on which to base a task-based model for language teaching and learning in South African primary schools. Not only does it provide firm support for classroom practice in a teacher-friendly and concise manner, but it also provides examples of how the various components of the syllabus can be integrated in the planning of a scheme of work. A core task-based syllabus for English in South African primary schools is proposed. It consists of a situation analysis, the aims and objectives of the course, its content, teaching-learning opportunities and guidelines for assessment. / Proefskrif (PhD (Vakdidaktiek))--PU vir CHO, 1997