Processing Perspectives on Task Performance: 5 (Task-Based Language Teaching) - Softcover

9789027207265: Processing Perspectives on Task Performance: 5 (Task-Based Language Teaching)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9027207267 ISBN 13: 9789027207265

Verlag: John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2014

Understanding how second language task-based performance can be raised is vital for progress with task-based approaches to instruction. The chapters in this volume all attempt to advance this understanding, and do so within a viewpoint which assumes limited attentional capacities and accounts for second language speaking based on Levelt's model of first language speaking. Six empirical chapters present original studies. They explore the topics of task planning, familiarity of information in a task, task repetition, task characteristics, and the effects of using post-task transcription. The studies interweave with and build upon each other, reflecting their conjoint focus on how second language learning memory and attention limitations shape their performance in using the target language. In the concluding chapter the accumulated findings across these studies are discussed in terms of the nature of preparation for a task, the role of task structure, the respective claims of the Tradeoff and Cognition Hypotheses, the role of selective attention, and the implications of the studies for pedagogy. The book is a central reference for students in psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, and task-based language teaching.

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This volume, on the whole, presents a focused set of exceptionally well-designed studies that investigate task design variables and their major processing benefits for L2 speakers. A major contribution of this volume is Skehan's proposed finer-grained definition for the construct of "planning," which includes the traditional concept of planning, along with newer additions of readiness-task-internal properties, such as content familiarity and task. Moreover, the consistency of the CAF-lexis performance measures across the volume is a valuable model which, if adopted, could contribute to the validity and reliability of future studies. One area for improvement would be a fuller exploration of proficiency levels; the editor readily admits that this volume only contributes to our understanding of intermediate learners. In addition, the pedagogical implications are highly theoretical and would benefi t from more concrete examples. The volume assumes prior knowledge of several important theoretical concepts, such as serial versus parallel processing, rendering it somewhat inaccessible for a nonexpert audience. Nevertheless, this research significantly contributes to a theoretical understanding of task design, its impact on performance measures, and the manner in which L2 speakers can overcome the limitations of their finite cognitive resources.) -- Julie B. Lake, Georgetown University, in Studies in Second Language Acquisition 37:1 (2014