20 October: DCLRS -- Friday 4pm -- Christine Appel
Dublin Computational Linguistics Research Seminar: Index of October 2004 | Dublin Computational Linguistics Research Seminar - Index of year: 2004 | Full index
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Speaker: Dr. Christine Appel
venue: Davis Lecture Theatre (Arts Building Room 2043)
Trinity College, University of Dublin
time: 4:00-6:00, Friday, October 22
title:
Manipulating interactive factors to enhance language learning in a
task-based e-mail tandem environment.
abstract:
I will describe a study, which evaluates tasks designed for e-mail tandem
language learning. E-mail correspondence takes place in a web-based
environment especially designed for e-mail tandem language learning. In
this environment students are requested to use both their L1 and L2 each
time they write and are also prompted to provide language feedback on
their partners' L2.
Robinson's (2001) model of task design factors affecting task performance
is used. Robinson's model classifies factors into three dimensions:
cognitive, interactive, and difficulty. The variable explored in this
study falls into the interactive dimension and more specifically within
participation variables: divergent/convergent goal. The remaining
interactive variables and cognitive variables remain equal, and we control
for variations in difficulty factors by means of a pre-test and
questionnaires. Two groups of Spanish/Irish tandem partners participated
in the study, one group was assigned the convergent condition and the
other the divergent condition.
I report on the effect of the divergent/convergent condition on language
production. The following questions are posed: a) is there a difference
in the variety and quantity of linguistic functions employed by tandem
pairs? and b) is there a higher number of instances of negotiation of
meaning and peer feedback? These questions are discussed in terms of input
(L1 production of tandem partner) as well as output (L2 production).
Dublin Computational Linguistics Research Seminar - Index of October 2004 | Index of year: 2004 | Full index