1 TBLT and Less Commonly Taught Languages Curriculum Development John MacDermott Director, Instructional Technology Junko Takada SLA Lexicology Specialist Project Research Assistant Albert Matthews Senior Support Specialist for Instructional Technology Edward Dixon Coordinator for Technology in Foreign Languages University of Pennsylvania, US Facing challenges in FL programs:  phonological development  automatic oral production of non salient forms ********************************************** Development of Curriculum Incorporating Web Based Oral Tasks ********************************************** Sponsored by: The Ivy League Language Learning & Teaching Consortium Junko Hondo University of Pennsylvania, US / Lancaster University, UK International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching September, 2005 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

2 Challenges in Less Commonly Taught Languages Classroom  Limited exposure to the target language outside of the classroom presents difficulties -  phonological development Phonological adjustment is said to be difficult after the critical/sensitive period  automatic oral production of non salient forms Non salient linguistic features for L2 learners are reported to be difficult to learn and are prone to fossilize universally Attempt at a solution? → Promote oral production using non salient forms outside of the classroom → CALL? Empirical studies: Positive outcomes of CMC tasks (Kern, 1995, Kitabe, 2000, Salaberry,2000 among others) Creation of web based oral / written tasks incorporated within the existing curriculum * Task-based approach to syllabus (Breen,1987, Skehan, 1996, White, 1988) Task-based Syllabus per se : i)“its representation of communicative competence as the undertaking and achievement of a range of tasks; ii)its direct reliance on the contributions of learners in terms of the mobilisation of the prior communicative competence which learners bring to any task; iii)its emphasis upon the learning process as appropriate content during language learning” (White 1988:102)

3 Task Type and Effects: Theoretical Perspectives Open (indeterminate)Closed (discrete) Facilitates comprehension, more negotiation of meaning, more learner speech (interlanguage) modification One way information flow Fluency Enhancement Two way information flow Accuracy and Complexity Enhancement One way information flow Fluency Enhancement Two way information flow Accuracy and Complexity Enhancement Structure Based Facilitates Accuracy under Unpressured Conditions Non Structure based Structure Based Facilitates Accuracy under Unpressured Conditions Non Structure based Structure Based Facilitates Accuracy under Unpressured Conditions Non Structure Based Structure Based Facilitates Accuracy under Unpressured Conditions Non Structure based

4 Tasks: 4 themes i.Phonological development and self evaluation skills ii.Transformation of the nature of the feedback: implicitness → explicitness iii.Revealing the effect of synchronous and asynchronous communication iv.Tracking the cognitive registration of form: strong feasibility of longitudinal study Self evaluationFeedbackSynchronous vs Asynchronous Tracking Attentional shift TasksTelephone Message Oral Diary Spot the difference Story construction Jigsaw Discussion Chat Story construction Jigsaw Spot the difference Story construction Jigsaw Focused Form  Supra-segmental  Double vowel  Flap “R”  Word final “N”  Tense aspect  Honorific terminologies  Adjective transformation  Locative terminologies  Particles  Tense aspect  Adjective transformation  Locative terminologies Interaction-NNS – NNS NS - NNS NNS - NNSNNS – NNS NS - NNS

5 Sample Self Evaluation  “sing-song”-like  dropped “N” sound  flat intonations (NS evaluation is reverse)  choppy between words (NS evaluation is reverse)  O after N was difficult (glottal – high back)  alternated sounds: Ka → Ga (Pe → Be, Za → Jya were unmentioned) Decrease in number of mistakes from NS evaluations over 13 weeks (Chart)  Double vowel has been manifested for all subjects: no mistakes found 13 weeks later  There was no improvement in pronouncing Japanese flap “R” regardless of L1 of the subjects  Improvement was evident for both word final “N” and supra segmentation SS: Supra Segmental D. V: Omission of second vowel in double vowel F.N: Omission of word final “N” Flap R:Japanese Flap “R”

6 2. Feedback: Recast: Implicit in nature Modified feedback with partial reformulation provided immediately following an erroneous utterance, with no adjustment in meaning High uptake from recast (Often in the classroom, recasts are overlooked by learners. The student reformations, or uptake, is sometimes reported as low as 18% (Lyster and Ranta, 1997) With the constraint of perceptual modality, does it become “Explicit”? English translation:Japanese Transcription: T: How many pencils are there on top of the table? Table no ue ni, enpitsu ga nan bon arimasuka? S: Table is – 2 pencils (sic: counter suffixes) Table wa, enpitsu ni bon arimasu. T: Yes, there are two pencils on top of the table, aren’t there? How many books are there on the side of pencils? Hai, table no ue ni, enpitsu ga nihon arimasune. Enpitsu no yoko ni, hon ga, nan satsu arimasuka? S: Pencil is, on the side, book is, two are, exist. Enpitsu wa, yoko ni, hon wa, nisatsu ga arimasu. T: There are two books on the side of the pencil. What are those items there next to Ms. Masako. Enpitsu no yoko ni, hon ga, nisatsu arimasu. Masako san no yoko ni, nani ga imasuka? S: There are two umbrellas (sic: existence) behind of Ms. Masako. Masako san no ushiro ni, kasa ga, san bon imasu, arimasu. Eg: Subject’s L1: English Length of Japanese study: Nine months at this stage Focused form – Particles wa, ga, ni

7 3. Synchronous vs Asynchronous Asynchronous: Higher accuracy & Comprehension * Proficiency dependent? Correct Production Comprehension Pre&Post Tests Delta Average Pausing Synchronous A total of 251 productions of the target features 81%11% (63% - 74%) 6sec Asynchronous A total of 269 production of the target features 93%21% (63% - 84%) 22sec

8 4. Tracking the Cognitive Registration of Form Depending on the developmental stage, the relationship between the written and oral production changes: eg Oral production:Oba-a-san to oji-i-san wa, hidari ni arimasu. (Grandmother and grandfather are on the left.) Written production: Oba-san to Oji-san wa hidari ni arimasu. (Aunt and uncle are on the left.) Linguistic ItemWritten ProductionOral ProductionDevelopmental Stage Oji-i-san (Grandfather) Oba-a-san (Grandmother) Oji-san: Inaccurate (Uncle) Oba-san: Inaccurate (Aunt) Oji-i-san: Accurate (Grandfather) Oba-a-san: Accurate (Grandmother) Fluctuating stage Arimasu / Imasu (Existence for non- animated objects / animated objects) Arimasu used for people Inaccurate Arimasu used for people Inaccurate Initial stage: corresponding mistakes Subject’s L1: Korean Length of Japanese study: 3 months at this stage

9 Cognitive Processes and Pedagogical Implications Initial StageFluctuating StageStabilized/ Fossilized Stage OralStable: Inaccurate or Accurate Fluctuate: Inaccurate/Accurate Stable: Accurate or Inaccurate WrittenStable: Inaccurate or Accurate Fluctuate: Accurate/Inaccurate Stable: Accurate or Inaccurate Cognitive ProcessesNoticing: (Attention vs. Noticing) Registration and Operation in Working Memory Registration and Operation in Long Term Memory Pedagogical implicationStrong feasibility in TBLT/CALL with multimodal emphasis and constraints of perceptual system? Impact of form focused intervention associated with “meaning” Very little or no impact by intervention e.g.: Yu → Jyu (page 10)

10 Feasibility of Longitudinal Studies: Case of L1 German 10 months Phonetic manifestation of the “Yu” replaced with “Jya” L1 German: feature Ja sound is pronounced Ya Periodic data correction Linguistic Item Student productionTarget languageDevelopmental Stage Yuu mei (Famous) Machi ni wa, ookikute, jyu mei na, daigaku ga... (In town, there is a large and famous university... ) Machi ni wa, ookikute, yuu mei na, daigaku ga... (In town, there is a large and famous university... ) Stabilized stage (Stabilized for 8 weeks at this stage) Yuu mei (Famous) Demo, totemo jyu mei de wa arimasen. Watashi no otoo san wa, cyotto jyu mei desu. (However, not too famous. My father is a little famous.) Watashi no okaa san wa, jyu mei dewa arimasen. (My mother is not famous.) Demo, totemo yuu mei de wa arimasen. Watashi no otoo san wa, cyotto jyu mei desu. (However, not too famous. My father is a little famous.) Watashi no okaa san wa, yuu mei dewa arimasen. (My mother is not famous.) Stabilized stage (Stabilized for 11 weeks at this stage)

11 Thank you Sponsored by: Ivy League Language Learning & Teaching Consortium Grant John MacDermott Director, Instructional Technology Junko Takada SLA Lexicology Specialist Project Research Assistant Albert Matthews Senior Support Specialist for Instructional Technology Edward Dixon Coordinator for Technology in Foreign Languages