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THE EFFECT OF LEARNER CHOICE ON L2 TASK ENGAGEMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2020

Sachiko Nakamura Open the ORCID record for Sachiko Nakamura [Opens in a new window] ,
Linh Phung  and
Hayo Reinders
Sachiko Nakamura*
Affiliation:
King Mongkut’s University of TechnologyThonburi
Linh Phung
Affiliation:
Chatham University
Hayo Reinders
Affiliation:
King Mongkut’s University of TechnologyThonburi
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sachiko Nakamura, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand. E-mail: sachiko8266@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study examined the effect of choice on EFL learners’ task engagement. Twenty-four Thai university students completed two opinion-gap tasks. In one, they discussed and agreed on three items among given options (+constraint). In the other, they discussed and agreed on three items among the options they generated (−constraint). Spoken interaction and questionnaires were analyzed for behavioral (time on task, words produced, turns), cognitive (negotiation of meaning and form, self-repairs), social (overlaps and turn completion, backchannels), and emotional engagement (anxiety, enjoyment), based on Philp and Duchesne’s multifaceted model. The −constraint task had positive effects on all the cognitive engagement measures, but only one of the behavioral measures (turns) and one of the social measures (overlaps). Learners reported higher anxiety and enjoyment in the −constraint task. The findings highlight the interrelated multidimensional nature of learner task engagement while suggesting pedagogical implications and avenues for future research.

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Type
Research Report
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 428 - 441
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

We are deeply grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the quality of the paper.

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