Developmental effects of second language learning through interaction: The acquisition and use of formulaic language in the ESL classroom. 博士課程　倉田（藤井）　彰子

【発表要旨】 Following Long’s Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983, 1985, 1996), a considerable amount of research has investigated the role of interactionally modified input, interactional feedback, attention, and comprehensible output in promoting second language development. One area within interaction research that has been underrepresented is the analysis of the developmental effects of interaction. This study aims to investigate the nature of second language development that is promoted through conversational interaction. Following recent cognitive theories of second language learning and use that emphasize the role of formulaic chunks in language development, the study conducts an investigation of task-based learning in the EFL classroom to examine 1) the effects of task-based interaction on learners’ inventories of formulaic language, 2) the relationship between specific interactional patterns and emergence of new formulae, 3) the role of formulaic language insubsequent creative construction, and 4) individual differences in use of formulaic language.

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大学院留学に関するシンポジウム 倉田（藤井）　彰子

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Aptitude profiles and individual differences in language production during task-based interaction in the EFL classroom 倉田（藤井）　彰子

【発表要旨】 This study examines individual differences in language production, or output during task-based interaction in the second language classroom. An increasing number of studies have investigated the effect of task design and implementation variables on learner output, in order to provide a basis for sound pedagogical decisions about task implementation (Foster & Skehan,1996; Mehnert,1998; Robinson, 2001; Skehan & Foster,1999; Yuan & Ellis,2003). Findings from these studies indicate that external variable such as planning time or task complexity can affect learners' allocation of attention, and thus influence what aspect of language production is prioritized. Individuals may vary, however, in attentional allocation, and in their relative focus on accuracy, fluency, or complexity. In other words, individual learners may benefit in different ways from the same task. Yet few studies have examined the individual variation in language produced, or the effects of individual cognitive factors on the nature of language produced during task-based interactions. This study focuses on foreign language aptitude, as a complex of abilities (Robinson, 2002; Skehan, 2002) that may influence the nature of language produced during task-based interaction. The study examines the relationship between learners' foreign language aptitude profiles and individual differences in dimensions of language production. A small-scale case study was conducted in an academic speaking class within an intensive English for Academic Purposes program in a university in Japan, in order to examine learner production in task-based interaction as it occurs in an authentic context. Data was collected over the course of one 10-week term. A total of 15 learners participated in an aptitude test battery with components for language analytic ability, phonological short-term memory, and working memory in both Japanese (L1) and English (L2). Learner output on interactive tasks were analyzed using a variety of measures for accuracy, fluency, complexity, and use of formulaic language. Preliminary findings indicate consistency in individual tendencies to prioritize different aspects of language use, and a complex relationship between individual learners’ cognitive capacities and the nature of their language production. Implications for second language acquisition will be discussed.

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Individual differences in aptitude, attention, and second language production in the EFL classroom 倉田（藤井）　彰子

【発表要旨】 Although research has addressed the roles of attention and cognitive resources in second language development through interaction (Egi, 2004; Gass & Alvarez-Torres, 2005, Mackey, 2000; Mackey, Gass, & McDonough, 2000; Mackey, Philp, Egi, Fujii, & Tatsumi, 2002; Philp, 2003), there has been little investigation into how learners’ second language production may be shaped by their allocation of attention or by individual differences in cognitive abilities. The present study explored the relationship between three variables: second language production, learners’ attention to form, and foreign language aptitude. A descriptive classroom-based study was conducted in an EFL context to investigate task-based learner-learner interactions. Second language production was analyzed in terms of accuracy, syntactic complexity, lexical variety, lexical sophistication, and fluency. Learners’ attention to form was measured through learning journals, stimulated recall, interviews, and self-corrections during interaction. Aptitude measures included tests of language analytic ability, phonological short-term memory, and working memory. First, findings indicated, contrary to expectations, that attention to form was associated with low aptitude. Qualitative analysis suggests that this may be because attention to form was often triggered by communicative difficulties. Second, findings indicated a relationship between attention to form and only one measure of second language production, lexical variety. However, qualitative analysis suggests the need to look at second language production in a comprehensive way; learners with high aptitude may have been better able to prioritize multiple dimensions of second language production in cognitively complex tasks.

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