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14B - Examining High-School Learners’ Experience of Task Motivation and Difficulty in a Two-Week Spanish Immersion Camp

from Part VII - Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Laura Gurzynski-Weiss ,
Lindsay Giacomino  and
Dylan Jarrett
Edited by
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian  and
Michael H. Long
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
Michael H. Long
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

In this chapter, eight second language Spanish high school learners’ experiences of task difficulty and motivation are used to evaluate a two-week task-based domestic immersion camp that took place at a United States university during the summer of 2019. We examined students’ experience of task difficulty through a Likert-scale questionnaire (Robinson, 2001b) and time estimation (Baralt, 2013) elicited immediately following each task cycle. We also examined students’ daily journal entries and end-of-program surveys for comments relating to their experience of task difficulty. Students’ task-specific motivation (Torres & Serafini, 2016) was measured via a Likert-scale questionnaire given after each task cycle. Students also completed complete nightly journals in which they reflected upon their interactions in Spanish, which provided context to explain changes in motivation. Results reveal that students differentially experienced task difficulty in relationship to their motivation and perceived competence. Overall tasks were experienced as designed, being challenging but not overwhelmingly difficult. Certain days and domains were found to be more difficult than others. We discuss how these data contribute to a greater understanding of the intersection between task difficulty and motivation in a task-based immersion context and outline what changes will be made to our program based on these data.

Keywords

TBLTdomestic immersiontask difficultytask complexitytask-specific motivationtask-based program evaluationSpanishhigh school learnersneeds analysistime estimation
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching , pp. 566 - 584
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Dörnyei, Z. and Ottó, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 43–69.Google Scholar
Révész, A. and Gurzynski-Weiss, L. (2016). Teachers’ perspectives on second language task difficulty: Insights from think-alouds and eye tracking. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 182–204.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2011). Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance. In Robinson, P., ed., Researching task complexity: Task demands, task-based language learning, and performance. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 3–38.Google Scholar
Sasayama, S. (2016). Is a ‘complex’ task really complex? Validating the assumption of cognitive task complexity. Modern Language Journal, 100, 231–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P. (2009). A Framework for the implantation of task-based instruction. In Van den Branden, K., Bygate, M., and Norris, J., eds., Task-based language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Torres, J. and Serafini, E. J. (2016). Micro-evaluating learners’ task-specific motivation in a task-based business Spanish course. Hispania, 99(2), 289–304.Google Scholar

References

Baralt, M. L. (2010). Task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, and interaction in CMC and FTF environments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Georgetown University, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Baralt, M. L. (2013). The impact of cognitive complexity on feedback efficacy during online versus face-to-face interactive tasks. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35, 689–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Candlin, C. N. (1987). Towards task-based language learning. In Candlin, C. N. and Murphy, D., eds. Language learning tasks. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp. 5–22Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. and Kormos, J. (2000). The role of individual and social variables in performance. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 275–300.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. and Ottó, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 43–69.Google Scholar
Keller, J. M. (2008). First principles of motivation to learn and e3‐learning. Distance Education, 29(2), 175–85.Google Scholar
Kormos, J. and Dörnyei, Z. (2004). The Interaction of Linguistic and Motivational Variables in Second Language Task Performance. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterrichte, 9(2), 1–21.Google Scholar
Long, M. H. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based teaching. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Révész, A. and Gurzynski-Weiss, L. (2016). Teachers’ perspectives on second language task difficulty: Insights from think-alouds and eye tracking. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 182–204.Google Scholar
Révész, A., Michel, M., and Gilabert, R. (2016). Measuring cognitive task demands using dual-task methodology, subjective self-ratings, and expert judgements: A validation study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 703–37.Google Scholar
Révész, A., Sachs, R., and Hama, M. (2014). The effects of task complexity and input frequency on the acquisition of the past counterfactual construction through recasts. Language Learning, 64, 615–50.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2001b). Task complexity, task difficulty, and task production: Exploring interactions in a componential framework. Applied Linguistics, 22, 27–57.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2011). Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance. In Robinson, P., ed. Researching task complexity: Task demands, task-based language learning and performance. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 3–38.Google Scholar
Sasayama, S. (2016). Is a ‘complex’ task really complex? Validating the assumption of cognitive task complexity. Modern Language Journal, 100, 231–54.Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (2009). A Framework for the implantation of task-based instruction. In Van den Branden, K., Bygate, M., and Norris, J, eds. Task-based language teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 83–108.Google Scholar
Torres, J. and Serafini, E. J. (2016). Micro-evaluating learners’ task-specific motivation in a task-based business Spanish course. Hispania, 99(2), 289–304.Google Scholar
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Vol. 60. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Yanguas, I. (2011). The dynamic nature of motivation during the task: Can it be captured? Innovation in Language Learning and Technology, 5(1), 35–61.Google Scholar

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