'Investigating second language speaking and writing processes: A task-based perspective.'

Andrea Revesz, University College London

In the past few decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has received an increasing amount of attention from instructed SLA researchers as a means to promote L2 communicative ability in L2 instructed contexts. This enhanced interest has also led to a growth of research on TBLT, with much of the extant research dedicated to investigating the characteristics of task-based speech and written production. As a result, considerable progress has been made in describing and understanding the behaviours of L2 speakers and writers when they carry out task-based work. To date, however, much less is known about the processes in which L2 learners engage when they perform oral and written tasks.

In this talk, I will argue that, to promote L2 theory-building and advance task-based pedagogical practices, it is crucial that researchers devote more attention to task-generated processes. Then, I will briefly review methods available to study task-based processes and highlight that, with a view to achieving a fuller and more complete understanding of neuro-cognitive processes during task work, it is best to triangulate various research techniques.

To demonstrate, I will describe and discuss some of my and collaborators’ past and ongoing work on task-based speech and written production processes through mixed methods, including subjective (questionnaires, stimulated recalls) and objective (dual-task methodology, keystroke-logging, eye-tracking, and fMRI) tools. To begin with, I will focus on work that explored links between task complexity and task-based processes employing behavioural tools. Then, I will move onto ongoing work investigating pausing behaviours during L2 speech and writing by combining behavioural and neuroimaging techniques.

I will end the talk with summarising the main findings from this line of work drawing on my own and others’ work. I will also outline some recommendations for future neuro-cognitively oriented research into L2 speaking and writing processes.