Little is known about the effects of different instructional approaches on learner affect in oral interaction in the foreign language classroom. In a randomized experiment with Dutch pre-vocational learners (N = 147), we evaluated the effects of 3 newly developed instructional programs for English as a foreign language (EFL). These programs differed in instructional focus (form-focused vs. interaction strategies- oriented) and type of task (pre-scripted language tasks vs. information gap tasks). Multilevel analyses revealed that learners’ enjoyment of EFL oral interaction was not affected by instruction, that willingness to communicate (WTC) decreased over time, and that self-confidence was positively affected by combining information gap tasks with interactional strategies instruction. In addition, regression analyses revealed that development in learners’ WTC and enjoyment did not have predictive value for achievement in EFL oral interaction, but that development in self-confidence did explain achievement in EFL oral interaction in trained interactional contexts.
Course materials play a vital role in the foreign language classroom. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to analyzing the activities that foster oral interactional ability in EFL course materials. For the purpose of this study, a coding scheme was designed that focuses specifically on the development of interactional ability. This was used to analyse the three most commonly used EFL course books for pre-vocational learners in The Netherlands. The analysis revealed that course books focus more on developing language knowledge than on developing the ability to use this knowledge in interaction, that interactional strategies practice is missing, and that interactional practice is limited to the personal and public context. We conclude that EFL course books lag behind current SLA theories in the practical application of activities focused on developing interactional ability. Recommendations to strengthen the link between theory and practice are made.
This article explores ways to assess interactional performance, and reports on the use of a test format that standardizes the interlocutor’s linguistic and interactional contributions to the exchange. It describes the construction and administration of six scripted speech tasks (instruction-, advice-, and sales tasks) with pre-vocational learners (n=34), and reports on the extent to which these tasks can be used to assess L2 speakers’ interactional performance in a reliable and valid manner. The high agreement found between three independent raters on both holistic- and analytical measurements of interactional performance, indicate that this construct can be measured reliably with these tasks. Means and standard deviations demonstrate that tasks differentiate between speakers’ interactional performance. Holistic ratings of linguistic accuracy and interactional ability correlate highly between tasks that focus on different language functions, and are situated in different interactional domains. Furthermore, positive correlations are found between both holistic and analytic ratings of oral performance and vocabulary size. Positive within-task correlations between analytical ratings of specific interactional strategies and holistic ratings of overall interactional ability show that analytic ratings of Meaning Negotiation and Correcting Misinterpretation provide additional information about speakers’ interactional ability that is not captured by holistic assessment alone. It is concluded that these tasks are a useful diagnostic tool for practitioners to support their learners’ interactional abilities at a sub-skill level.
