Oral Interaction in the EFL Classroom: The Effects of Instructional Focus and Task Type on Learner Affect

Abstract

Little is known about the effects of different instructional approaches on learner affect in oral interac- tion 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 re- vealed that learners’ enjoyment of EFL oral interaction was not affected by instruction, that willingness to communicate (WTC) decreased over time, and that self-con dence was positively affected by com- bining 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 achieve- ment in EFL oral interaction, but that development in self-con dence did explain achievement in EFL oral interaction in trained interactional contexts.