Jonathan Newton

Task-based interaction and incidental vocabulary learning: a case study

This case study examines the vocabulary gains made by an adult learner of English as a second language as a result of performing four communication tasks. Gains were measured on comparisons of pre- and post-tests of vocabulary from the worksheets from the four tasks. These gains are discussed in relation to the interactional processes involving unfamiliar vocabulary. Explicit negotiation of word meaning appeared less deterministic of post-test improvements than use of words in the process of completing the task. While this result may to some extent be an artifact of test design, it is also true that when the group actively used vocabulary which was unfamiliar to the subject of this study, the embedding of this vocabulary in the context of the task and its interactive use are likely to have provided not only important information about word meaning but also the conditions whereby that meaning could be acquired. The placement of a word on task worksheets and the nature of a task, whether a split information task or a shared information task, both had a strong effect on use and acquisition of new vocabulary.

Incidental vocabulary learning in classroom communication tasks

This study investigated the ways in which two groups of four adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) responded to unfamiliar words they encountered in four communication tasks and the effect that different levels of engagement with these words (including negotiation of form and meaning) had on subsequent recall of word meaning. Of the four tasks, two were information gap tasks and two were opinion gap tasks. The results showed a strong task type effect on both the amount and type of negotiation, with more negotiation of the form of words (including spelling and pronunciation) in the information gap tasks and, conversely, more negotiation of meaning in the opinion gap tasks. Through the negotiation process, the learners in the study provided accurate information to each other on word meaning. However, only a small proportion of the total number of unfamiliar words in the tasks were actually negotiated for meaning. The prediction that negotiated words would be more likely to be learnt was confirmed, although the learners also showed improved recall of many words that had not been negotiated. Averaged across learners and tasks, the post-test gains approximated to four instances of word learning per 30 minutes of task work, a gain measured three days after the words were met in the tasks. Seen as a proportion of unfamiliar words in the pre-test these are gains of around one in every three unfamiliar words met in the tasks. The finding that much of the improved recall of word meaning was for words that had not been negotiated indicates that the role of negotiation in learning through communication tasks needs to be viewed from a wider perspective.

Teaching English for Intercultural Spoken Communication

Communicative approaches to teaching English can too easily marginalise or ignore culture and intercultural perspectives, assuming (implicitly or explicitly) that learners aspire to a goal of something approaching idealized English native speaker competence. More than ever, this is a problematic assumption; the linguistic landscape for English is rapidly evolving as English becomes a global lingua franca for interaction between people from different first language backgrounds. This shift raises questions as to what communicative norms, if any, should form the basis for teaching and curricula planning, and how learners can be best prepared to communicate via English with other non-native speakers. In response to such issues, in this chapter I propose a set of principles to guide the teaching of English for intercultural spoken communication. I begin by providing a brief outline of the field of intercultural languages education and the origins of the principles. I then outline the theoretical basis and rationale for each principle and suggest ways in which teachers can draw on the principles to cultivate the practice of intercultural communicative language teaching.