Learning by Doing: The Affordances of Task-Based Pragmatics Instruction for Beginning L2 Spanish Learners Studying Abroad

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Autor/in	Morris, Kimberly Jane
Titel	Learning by Doing: The Affordances of Task-Based Pragmatics Instruction for Beginning L2 Spanish Learners Studying Abroad
Quelle	(2017), (339 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Davis
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-0-3554-6139-8
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Foreign Countries; Study Abroad; Task Analysis; Spanish; Second Language Learning; Pragmatics; Second Language Instruction; Teaching Methods; Speech Acts; Cultural Awareness; Novices; Computer Assisted Instruction; Audio Equipment; Language Tests; Pretests Posttests; Interviews; Surveys; Student Attitudes; Instructional Effectiveness; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Comparative Analysis; Spain (Madrid); California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Ausland; Studies abroad; Auslandsstudium; Aufgabenanalyse; Spanisch; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Pragmalinguistik; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sprechakt; Cultural identity; Kulturelle Identität; Computer based training; Computerunterstützter Unterricht; Audio-CD; Language test; Sprachtest; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Schülerverhalten; Unterrichtserfolg; Kalifornien
Abstract	The study abroad (SA) context is often assumed to foster pragmatic development in a second language (L2), yet previous scholarship confirms that pragmatic norms are culturally-shaped and often remain imperceptible to uninstructed SA students (Bataller, 2010; Cohen & Shively, 2007; Shively, 2010). Because pragmatics is not traditionally taught in language classrooms (Bardovi-Harlig, 2013), SA students are left to their own devices when interacting in the host community and performing face-threatening speech acts in their L2 such as requests and refusals, among others. Considering the importance of pragmatics for successful communication along with the predominance of short-term SA programs, it is crucial to support and accelerate students' pragmatic development during immersion, especially beginners with limited linguistic and cultural knowledge. This study explores the affordances of explicitly teaching pragmatics to 12 students who studied beginning L2 Spanish in Spain for 10 weeks. A task-based instructional treatment (Long, 2015) was designed to raise students' awareness of appropriate linguistic and cultural norms related to various speech acts, or meaningful "tasks" such as asking for directions and ordering a meal. Instruction was complemented with computer-mediated practice and weekly language exchanges with native speakers to further scaffold student learning. Following instruction, students carried out these tasks in the community and audio-recorded their interactions. To measure students' development, data were collected through a pre/post Discourse Completion Test (DCT), pre-task audio-recordings conducted before instruction, naturalistic audio-recordings of task completion following instruction, self-reflections of task completion, interviews, and surveys. To corroborate the effectiveness of the instructional treatment, further pre/post DCT data were collected from two comparison groups of students studying beginning L2 Spanish, one abroad in Madrid and another at home in California. Analyses of the data confirmed the positive impact the instructional treatment had on students' pragmatic development. The treatment group not only demonstrated statistically significant gains in pragmatic competence on the pre/post DCT measure, but they were also highly successful in applying their knowledge while completing the real-world tasks in the host community, as evidenced by comparisons of their pre-task and task completion recordings. Similarly, the students' reflections of their own task completion showed increased awareness of the pragmatic features that were introduced in the instructional treatment, which likely explains why they demonstrated high retention of their pragmatic competence one full year after the program, as measured by a delayed post-DCT completed by eight of the 12 students. Moreover, the students who received the instructional treatment showed significantly higher gains in pragmatic competence when compared to the students in both comparison groups (abroad and at home) who did not receive the instruction. These results confirm the effectiveness of the task-based instructional model in accelerating beginning L2 students' pragmatic competence while studying abroad. The findings from this study have the potential to not only inform the instructional design of study abroad programs, but also provide directors, teachers, and students with insights on how to maximize the study abroad experience. These findings could potentially change how and when pragmatics is taught both at home and abroad. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01