Factors limiting learners’ success in achieving task outcomes in CALL  

Oleh:

Tanaka-Ellis, Nobue

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching (Full Text) vol. 4 no. 3 (2010), page 213-233.
Topik: task-based learning; learner autonomy; computer-mediated communication; online learning
Fulltext: Vol. 4, No. 3, November 2010, 213-233.pdf (823.98KB)

Isi artikel

Task-based language teaching has been reported as an effective way of promoting interaction between learners in language classrooms in recent years, with an increasing amount of research appearing that incorporates technology to facilitate these tasks. While much of this research has focused on the positive aspects of these interactions (e.g. increased autonomous behaviour, learning with authentic materials and enhanced motivation), there is evidence that problems also occur, such as conflicts between group members during collaborative work and a general lack of structure. The current study reports on one such case, where the task outcomes fell far short of the level expected by both the teacher and researcher. This paper attempts to identify the factors that worked against the successful achievement of task outcomes of two collaborative tasks which were assigned to Australian secondary school students learning Japanese during two CALL classes: bulletin board message exchanges with Japanese native speakers, and production of a web page in Japanese. The results indicated that there were several factors that limited learners’ success in achieving the expected task outcomes, including a lack of technical support, explicitness and frequency of task instructions, an inaccurate assessment of the learning environment, a lack of teacher motivation and expertise in CALL, failure by the learners to actively engage in the tasks, learners’ limited computer skills and features inherent to the mode of interaction. These issues are discussed with regard to the creation of tasks that are conducive to active learner engagement.

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