Abstract
Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is well known for providing authentic opportunities for second and foreign language (L2) skill development. However, for many learners the use of traditional grammar within TBLT lacks the functional support necessary to create accurate and fluent L2 output. The current study replaced traditional grammar explanations with a semantic meaning-order approach to pedagogical grammar (MAP or MAP grammar) as a means to bridge the language in tasks to their function and thereby strengthen form-to-meaning understanding. The study combined TBLT and MAP grammar to look for changes in the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of 127 L2 learners’ writings. The results showed TBLT and MAP separately increased syntactic complexity, whereas the combination of the two provided gains in accuracy and fluency. This was achieved by systematically directing learners’ attention to a sequence of functional choices thereby simplifying necessary metalinguistic explanations.
Highlights
Task-based language learning is generally a simultaneous process of learning two separate knowledge domains
The present study was designed to research the combined effect of MAP grammar and task complexity, under simple and complex task conditions, on the written output of Japanese university L2 learners of English
The first research question asked to what extent the combination of MAP grammar, taskbased language teaching (TBLT), and increased task difficulty affected syntactic complexity
Summary
Task-based language learning is generally a simultaneous process of learning two separate knowledge domains. Learning how to complete tasks necessitates learning the language particular to each and every context and, possibly, metalinguistic expressions. Within this second knowledge domain, metalinguistic explanations have been shown to be an effective aid for learners in the completion of tasks. Second language acquisition (SLA) research has shown how FonF is effective at promoting more accurate use of the L2 (Spada & Tomita, 2010), but sometimes less so at demonstrating communicative control in fluent use (Shintani, 2013). Metalinguistic explanations can be either term or process based (Berry, 2010). Since traditional grammar explanations tend to be term based, they may not facilitate an understanding of how grammatical processes function. A semantic meaning-order approach to pedagogical grammar (MAP or MAP grammar) systematizes explanations of metalinguistic processes on a semantic basis within each task, thereby making the process of meaning making within the task easier to understand
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