Gap Task Research Articles

The impact of opinion gap task and reasoning gap task on reading comprehension

Regarding the crucial role of applying task-based instruction in EFL classes, this study tried to investigate the impact of two tasks, the opinion gap task and the reasoning gap task, on Iranian intermediate EFL learners' reading comprehension skills. The main population including three groups was selected after optional practical training administration, and determined as intermediate. First, a pre-test was given to three groups. After Task-Based Instruction implementation using two tasks, opinion gap and reasoning gap tasks, a post-test was given to identify the positive or negative impact of the treatment on reading comprehension. After the statistical analysis, from one-way ANOVA, the results of the post-test of the two experimental groups proved that applying task-based instruction had a more positive effect on the intermediate EFL learners' reading comprehension skills in comparison to the traditional teaching method which was used for the control group. According to the data analysis, despite the existing positive impact of the aforementioned tasks on reading comprehension skills, the pairwise comparison of the two experimental groups indicated that the opinion gap task and reasoning gap task had approximately an equal influence on learners' reading comprehension skills. Keywords: Cognitive tasks; EFL learners; opinion gap task; reading comprehension; reasoning gap task

Impact of task type and task complexity on negotiation of meaning in young learners of Chinese as a second language

Abstract Negotiation of meaning (NoM) has played a facilitative role in second language acquisition. However, the existing studies have primarily focused on adult English language learners. This study investigated the impact of task type and task complexity on NoM strategies among young learners of Chinese as a second language, an underexplored group. The participants were 110 students in Hong Kong aged 10–12, mainly from Pakistan, India, Philippines, and Nepal. They were asked to perform four tasks with different task types and levels of task complexity in Cantonese (the primary Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong). In terms of task type, the study found that required information exchange tasks (i.e., information gap tasks) produced significantly more clarification requests, confirmation checks, self-repetitions, and other repetitions in terms of total numbers and numbers per 100 Chinese characters than the optional exchange tasks (i.e., decision-making tasks). Complex tasks, on the other hand, elicited significantly more confirmation checks than simple tasks. These findings provide useful insights for designing tasks that can promote greater use of NoM strategies in classroom practice.

Pengaruh Tugas Kesenjangan Pendapat, Penalaran, dan Informasi terhadap Keterampilan Berbicara

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of applying the three gap tasks, namely the gaps of reasoning, opinion, and information in improving middle-level students' speaking skills. The research method used in this research is quasi-experimental. The research participants totaled 200 students who were divided into two groups, namely experimental and control. Participants were divided into three experimental groups and one control group. The students' initial ability in each group was tested to ensure that the students' initial speaking ability did not differ much. The treatment of the three gap assignments was given to the experimental group. The results showed that the three experimental groups that received the intervention for gaps in reasoning, opinions, and information experienced a more significant increase in their speaking ability than the control group. Improvement of students' speaking skills can be seen from various aspects both verbally and nonverbally. It can be concluded that these three gaps of opinion, reasoning, and information tasks are more effective than traditional methods in improving students' speaking skills. The implication of the research is that teachers can choose these three gap tasks to train students in speaking as well as organize their talk.

The Effectiveness of Opinion Gaps, Reasoning, and Information Tasks in Improving Speaking Skills

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using the gap task of opinion, reasoning and information on speaking skills at the secondary school level. This study used a quasi-experimental research method involving 352 students. The three experimental groups received treatment with gaps in opinion, reasoning, and information gap tasks. All groups were examined for their initial speaking ability. The experimental group was given an intervention with gaps in opinion, reasoning, and information while the control group was given a traditional intervention to improve speaking ability. After the intervention had been carried out, all groups were examined for their speaking ability. Data analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that the experimental groups showed a significant increase in speaking ability compared to students in the control group in the post-test phase. Intervention from giving the gap task of opinion, reasoning, and information is more effective for improving speaking skills. Three assignments of opinion gaps, reasoning, and information can improve students' speaking fluency. Of the three assignments, the information gap assignment provides the most significant contribution compared to the gap of opinion and reasoning tasks because the instructions in the information gap task are more varied and more intensive in encouraging students to interact in various contexts. Based on these findings, the researcher recommends designing materials by creating assignments that contain gaps in opinions, reasoning, and information to achieve learning objectives.

The Role of Two-way Information-Gap Tasks on Students’ Motivation in Speaking Lessons in an ESP Context

Speaking is one of the most important skills in language education. However, it becomes more challenging when it is taught in second or foreign language classrooms. For that reason, the present study aims to investigate the role of two-way information gap tasks in students’ motivation in a speaking lesson in an ESP context. The participants are students in a two-year civil aviation program. The program aims to educate students to become qualified employees in the aviation sector. Therefore, students are taught how to communicate with foreign passengers in various situations, from providing a comfortable flight to dealing with flight emergencies using English. To that end, an open-ended motivation questionnaire adapted from Wallace and Leong (2020) was given to the students. The questionnaire inquired about the students’ feelings towards English and their perceptions about whether tasks motivated them or prepared them for their professions. Following the initial examination of the answers in the questionnaire, interview questions were formulated to enrich the data, and one-on-one interviews were conducted with the students on a voluntary basis. The data were analyzed, and the emerging themes were discussed in relation to the research questions formulated for the purposes of this study. The results revealed positive feelings and perceptions toward tasks. Most of the students found tasks motivating and fun. The most salient finding was the students’ perception of tasks as preparatory work for the future due to their instrumental motivation.

The spatial extent of focused attention modulates attentional disengagement

Attention can be flexibly changed to optimize visual processing: it can be oriented, resized, or even divided. Although much is known about these processes individually, much less is known about how they interact with one another. In the present study we examined how the spatial extent of the attentional focus modulates the efficiency of the first component of attentional orienting, the disengagement of attention. To this end, we used abrupt-onset stimuli of different sizes to trigger the reflexive resizing of the attentional focus (Castiello and Umiltà in Acta Psychol 73:195–209, 1990), combined with a gap task to assess the efficiency of attentional disengagement (Mackeben and Nakayama in Vis Res 33:85–90, 1993). The results of five experiments showed that the magnitude of the gap effect is significantly greater when the scope of attention is small than when it is large, indicating that disengaging attention is delayed when attention is highly focused. Furthermore, these findings highlight that different aspects of attentional control interact with one another, emphasizing the importance of studying them in conjunction.

Occupational tasks and wage inequality in West Germany: A decomposition analysis

We study the role of occupational tasks as drivers of West German wage inequality. We match administrative wage data with longitudinal task data, which allow us to account for within-occupation changes in task content over time. We run RIF regression-based decompositions to quantify the contribution of changes in the returns to tasks to overall changes in the wage distribution from 1978 to 2006. We find that changes in the returns to tasks explain up to half of the increase in wage inequality since the 1990s, both at the top and the bottom of the wage distribution. Specifically, abstract tasks drive the upper wage gap, while interactive and routine tasks drive the lower wage gap. Importantly, we find low-wage occupations to have the highest routine task intensity. The association between occupational tasks and West German wage inequality is thus both stronger and different than prior research has found.

INFORMATION GAP TASKS: MOTIVATING AND ENCOURAGING TALK IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS

This study examines how the use of information gap tasks in an English language classroom promoted the use of wh-questions among learners and increased interaction among learners. Literature shows that there is a tendency for language teachers to control the patterns of classroom communication as well as control talk in the classroom, thus limiting interaction and talk among learners. In second language acquisition, learners need to interact in the target language as studies show that learners need to learn to talk and also talk to learn (Tsui, 1995; 2017). Questioning is an important pathway for learners to learn as well as create a talk to acquire language. This paper examines the use of information gap tasks to encourage and promote interaction via wh-questions among learners in a primary vernacular public school in Malaysia. The study adopts a mixed method approach to datacollection where pre-and post-tests were used to analyze the effects of information-gap tasks on wh-questions use. Interaction analysis was also done to examine how learners from different levels of proficiency interacted during the information-gap tasks. The findings of this study revealed that the use of information-gap tasks improved the learners’ use of interrogative pronouns in terms of constructing questions to obtain their desired answers as well as encouraging interactions. Information-gap tasks are suitable tasks and tools to be used in the language classroom to encourage talk and interaction amongst learners to aid language development.

The role of gaze in meaning negotiation episodes in video synchronous computer-mediated interactions

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the replacement of many traditional classroom teaching and learning activities with online interactions through synchronous audio or video conferencing tools. Technically, the key difference between audio and video conferencing is the latter’s use of a webcam. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the webcam’s role in video synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Negotiation for meaning episodes, in which interlocutors try to resolve non-understanding through verbal interaction, were selected for analysis because they are widely believed to be helpful for second language acquisition. Specifically, this paper focuses on where interlocutors look during negotiated interactions in video SCMC and whether a statistical relationship exists between looking at a peer’s video image and successful meaning negotiation. Four dyads of English learners completed information gap tasks with potentially unknown words through learner–learner video SCMS interactions. Students’ multimodal performance was screen recorded for a gaze analysis and one-on-one interviews were conducted to confirm the students’ gaze directions. The results reveal a statistically significant positive relationship between the duration of one’s gaze at the peer’s video image and the number of successful meaning negotiation episodes in a dyad.

Normal saccades but decreased fixation stability in a population of children with dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia affects around 5-15% of the population and has a heterogeneous aetiology. Optometric disorders are more prevalent in dyslexic populations but the relationship be- tween eye movement control and dyslexia is not well established. In this study, we investigated whether children with dyslexia show saccadic or fixation deficits and whether these deficits are related to deficits in visual acuity and/or accommodation. Thirty-four children with and without dyslexia were recruited for the project. All participants had an optometric examination and performed a saccade and fixation experiment. We used two eye movement paradigms: the step and the gap task. Eye movements were recorded by an infrared eye-tracker and saccade and fixation parameters were analysed separately. Saccadic latencies, premature saccades, and directional errors were similar between children with dyslexia and typically developing children. In contrast, fixations were significantly less stable in the dyslexic group. Neither saccades nor fixations were associated with deficits in accommodation or visual acuity. Children with dyslexia showed no difficulties in saccadic performance, but their fixation stability was reduced compared to the control group. The reduced fixation stability can be explained by general deficits in the cognitive processes that underpin eye movement control, that have also been found in other neuro-developmental disorders.

Visual attention and inhibitory control in children, teenagers and adults with autism without intellectual disability: results of oculomotor tasks from a 2-year longitudinal follow-up study (InFoR)

BackgroundInhibitory control and attention processing atypicalities are implicated in various diseases, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These cognitive functions can be tested by using visually guided saccade-based paradigms in children, adolescents and adults to determine the time course of such disorders.MethodsIn this study, using Gap, Step, Overlap and Antisaccade tasks, we analyzed the oculomotor behavior of 82 children, teenagers and adults with high functioning ASD and their peer typically developing (TD) controls in a two-year follow-up study under the auspices of the InFoR-Autism project. Analysis of correlations between oculomotors task measurements and diagnostic assessment of attentional (ADHD-RS and ADHD comorbidity indices) and executive functioning (BRIEF scales) were conducted in order to evaluate their relationship with the oculomotor performance of participants with ASD.ResultsAs indicated by the presence of a Gap and Overlap effects in all age groups, the oculomotor performances of ASD participants showed a preserved capability in overt attention switching. In contrast, the difference in performances of ASD participants in the Antisaccade task, compared to their TD peers, indicated an atypical development of inhibition and executive functions. From correlation analysis between our oculomotor data and ADHD comorbidity index, and scores of attention and executive function difficulties, our findings support the hypothesis that a specific dysfunction of inhibition skills occurs in ASD participants that is independent of the presence of ADHD comorbidity.LimitationsThese include the relatively small sample size of the ASD group over the study’s two-year period, the absence of an ADHD-only control group and the evaluation of a TD control group solely at the study’s inception.ConclusionsChildren and teenagers with ASD have greater difficulty in attention switching and inhibiting prepotent stimuli. Adults with ASD can overcome these difficulties, but, similar to teenagers and children with ASD, they make more erroneous and anticipatory saccades and display a greater trial-to-trial variability in all oculomotor tasks compared to their peers. Our results are indicative of a developmental delay in the maturation of executive and attentional functioning in ASD and of a specific impairment in inhibitory control.

In Flow with Task Repetition During Collaborative Oral and Writing Tasks

The present study draws on Flow Theory to examine the relationship between task repetition and the quality of learners’ subjective experience during task execution. Flow is defined as a positive experiential state characterized by intense focus and involvement in meaningful and challenging, but doable tasks, which has been associated with enhanced self-confidence and task performance (Csikszentmihalyi, 2008). While research shows that certain task characteristics interact differentially with the quality of flow experiences, no research has specifically examined such interaction with task repetition. Participants (n=24) were randomly assigned to a Task Repetition or a Procedural Repetition group. All participants first completed a two-way decision-making gap task in both the oral and written modalities and either repeated the identical task or a comparable task one week later. Data were collected with a flow perception questionnaire, completed immediately following each task. Results show that repetition positively influenced learners’ flow experience, but that modality was an important mediating factor.

Visual disengagement in young infants in relation to age, sex, SES, developmental level and adaptive functioning

Visual attention plays a key role in infants’ interaction with the environment, and shapes their behavioral and brain development. As such, early problems with flexibly switching gaze from one stimulus to another (visual disengagement) have been hypothesized to lead to developmental difficulties (e.g. joint attention and social skills) over time. This study aimed to identify cross-sectional associations between performance in the Gap task (gaze shift latencies and visual attention disengagement) and measures of development and adaptive behavior in conjunction to any sex or socioeconomic status effects in infancy. We measured visual attention disengagement in 436 5-month-old infants and calculated its association with cognitive developmental level, adaptive behaviours, socioeconomic status (SES) and biological sex. In the Gap task, participants must redirect their gaze from a central stimulus to an appearing peripheral stimulus. The three experimental conditions of the task (Gap, Baseline and Overlap) differ on the timepoint when the central stimuli disappears in relation to the appearance of the peripheral stimulus: 200 ms before the peripheral stimulus appears (Gap), simultaneously to its appearance (Baseline), or with peripheral stimulus offset (Overlap). The data from the experimental conditions showed the expected pattern, with average latencies being the shortest in the Gap and longest in the Overlap condition. Females were faster (p = .004) than males in the Gap condition, which could indicate that arousal-related effects differ as a function of biological sex. Infants from higher SES were slower (p = .031) in the Overlap condition compared to lower SES infants. This suggests that basic visual attention may differ by socio-cultural background, and should be considered when studying visual attention and its developmental correlates. We observed no significant association to concurrent developmental level or adaptive function. Given its large sample size, this study provides a useful reference for future studies of visual disengagement in early infancy.

A comparison of the affective affordances of a static and interactive VR system on learner FLA and motivation

This paper introduces a virtual reality (VR) system which was designed to promote English speaking proficiency as learners carry out collaborative information gap tasks. In a former study, a simpler system was developed to explore the effect of modality on learners’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) where results suggested that anxiety was statistically significantly lower in the VR environment compared to a voice and video chat system. However, of three key affordances—presence, interactivity, and autonomy—the previous system only focused on presence. The current system features an interactive component also. In this paper, we present results of a study which compared the two systems (presence-only versus interactive system) with the aim of answering the question: Does more-fully utilizing the affordances of VR lower or increase learners’ FLA? In a counterbalanced design, 30 participants (15 pairs) completed a spot-the-difference task in two different VR environments: static-VR (former system) and interactive-VR (current system). Results of a post-experimental questionnaire suggested that there was no difference in participants’ FLA for the two domains. However, a significant difference was found in terms of ease of communication and enjoyment which favored the interactive-VR mode. Additionally, compared to predictions that the interactive-VR task would be more cognitively demanding, it was considered simpler than the static-VR task. This suggests that using more of the affordances of VR by increasing interactivity further may make the embodied experience more life-like and therefore increase opportunities for learning. This paper introduces the system, implications for researchers and teachers, and future research directions.

Social interaction in the Spanish classroom: How proficiency and linguistic background impact vocabulary learning

Spanish learners engaged in two-way interaction gap tasks where, through social interaction, they identified and defined low-frequency vocabulary. Participants (referred to as actors to differentiate them from task partners) completed two such tasks. Each time, they collaborated with different partners of varying degrees of Spanish proficiency and linguistic background, either an L2 learner or a heritage speaker (HS). The purpose of the study was thus to shed light on if and how features of the collaborating partners in mixed (HS–L2) and matched (L2–L2; HS–HS) partnerships impacted vocabulary learning. Through a mixed methods analysis of the data (perception measures and qualitative responses, plus pre- and post-vocabulary tests), it was deduced that learners’ language proficiency level alone was not associated with differences in vocabulary gains. Rather, the nature of the partnerships among learners was more salient. In particular, learners in mixed partnerships had greater gains than those in matched partnerships. In addition, actors’ perceptions of the experience of working with their partner had no discernible effect on vocabulary, except for HSs who increased less when working with partners’ whose linguistic abilities they had rated as low. Pedagogical implications address learners’ social interaction in mixed language classrooms.

Improving English Language Speaking Skills Using “Absyak” On-Line Learning Model for Second Semester in Higher Education

This study aims to improve students' speaking skills. The research sample consisted of 30 students (20 female students and 8 male students) all of whom were studying English, the majority of the sample were second semester students, the form of this study was to analyze (1) teaching and learning plans to speak through the task of information gaps that exist in "Absyak" on-line learning media websites, (2) the implementation of teaching speaking through structured tasks and information gaps with "absyak" on-line learning media websites, (3) teaching teaching evaluation systems through the task gap "absyak" information media website-based online learning, (4) improvement of student speaking using the information gap task on "absyak" website-based on-line learning. This is a classroom action research that takes place in 2 cycles. The subjects of the study were the second semester students of Surabaya Pharmacy Academy, Regular Class A consisting of 30 students in the academic year 2019/2020. Data collected by tests, observation notes and documentation. Data were analyzed descriptively qualitatively. The results showed that learning that was designed using the information gap technique with "absyak". Website-based online learning with cycle procedures. Cycle I results are still not optimal, then continue to the second cycle. In cycle II the results are maximum. Student activities increase every cycle II for learning, student activity, performance indicators, learning processes, completeness scores increase, decrease the number of unfinished and success indicators. Based on the results of research 11 which has been conducted 11 with 1 application of information gap techniques and "absyak" on-line learning website in learning Speaking in the second semester students of the Surabaya pharmacy academy that there is a significant increase in speaking skills from the results of learning achievements of cycle I and cycle II. This means that the students' speaking skills from the stages are increasingly increasing and succeeding well.

The Realization of Communication Tasks in Negotiating Meaning among EFL learners

People currently live at a time where the ability to speak English fluently has become a must for those who attempt to advance in certain fields. In classroom context however communication task is considered as a crucial element of English language teaching. As a strategy of communication, negotiation of meaning plays as a process through which the speakers go to clearly comprehend one another. The aims of this study are to analyze the realization of different communication tasks in negotiating meaning and to dig up those tasks in order to explain its impact on negotiation of meaning. A qualitative method is applied in this study where twenty undergraduate students majoring in English Language Education took part in it. The students were paired and assigned to perform five different communication tasks. The result showed that communication tasks had been effectively used as an opportunity for students to elicit the occurrences of negotiation of meaning in interactions. Moreover, it was discovered that each task type yielded different amount of negotiation. Information gap task came out as the most productive task in promoting negotiation of meaning among the other four with some negotiation of meaning strategies employed by students during negotiation; clarification request, confirmation checks, and comprehension checks. In conclusion, engaging students in such communication tasks leading to negotiating meaning helps them in developing their linguistic acknowledgement. It is due to the frequent use of negotiation of meaning strategies can contribute to language development of EFL learners in all level of proficiency.

The impact of scaling rather than shaping attention: Changes in the scale of attention using global motion inducers influence both spatial and temporal acuity.

Originally, the zoom lens model of attention scaling proposed that narrowing attention to a small area of the visual field improves visual perception (Eriksen & St. James, 1986). A large body of empirical evidence supports this model, showing that narrow attention enhances performance in spatial acuity tasks. Despite this, the zoom lens model does not explicitly consider how attention scaling influences different elements of vision, such as temporal processing. More recent models of attention scaling suggest that attentional scaling has different effects on spatial and temporal acuity (Goodhew, Lawrence, & Edwards, 2017; Goodhew, Shen, & Edwards, 2016). However, the evidence to date supporting these models has had one major pitfall: different-sized unfilled shapes are presented to focus attention in or spread it out broadly. This method is problematic because participants may not spread their attention across the entire region defined by unfilled shapes and instead may attend to only the annulus region of the shape. To address this, we developed a new method to manipulate attention-one which requires the pooling of information across the entire stimulus, not just around the outer border. We then tested the influence of attention scaling on perception using spatial and temporal gap tasks. Across 2 experiments, we found that sustaining a narrow attention scale improved both spatial and temporal acuity. These findings challenge recent research suggesting that attention scaling has differential impacts on spatial and temporal processing and instead support the zoom lens model that was proposed over 30 years ago. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Enfoque de aprendizaje basado en tareas en el desarrollo de la habilidad del habla

El propósito central del presente artículo científico fue determinar la influencia del Enfoque de aprendizaje basado en tareas que ayuda a fortalecer la capacidad de los estudiantes de habla del Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo nivel 1. Para determinar la efectividad de este procedimiento, un Los exámenes previos y posteriores basados en el examen Cambridge KET - parte oral, se dieron a los estudiantes de primer nivel en el Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, clases 1K4 y 1E4 durante el período de octubre de 2018 a marzo de 2019. A Se diseñó un manual para el maestro que se utilizó durante el procedimiento en el aula. La interpretación de los datos se realizó antes y después del trabajo en el aula. El diseño del manual para el maestro se realizó en base a las tres etapas del proceso de una tarea: tarea previa, tarea propia y tarea posterior con el uso de varios tipos de tareas como individual, grupal, abierta, cerrada, y tareas de falta de información, teniendo en cuenta el desafío y el incentivo que cada tarea implica en el aumento de la habilidad de hablar de los alumnos. Una vez que el procedimiento ha finalizado con la implementación de la propuesta, el análisis de datos obtenido de la prueba previa y posterior se analizó mediante el uso de la prueba T-student. La conclusión muestra que, efectivamente, el Enfoque de aprendizaje basado en tareas tuvo una influencia positiva en el desarrollo de la producción oral de los estudiantes que mejoraron su capacidad de hablar. Por lo tanto, se recomienda que los maestros apliquen esta propuesta con el enfoque de aprendizaje basado en tareas para mejorar el rendimiento oral de los estudiantes.

The Effect of Confidence Rating on a Primary Visual Task.

The current study explored the influence of confidence rating on visual acuity. We used brief exposures of the Landolt gap discrimination task, probing the primary visual ability to detect contrast. During 200 practice trials, participants in the Confidence Rating group rated their response-confidence in each trial. A second (Time Delay) group received a short break at the end of each trial, equivalent to the average rating response time of the Confidence Rating group. The third (Standard Task) group performed the Landolt gap task in its original form. During practice, the Confidence Rating group developed an efficient monitoring ability indicated by a significant correlation between accuracy and confidence rating and a moderate calibration index score. Following practice, all groups performed 400 identical test trials of the standard Landolt gap task. In the test trials, the Confidence Rating group responded more accurately than the control groups, though it did not differ from them in response time for correct answers. Remarkably, the Confidence Rating group was significantly slower when making errors, compared the control groups. An interaction in learning efficiency occurred: the Confidence Rating group significantly improved its reaction times after the initial practice, as compared to both control groups. The findings demonstrate an effect of confidence rating on the formation of processing and response strategies, which granted participants significant benefits in later performance.