Title: Does Extra Planning Time and Directions Reduce
L2 Learner’s Errors During Speaking Activities?
Problem: If we give students instructions for
focusing on certain aspects of their speaking and extra time during a speaking
task, how do we know if they will make less grammar errors or use more complex
speech?
The study: This study sought to determine whether
giving students guidance during their speaking tasks and enough time to
complete it would result in less grammar mistakes and more complex speech. In
giving learners guided instruction on the use of English articles along with
ample time to complete the speaking task, the researchers wanted to determine
if the students used articles more accurately than a group of students who were
pressured for time and given unguided instruction. The findings showed that
learners given guidance and time for planning produced more accurate use of
English articles and more complex language than the group that did not. But
these learners did not produce very fluent speech compared to the group that
was pressured for time and had not guidance.
The take-home message: This study suggests that if we
give students guidance on a specific aspect of grammar to focus on and extra
time they will make less grammar mistakes and use more complex words when
speaking. However, it seems giving them this kind of a focus comes at a loss
for how fluently they are able to speak. For English speaking teachers, we
might consider using the results from this research to make decisions on how we
allot time and guided instructions to a particular speaking task. If our
purpose is to encourage fluency, then perhaps pressured tasks with no grammar
guidance is best. If our purpose is to get learners to use more complex words
and forms of grammar, then it might be better to allot more time and guided
instruction on grammar points.
Article citation: Ahmadian, M, J. (2012). The effects
of guided careful online planning on complexity, accuracy and fluency in
intermediate EFL learners’ oral production: The case of English articles. Language Teaching Research, 16, 129-149.
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