Earticle

The current study on second language pedagogy promotes a return to some form of grammar instruction, and to tasks which ‘push’ learners to produce meaningful texts while paying attention to grammatical accuracy. Yet there seem to be few classroom-based studies which provide descriptive accounts of students’ engagement in such tasks. The study reported here investigated how 24 tertiary KAP and KSL learners, at intermediate levels, engaged in a text reconstruction task. Based on Rutherford‘s (1987) ‘propositional cluster’, the task required learners to work in groups and reconstruct a text from given content words. The study investigated the type of grammatical items which caused them most concern, and the reasoning they used to arrive at grammatical decisions.

The main purpose of this quasi-experimental study (n=12) was to answer the three research questions: 1) What interactional aspects appear in an NNS-NNS dyad conversation via a text reconstruction task?, 2) Do the participants perceive their learning moments while performing the task?, and 3) Is there any difference in interaction patterns according to pair combinations of L2 proficiency levels? To answer the questions, the researcher conducted an in-depth analysis of data from authentic conversations in L2 among the participants and interviews with the participants. The data analysis suggested that the interaction of a pair within a one-level gap was more vigorous by showing more negotiation, modifications of input/output, and verbal exchanges. Thus, the interaction within a one-level gap could lead to learning moments more successfully. Although the participants experienced different interactions and learning moments, learning did happen and the task was fulfilled via interaction, regardless of proficiency gaps and the degree of interaction. However, the detailed results should be applied to theEFL classroom with caution.

The current study on second language pedagogy promotes a return to some form of grammar instruction, and to tasks which ‘push’ learners to produce meaningful texts while paying attention to grammatical accuracy. Yet there seem to be few classroom-based studies which provide descriptive accounts of students’ engagement in such tasks. The study reported here investigated how 24 tertiary KAP and KSL learners, at intermediate levels, engaged in a text reconstruction task. Based on Rutherford‘s (1987) ‘propositional cluster’, the task required learners to work in groups and reconstruct a text from given content words. The study investigated the type of grammatical items which caused them most concern, and the reasoning they used to arrive at grammatical decisions.