Chung, Yoojin; (2023) Task-based language teaching in offline and online child EFL contexts: the effects of textual enhancement in post-reading tasks on grammatical development. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

For several decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has received much attention, as has the benefits of using tasks for language learning. However, previous TBLT research has mostly focused on the use of oral and written production tasks, while largely neglecting the role of tasks in second language (L2) reading. Furthermore, no empirical research has explored how incorporating textual enhancement into the post-task stage of task-based reading lessons may influence L2 grammatical development. To fill these gaps, this thesis intended to examine the extent to which textual enhancement in post-reading tasks affects child English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ reading comprehension and learning of target L2 constructions. The present thesis reports on two empirical studies. Within a face-to-face classroom context, Study 1 examined how multiple task-based reading lessons involving post-reading tasks with textual enhancement affect Korean child EFL learners' reading comprehension and learning of the third person singular -s morpheme. A mixed-model ANOVA analysis revealed that post-reading tasks with textual enhancement aided the learning of the target form more than post-reading tasks with no enhancement, without disrupting the participants’ reading comprehension. Study 2 further investigated the effects of textual enhancement in post-reading tasks by including explicit instruction prior to task performance. The design, participants, and target form were similar to Study 1, except that Study 2 was conducted in an online setting. A series of Mann-Whitney U tests showed that explicit instruction before performing the post-reading task yielded significant improvements in learning the target form. Also, the study examined participants’ interaction during the post-reading tasks and found that most language-related episodes (LREs) were related to spelling. Importantly, LREs related to the target form occurred only minimally for all group conditions, suggesting that participants viewed the task as meaning-oriented both in the presence and absence of explicit instruction.

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