Mutsumi Hirai
Introduction to CALL
October 14, 2002
Part Ⅲ Authentic Task
Chapter 8-Theory and Research: Investigation of “Authentic” Language Learning Tasks
What is “authentic task”?
 activities resembling those they will encounter outside the classroom
 the goals require communication in the target language, accomplishing something
through the construction and interpretation of linguistic meanings.
There are two approaches to investigating learning tasks
1. Judging authenticity
2. Empirical investigation of oral texts
Method 1: Judging Authenticity
Teachers evaluate the authenticity of the task relative to learners’ language use in other
settings (outside the classroom)
One way for this analysis to adapt to the study of CALL tasks is frame (or field), one part of
context theory.
The frame of a second language learning task consists of 5 features:
(For further information, see Table 8-1, p.102)
1. goal: what the learner is trying to accomplish in the task
(e.g. Is the task communicative? , Doe it have one or more than one possible outcome)
2. process : what the learner is engaged in while completing the task
(e.g. listening to a lecture?, a service encounter?)
3. topic: some content other than the linguistic forms of the target language
(e.g. Is it personal or nonpersonal?, Is its field specific or general?)
4. location: where each learner works on the task
(e.g. classroom, cafeteria)
5. duration: within what period each learner works on the task
*Computer-mediated second language tasks expand the duration and location options.
Authentic classroom tasks are those which are most like natural communication outside class.
Method 2: Empirical Investigation of Oral Texts
Detailed observation of the language that learners produce during the second language task
Second language classroom researchers found that the most revealing way to document the
processes occurring in a language classroom appeared to be to describe the language of the
classroom participants.
There are two ways of looking at textual data from second language tasks:
1. Description of Task-Based Language Texts
2. Focused Investigation of Second Language Task-Based Texts
1. Description of Task-Based Language Texts
Centers on 3 aspects of the second language text: 1)the input provided to the learner, 2)the
learner’s output, and 3)the interaction between the learner and the interlocutor.
Each of these aspects can be analyzed through 5 descriptive categories:
 Pragmatic function: e.g. giving instructions, transmitting information
 Linguistic characteristics: e.g. the vocabulary, grammatical features, forms of the text
 Quantity: how much target language input is received and how much output is produced
 Nonlinguistic moves and forms: e.g. body language or icons and mouse click
 Medium: the manner which the language is transmitted. (e.g. orally face-to-face
conversation, through e-mail, or hypermedia text)
(For further information, see Table 8-5, p.108)
2. Focused Investigation of Second Language Task-Based Texts
A more precise way to investigate task language comes from SLA theory and research inthe
interactionist tradition.
-- assume that learners acquire the second language through interaction in the target language
because interaction gives learners opportunities to comprehend message meaning, to produce
modified output, and to attend to second language form
Target Language Input
-- Theory suggests that the quality of input is important as well as the quantity.
(comprehensive input- Krashen, 1982)
Potentially Valuable Output
-- Comprehensive output is believed to be valuable when it plays a role in helping learners
convey meaning by stretching their linguistic resources.
-- occurs when learners produce language to achieve communicative task goals.
Interaction
-- valuable in its pragmatic role in negotiating the meaning of input
(e.g. a repetition, clarification, or restatement of the original input)
※ Although these questions delineate a starting point for a focused description of CALL
tasks, they have limitations. There need to be more focused questions for examining
CALL Task language.
The Dual Goals of Authentic Second Language Tasks
Communicative second language tasks have 2 simultaneous goals: one communicative, one
pedagogical. And these 2 levels correspond to the 2 perspectives on tasks.
1. Task as Work Plan: Second Language Activity Goals
A general description of what learners are expected to do in a task, how they are to go
about doing it, and what they are expected to learn.
2. Task in Process: Second Language Task Goals
the specific conditions and processes that actually occur as the learner works
Conclusion
The 2 approaches to the investigation of second language tasks- authenticity analysis and
empirical language analysis- can lead to a better understanding of the authenticity of CALL
tasks and the quality of the language they produce for second language development.