Similar Prompts May Not Be Similar in the Performance They Elicit: Examining Fluency, Complexity, Accuracy, and Lexis in Narratives from Five Picture Prompts

Autor/inn/en	de Jong, Nel; Vercellotti, Mary Lou
Titel	Similar Prompts May Not Be Similar in the Performance They Elicit: Examining Fluency, Complexity, Accuracy, and Lexis in Narratives from Five Picture Prompts
Quelle	In: Language Teaching Research, 20 (2016) 3, S.387-404 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1362-1688
DOI	10.1177/1362168815606161
Schlagwörter	Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Cues; Teaching Methods; Pictorial Stimuli; Narration; Task Analysis; Guidelines; Accuracy; Language Tests; College Students; Language Fluency; Language Usage; Statistical Analysis; Audio Equipment + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Stichwort; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Fantasieanregung; Aufgabenanalyse; Richtlinien; Language test; Sprachtest; Collegestudent; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Sprachgebrauch; Statistische Analyse; Audio-CD
Abstract	Only a few characteristics of picture-based narrative prompts have been studied to determine what features affect task performance. Thus, it is not easy to identify equivalent narrative prompts or identify features that are impactful. Tavakoli and Foster (2008) and Tavakoli (2009) examined the impact of prompt on the language produced by English learners during a picture-based narrative task in respect to narrative structure and storyline complexity. This study investigates if prompts within these known categories elicit similar performance. Considering the findings based on different prompts in Tavakoli and Foster, as well as in Robinson's (2011) Triadic Componential Framework for pedagogical tasks, we added another feature, number of elements. All of the prompts in this study had a tight sequential structure (±causal reasoning), similar storyline complexity (±intentional reasoning), and similar main characters and props (±elements). Although the accuracy and complexity in the ESL narratives were similar across prompts, there were some unexpected differences in fluency and lexis. Potential explanations of the variation in these subareas of language performance are discussed. Overall, this study highlights the importance of piloting research and testing materials and of investigating features that constitute task complexity. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01