Questioning and Responding in Target Language Use Situation tasks: A Think-aloud Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

2 Associate professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

Abstract

The present study reports a qualitative study aiming to explore whether cognitive processes underlying responding and questioning in English are cognitively analogous. It further sought to discover the latent differences between responding and questioning cognitive processes in Target Language Use Situation tasks. To this end, 20 Iranian general IELTS applicants from two different institutes in Shiraz, with two different language proficiency levels (intermediate and advanced) participated in the study. They were administered a normal oral IELTS responding and a reverse questioning task. Articulated Thoughts in a Simulated Situation (ATSS) paradigm as a think-aloud approach was used to collect qualitative data during task completion. The applicants' recorded voices during task completion were transcribed and analyzed to examine the potential differences between responding and questioning cognitive processes. The analysis of the qualitative data through ATSS paradigm, in general, indicated that the cognitive processes underlying these two processes are not exactly parallel. The applicants tended to be more accurate and fluent during responding tasks. More specifically, they had fewer and shorter pauses and generated more intelligible and comprehensible productions by committing fewer grammatical errors in both proficiency levels. The paper discusses the findings and the implications for second language learners, teachers, and test developers.

Keywords

References

American Educational Research Association (AERA), American Psychological Association
(APA), & National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). (1999). Standards for
educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research
Association.
Alderson, C. J., Alderson, J. C., Clapham, C., Wall, D., & Swan, M. (1995). Language test construction and evaluation. Cambridge University Press.
Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied linguistics, 14(2), 115-129.
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford University Press.
 
Brown, J. D., & Bailey, K. M. (1995). Language testing courses: What are they in 2007? Language Testing, 25(3), 349-383.
Bock, J. K. (1982). Toward a cognitive psychology of syntax: Information processing contributions to sentence formulation. Psychological Review, 89(1), 1-30.
Brown, J. D., & Hudson, T. (1998). The alternatives in language assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), 653-675.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2014). Focus on multilingualism as an approach in educational contexts. Springer.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2017). Minority languages and sustainable translanguaging: Threat or opportunity? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38(10), 901-912.
Chalhoub-Deville, M., & Turner, C. E. (2000). What to look for in ESL admission tests: Cambridge certificate exams, IELTS, and TOEFL. System, 28(4), 523-539.
 
Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learning strategy instruction: Current issues and research. Annual review of applied linguistics, 25(1), 112-130.
 
Cheng, L., Sun, Y., & Ma, J. (2015). Review of washback research literature within Kane's argument-based validation framework. Language Teaching, 48(4), 436-470.
 
Cohen, S. G., Ledford Jr, G. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). A predictive model of self-managing work team effectiveness. Human Relations, 49(5), 643-676.
 
Davison, G. C., Robins, C., & Johnson, M. K. (1983). Articulated thoughts during simulated situations: A paradigm for studying cognition in emotion and behavior. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7(1), 17-39.
 
Davison, G. C., Vogel, R. S., & Coffman, S. G. (1997). Think-aloud approaches to cognitive assessment and the articulated thoughts in simulated situations paradigm. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 65(6), 950-958.
 
Douglas, D. (2014). Understanding language testing. Routledge.
 
Ellis, R. (2004). The definition and measurement of L2 explicit knowledge. Language Learning, 54(2), 227–275.
 
Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (Eds.). (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. Cambridge University Press.
 
Fox, J. (2008). Alternative assessment. In E. Shohamy & N. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education. Language testing and assessment (pp. 97– 109). Springer.
 
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Language, bilingualism, and education. In Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism, and education (pp. 46-62). Palgrave Pivot.
 
Gibbons, P. (2003). Mediating language learning: Teacher interactions with ESL students in a content-based classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 37(2), 247-273.
 
Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. University of California.
 
Graesser, A. C., Baggett, W., & Williams, K. (1996). Question‐driven explanatory reasoning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 10(7), 17-31.
 
Graesser, A., & Person, N. K. (1994). Question asking during tutoring. American Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 104-137.
 
Green, A. (1998). Verbal protocol analysis in language testing research: A handbook. Cambridge University Press.
 
Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Jackson, G. A. (1982). Public efficiency and private choice in higher education. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 4(2), 237-247.
Karim, S., & Haq, N. (2014). An Assessment of IELTS Speaking Test. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 3(3), 152-157.
Kleinsasser, R.C. (2005). Transforming a postgraduate level assessment course: A second language teacher educator’s narrative. Prospect, 20(1), 77–102.
Kormos, J. (2011). Speech production and the Cognition Hypothesis. In P, Robinson (Ed.), Second language task complexity: Researching the cognition hypothesis of language learning and performance (PP.39-60). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Krivokapić, J. (2007). Prosodic planning: Effects of phrasal length and complexity on pause duration. Journal of phonetics, 35(2), 162-179.
Kunnan, A. J. (2004). Regarding language assessment. Language Assessment Quarterly, 1(1), 1-4.
Kunnan, A. J. (2009). Testing for citizenship: The US naturalization test. Language Assessment Quarterly, 6(1), 89-97.
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). An application of hierarchical kappa-type statistics in the assessment of majority agreement among multiple observers. Biometrics, 1(1), 363-374.
Lennon, P. (1990). Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach. Language Learning, 40(3), 387-417.
Leung, C. (2004). Developing formative teacher assessment: Knowledge, practice, and change. Language Assessment Quarterly, 1(1), 19-41.
 
Levelt. I. M. (1989). Speaking from intention to articulation. Cambridge University Press.
Ling, H. (2006). Long pauses in Chinese EFL learners' speech production. Interlingüística, 17(1), 606-616.
Luoma, S. (2004). Assessing speaking. Cambridge University Press.
Lynch B. K. (2001). Rethinking assessment from a critical perspective. Language Testing, 18(4), 351–372.
Lynch, B. & Shaw, P. (2005). Portfolios, power, and ethics. TESOL Quarterly, 39(2), 263–297.
Lynch, B. K., & Davidson, F. (1994). Criterion‐referenced language test development: Linking curricula, teachers, and tests. TESOL Quarterly, 28(4), 727-743.
Madadi, M., & Rezvani, R. (2019). Trodden and Untrodden Paths: A Study of Cognitive Processes in Oral Responding and Questioning. Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 38(3), 159-187.
Mandler, J. M., & Day, J. (1975). Memory for orientation of forms as a function of their meaningfulness and complexity. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 20(3), 430-443.
McNamara, T. F. (1997). Interaction in second language performance assessment: Whose performance? Applied linguistics, 18(4), 446-466.
McNamara, T.& Roever, C. (2006). Language Testing: The social dimension. Oxford University Press
Meichenbaum, D. (1985). Teaching thinking: A cognitive-behavioral perspective. Thinking and learning skills, 2(1), 407-26.
Michel, M., Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2007). The interaction of task condition and task complexity in the oral performance of Turkish and Moroccan learners of Dutch. In 2nd International Conference on Task-based Language Teaching, Hawaii, USA. https://doi.org/10.1075/EUROSLA.12.09MIC
Moehle, J. P. (1984). Seismic response of vertically irregular structures. Journal of Structural Engineering, 110(9), 2002-2014.
 
Ockey, G. J., & Gokturk, N. (2019). Standardized language proficiency tests in higher education. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 1–16). Springer. 1007/978-3-030-02899-2
 
O'Loughlin, K., & Arkoudis, S. (2009). Investigating IELTS exit score gains in higher education. International English Language Testing System (IELTS), 10(1), 1-86.
 
Park, J. H., & De Costa, P. (2015). Reframing graduate student writing strategies from an activity theory perspective. Language and Sociocultural Theory, 2(1), 25-50.
 
Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. In Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 365-386). Springer.
Pickering, M. J., & Garrod, S. (2004). Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue. Behavioral and brain sciences, 27(2), 169-190.
Pufahl, I., & Rhodes, N. C. (2011). Foreign language instruction in US schools: Results of a national survey of elementary and secondary schools. Foreign Language Annals, 44(2), 258-288.
Rabbitt, P. M. (1968). Channel-capacity, intelligibility, and immediate memory. The Quarterly Journal of experimental psychology, 20(3), 241-248.
Read, J. (2009). Identifying academic language needs through diagnostic assessment. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8(1), 180-190.
Rezvani, R., & Sayyadi, A. (2015). INSTRUCTORS AND LEARNERS'QUESTIONING: A CASE OF EFL CLASSROOM DISCOURSE IN IRAN. Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 34(3), 141-164.
Rezvani, R., & Sayyadi, A. (2016). Washback effects of the new Iranian TEFL Ph.D. program entrance exam on EFL instructors’ teaching methodology, class assessment, and syllabus design: A qualitative scrutiny. Journal of Instruction and Evaluation, 9 (33), 155-176.
Robinson, P. (2001). Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: A triadic framework for examining task influences on SLA. Cognition and second language instruction, 27(1), 287-318.
Seedhouse, P., & Egbert, M. (2006). The interactional organization of the IELTS speaking test. International English Language Testing System (IELTS), 6(1), 35-52.
Segalowitz, N., & Hulstijn, J. (2005). Automaticity in Bilingualism and Second Language Learning. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 371–388). Oxford University Press.
Simon, M., Ercikan, K., & Rousseau, M. (Eds.). (2012). Improving large-scale assessment in education: Theory, issues, and practice. Routledge.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford University Press.
Song, D., Oh, E. Y., & Glazewski, K. (2017). Student-generated questioning activity in second language courses using a customized personal response system: a case study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(6), 1425-1449.
Tan, Z. (2007). Questioning in Chinese university EL classrooms: What lies beyond it? RELC, 38(1), 87-103.
Taylor, L. (2005). Washback and impact. ELT Journal, 59(2), 154-155.
Tocalli‐Beller, A., & Swain, M. (2005). Reformulation: The cognitive conflict and L2 learning it generates. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 5-28.
 
Towell, R., Hawkins, R., & Bazergui, N. (1996). The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied linguistics, 17(1), 84-119.
 
Weir, C. J., & Milanovic, M. (Eds.). (2003). Continuity and innovation: revising the Cambridge Proficiency in English Examination. Cambridge University Press.
Wendler, C. L., & Walker, M. E. (2006). Practical issues in designing and maintaining multiple test forms for large-scale programs. In Handbook of test development (pp. 445-467). Routledge.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press.
Zanov, M. V., & Davison, G. C. (2010). A conceptual and empirical review of 25 years of cognitive assessment using the articulated thoughts in simulated situations (ATSS) think-aloud paradigm. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 282-291.
Interdisciplinary Studies in English Language Teaching
Volume 01, Issue 1
January 2023
Pages 146-162

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics