An investigation into ESL student interaction during task-based activities

Abstract

Interaction in general or negotiation of meaning in particular plays a crucial role in language learning as it provides learners with comprehensible input that leads to speaking fluency and language acquisition. This paper is an attempt to look into student interaction in a high intermediate English class. It aims to find out what strategies for negotiation of meaning the students used and possible problems arising during task-based interaction. The participants were fifteen international students of various citizenships studying at a university in the United States. The data sources were taken from a video with its transcription filming an English learning session. The qualitative research method is employed for data analysis. Long’s (1980) three strategies of negotiation of meaning are used as the analytic framework. It was found that the students of high language proficiency infrequently resorted to negotiation of meaning during task-based interaction. Clarification requests were the most common while confirmation checks and comprehension checks were at lower frequency. Uneven participation, however, was a problem as a student tended to dominate the discussion. The findings imply that the role of group leader should be circulated to overcome the personal dominance during discussion; and task-based activities should be inclusive and collaborative to ensure equal contributions among the participants.