Comparing Esl Learners' Attention To Grammar On Three Different Classroom Tasks

Abstract

Recent literature on second language grammar pedagogy promotes the use of tasks where learners produce written output collaboratively (eg. Kowal and Swain 1994; Swain and Lapkin 1998). This article reports on the findings of a study which set out to compare the performance of tertiary ESL learners of intermediate second language proficiency on three different grammar- focused classroom tasks which required the students to produce written output: a short composition, an editing task and a text reconstruction. Students completed the tasks in pairs and their talk was audio taped. Data (transcripts of pair talk) were analysed for the quantity and nature of attention to grammatical choices each task generated. The completed tasks were also examined for the accuracy of the grammatical choices reached. The study found that although all three tasks succeeded in drawing the learners' attention to a range of grammatical items, the text reconstruction task was the most successful in doing so. Furthermore, the study found that the learners reached correct grammatical decisions in a majority of instances.