This article revisits the use of the term ‘think aloud protocols’ (TAP) as used in second language (L2) research studies as a means for collecting verbal report (VR) data dealing with language learner strategies (LLS). Given that there continue to appear L2 studies that use TAP without differentiating the actual type of VR that is involved, this study investigated the extent to which it makes a difference if the researchers fine-tune the types of VR responsible for yielding the given cognitive processing data. The study was conducted at the university level as part of an effort to investigate the dynamics of vocabulary strategy instruction (VSI) from different angles. Non-native-English-speaking developing teachers generated VR about the strategies that they selected when assuming the role of both tutor and student in one of six dyads. The VSI was focused on fine-tuning the students’ comprehension of vocabulary used in academic writing. The findings highlighted how different types of VR not only helped elicit strategies but also clarified participants’ verbalized thoughts, facilitated self-evaluations of strategies, and prompted reflection about areas for improvement. This study suggested that there is value in utilizing different types of VR in order to obtain a more robust measure of the cognitive processes involved in strategizing about word meanings, while at the same time calling attention to the complexities of strategy dynamics. The article ends with suggestions for future research and with pedagogical implications, such as that of enlisting different types of VR as a means by which teachers can demonstrate to learners the multifaceted nature of VSI.
AlfarwanS. (2021). Tertiary level Saudi EFL learners’ reading strategies in relation to gender and proficiency. Reading Psychology, 42, 577–605.
2.
BaiB. (2018). Understanding primary school students’ use of self-regulated writing strategies through think-aloud protocols. System, 78, 15–26.
3.
BarkaouiK. (2011). Think-aloud protocols in research on essay rating: An empirical study of their veridicality and reactivity. Language Testing, 28, 51–75.
4.
Bo-RamS. (2023). Are think-alouds reactive? Evidence from an L2 written corrective feedback study. Language Teaching Research, 27, 1099–1119.
5.
BoringE.G. (1953). A history of introspection. Psychological Bulletin, 50, 169–189.
6.
BowlesM.A. (2008). Task type and reactivity of verbal reports in SLA: A first look at a L2 task other than reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 359–387.
7.
BowlesM.A. (2010). The think-aloud controversy in language acquisition research. Routledge.
8.
BowlesM.A. (2018). Introspective verbal reports: Think-alouds and stimulated recalls. In PhakitiA.de CostaP.PlonskyL.StarfieldS. (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of applied linguistics research methodology (pp. 339–357). Palgrave Macmillan.
9.
BowlesM.A.GastañagaK. (2022). Heritage, second and third language learner processing of written corrective feedback: Evidence from think-alouds. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12, 675–696.
10.
BowlesM.A.LeowR.P. (2005). Reactivity and type of verbal report in SLA research methodology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 415–440.
11.
CohenA.D. (2011). Strategies in learning and using a second language. Pearson Education.
12.
CohenA.D. (2013). Verbal report. In ChapelleC.A. (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Wiley-Blackwell.
13.
CohenA.D.GuP.NyikosM., et al. (2023). Tangible insights on the strategizing of language learners and users. Language Teaching, 56, 313–332.
14.
CohenA.D.HosenfeldC. (1981). Some uses of mentalistic data in second language research. Language Learning, 31, 285–313.
15.
CohenA.D.UptonT.A. (2006). Strategies in responding to the new TOEFL reading tasks. Educational Testing Service.
16.
CohenA.D.WangI.K.-H. (2018a). Fluctuation in the functions of language learner strategies. System, 74, 169–182.
17.
CohenA.D.WangI.K.-H. (2018b). Corrigendum to ‘Fluctuation in the functions of language learner strategies’ (in System 74C (2018) 169–182). System, 78, 256–265.
18.
CohenA.D.WangI.K.-H. (2019). Fine-tuning word meanings through mobile app and online resources: A case study of strategy use by a hyperpolyglot. System, 85, 1–16.
19.
Di ZhangE. (2020). An investigation of novice ESL writers’ cognitive processes and strategy use of paraphrasing. Language Testing in Asia, 10, 9.
20.
EricssonK.A.SimonH.A. (1984/1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. MIT Press. [The 1993 edition is a reprint of the 1984 volume word-for-word, with the sole addition of a new Preface by the authors, indicating that in the intervening nine years since the 1984 edition they had come to accept the approach of including orientation for participants before having them engage in verbal report.]
21.
FridB. (2021). Predictors of successful reading comprehension in bilingual adults: The role of reading strategies and language proficiency. Languages, 6, 18.
22.
GassS.M.MackeyA. (2016). Stimulated recall methodology in applied linguistics and L2 research (2nd ed.). Routledge.
23.
GhavamniaM. (2019). Improving Iranian graduate students’ performance in reading scientific articles in English through explicit strategy instruction. Reading Psychology, 40, 612–637.
24.
GhavamniaM.KetabiS.TavakoliM. (2013). L2 reading strategies used by Iranian EFL learners: A think-aloud study. Reading Psychology, 34, 355–378.
25.
GreenA. (1998). Verbal protocol analysis in language testing research: A handbook. Cambridge University Press.
26.
GuP.Y.HuG.ZhangL.J. (2009). Listening strategies of Singaporean primary school pupils. In SilverR.E.GohC.C.M.AlsagoffL. (Eds.), Language learning in new English contexts: Studies of acquisition and development (pp. 55–74). Continuum International.
27.
HeronM. (2018). Dialogic stance in higher education seminars. Language and Education, 32, 112–126.
28.
HuJ.GaoX. (2017). Using think-aloud protocol in self-regulated reading research. Educational Research Review, 22, 181–193.
29.
JohnsonK.E. (2015). Reclaiming the relevance of L2 teacher education. Modern Language Journal, 99, 515–528.
30.
LaiC.HuX.LyuB. (2018). Understanding the nature of learners’ out-of-class language learning experience with technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31, 114–143.
31.
LeeK.-R.OxfordR. (2007). Triangulating think-alouds and questionnaires in reading strategy assessment: An exploratory study. English Teaching, 62, 331–356.
32.
LeowR.P.ThinglumA.LeowS.A. (2022). WCF processing in the L2 curriculum: A look at type of WCF, type of linguistic item, and L2 performance. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12, 651–673.
33.
LiX.YangY.ChuS.K.W.ZainuddinZ.ZhangY. (2022). Applying blended synchronous teaching and learning for flexible learning in higher education: An action research study at a university in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 42, 211–227.
34.
NalliveettilG.M. (2021). Examining the effectiveness of think-aloud procedure and reading strategy inventory: Insights from reading process research. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 12, 899–910.
35.
OxfordR.L. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. Heinle & Heinle.
36.
PalviainenÅ.Mård-MiettinenK. (2015). Creating a bilingual pre-school classroom: The multilayered discourses of a bilingual teacher. Language and Education, 29, 381–399.
37.
PawlakM. (2021). Investigating language learning strategies: Prospects, pitfalls and challenges. Language Teaching Research, 25, 817–835.
38.
PlonskyL. (2019). Language learning strategy instruction: Recent research and future directions. In ChamotA.HarrisV. (Eds.), Learning strategy instruction in the language classroom: Issues and implementation (pp. 3–21). Multilingual Matters.
39.
PratamaH.RokhmanF.UripS.R. (2019). Conversational implicature comprehension strategies used by English learners in Indonesia. Linguistic Research, 36, 415–458.
40.
QiuL.NaK.S.IsmailN.B. (2023). Literature review on second and foreign language listening strategy research in the past fifty years: Problems and future. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 13, 3240–3250.
41.
QiuX.LoY.Y. (2017). Content familiarity, task repetition and Chinese EFL learners’ engagement in second language use. Language Teaching Research, 21, 681–698.
42.
RadfordJ. (1974). Reflections on introspection. American Psychologist, 29, 245–250.
43.
ReadJ. (1993). The development of a new measure of L2 vocabulary knowledge. Language Testing, 10, 355–71.
44.
ReadJ. (2012). Piloting vocabulary tests. In
FulcherG.DavidsonF. (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Testing (pp. 287–299). Routledge.
45.
SanchezH.GrimshawT. (2019). Stimulated recall. In McKinleyJ.RoseH. (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 312–323). Routledge.
46.
TotiU.S.HamidS.A. (2022). An exploratory study of culturally familiar or unfamiliar texts contributing to reading comprehension in EFL context. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 13, 981–989.
47.
WangI.K.-H. (2018). Learning vocabulary strategically in a study abroad context. Palgrave Macmillan.
48.
WangI.K.-H.CohenA.D. (2023a). Self-access strategy instruction for academic writing vocabulary: What learners actually do. Applied Linguistics, 44, 976–1009.
49.
WangI.K.-H.CohenA.D. (2023b). Towards a better understanding of the dynamics of strategy instruction: Results from a qualitative study. Unpublished presentation in the Symposium on Qualitative Research on Language Learning Strategies and Sources of Regulation, AILA, Lyon, France.
50.
WollN. (2018). Investigating dimensions of metalinguistic awareness: What think-aloud protocols revealed about the cognitive processes involved in positive transfer from L2 to L3. Language Awareness, 27, 167–185.
51.
WynerL.CohenA. D. (2015). Second language pragmatic ability: Individual differences according to environment. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5, 519–556.
52.
ZhengH.BowlesM.A.PackardJ.L. (2022). NS and NNS processing of idioms and non-idiom formulaic sequences: What can reaction times and think-alouds tell us?Applied Psycholinguistics, 43, 363–388.
53.
ZhangL.J.GuP.Y.HuG. (2010). A cognitive perspective on Singaporean primary school pupils’ use of reading strategies in learning to read in English. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 245–271.
54.
ZhangL.J.ZhangD. (2020). Think-aloud protocols. In McKinleyJ.RoseH. (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 302–312). Routledge.
