This study extends research on written corrective feedback (CF) by investigating how timing of CF affects grammar acquisition. Specifically, it examined the relative effects of synchronous and asynchronous CF on the accurate use of the hypothetical conditional structure. Participants were 68 intermediate‐level students of English at a university in Japan. Learners from a synchronous CF group (SCF), an asynchronous CF group (ACF), and a comparison group completed 2 writing tasks using Google Docs. The 2 experimental groups received focused direct CF with the following differences: The SCF group received synchronous feedback on grammatical errors during writing tasks, while the ACF learners received feedback after the tasks. Participants revised their texts upon receiving the feedback. The comparison group completed the writing tasks without feedback. Accurate use of the target feature was measured by a set of 3 text reconstruction tasks conducted as pre‐, immediate post‐, and delayed posttests. The results showed that both experimental groups significantly improved from the pretest to the 2 posttests while the comparison group did not. Overall, however, effect sizes for the posttests indicated that SCF was more effective in improving learners’ accuracy with only the SCF group outperforming the comparison group on the delayed posttest.

Flow represents a state of complete involvement and heightened intensity that leads to improved performance on a task (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990). The notion of flow has the potential to provide worthwhile insights into the area of task engagement, yet the construct has received relatively little empirical attention by second language acquisition (SLA) researchers. This article uses flow theory to investigate the relationship between flow and engagement in second language (L2) use for inter-cultural and intra-cultural task-based interactions in a Japanese classroom for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The study employed a quasi-experimental design in which learners in the inter-cultural group ( n = 18) and the intra-cultural group ( n = 18) completed five dialogic, oral tasks. Tasks were then repeated, during which time the intra-cultural group continued to perform the tasks with Japanese peers, while the inter-cultural group performed the tasks with international interlocutors ( n = 18). Analysis of flow questionnaires and task transcripts showed that inter-cultural contact had a significant positive effect on flow and one aspect of engagement in L2 use (turn-taking). In terms of the relationship between flow and engagement in L2 use, inter-cultural task interactions had a significant positive correlation between flow and turns. The findings are discussed in terms of two pedagogical implications: the provision of inter-cultural contact in language classrooms and the flow-enhancing potential of task design features.

This article reports on a study that investigates the effects of inter-cultural contact on flow experiences during the performance of five oral tasks in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. Using a quasi-experimental design, Japanese EFL learners in the inter-cultural group (n = 21) and the intra-cultural group (n = 21) reported on their perceptions of task experiences for each performance. Under the intra-cultural condition, learners performed tasks with Japanese peers, whereas under the inter-cultural condition learners were paired with non-Japanese international students. The dimensions of flow, as they emerged in the data, were identified via a content analysis of 208 diary entries. The findings revealed that inter-cultural task interaction generated significantly more flow-enhancing experiences and fewer flow-inhibiting experiences than intra-cultural task interaction. An examination of the relative strength of each dimension revealed that learners experiencing inter-cultural task-based interaction benefited from a sense of accomplishment, which increased in strength as learners progressed through the tasks. Results provide insights into how components of flow are interrelated and change over time during inter-cultural interactions, and suggest a model for how tasks can be implemented in the classroom to promote certain aspects of flow.

This study investigated the relative effects of four forms of task preparation on L2 speech production. One hundred forty‐four Japanese speakers of English completed an oral opinion task after 10 minutes of preparation. The same task repetition condition involved four iterations of the same pedagogic task (same procedures, same content), the parallel task repetition condition involved four iterations of the same type of task (same procedures, different content), the first language (L1) planning condition involved dyadic planning for the task in Japanese, and the second language (L2) planning condition involved the same in English. The effects of these task implementation options were compared in terms of measures of conceptualization, formulation, and monitoring of L2 speech production (Kormos, 2006; Levelt, 1989) as well as overall L2 speech fluency during task performance. Results suggest that different preparatory options might support L2 learners’ speech production in complementary ways by alternately reducing the conceptualization, formulation, and monitoring demands they face on tasks. Results provide an initial basis for implementing tasks to effectively support L2 learners’ emerging abilities to parallel process content and language during real‐time speech production (Skehan, 2009). Options for sequencing preparatory support in task‐based language teaching are discussed.

Learner engagement is crucial for ensuring the quality of learning experiences, and yet the study of ‘task engagement’ has received relatively little empirical attention in the language education domain. This article reports on a study exploring the factors contributing to learners’ engagement and disengagement during task performance in an English as a foreign language classroom. Thirty-seven learners performed 10 different speaking tasks implemented over a 10-week period in a Japanese university task-supported classroom. The participants’ engagement was measured using a post-task questionnaire on perceived levels of anxiety, confidence, focus and desire to speak. Learners’ written self-report reflections revealed complementary in-depth qualitative data about the underlying factors behind their engagement or otherwise during speaking tasks. The results revealed a variety of learner-level, lesson-level, task-level and post-task-level factors contributing to learners’ engagement and disengagement in tasks. Findings indicate that certain task features such as the nature and purpose of the tasks, task repetition, familiar and easier task topics led to successful engagement. On the other hand, lack of social cohesion and motivational baggage were reported as primary factors in determining learners’ silences and disengagement in tasks. The authors offer pedagogical implications for teachers on how speaking tasks can be better implemented to enhance engagement in foreign language classrooms.