Engagement in the Use of English and Chinese as Foreign Languages: The Role of Learner‐Generated Content in Instructional Task Design

Abstract

This study investigates learner engagement in pedagogic task performance by triangulating multiple sources of data to gain insight into the cognitive and affective processes that take place on a range of tasks and how they engage learners of different target languages. The study provides a detailed analysis of 4 learners’ second language (L2) performance (2 first language [L1] Japanese learners of English; 2 L1 Japanese learners of Chinese). All learners completed an identical set of 12 communication tasks in 3 discourse genres (instruction, narrative, and opinion) in a learner‐generated (LGC) and teacher‐generated content (TGC) condition. The performances were followed by immediate stimulated video recalls and questionnaires on perceived levels of anxiety and motivation during each task. Triangulation of these data sources revealed that both the English and Chinese learners were more socially and emotionally engaged in LGC tasks than in TGC tasks and that this engagement was associated with more fluent and accurate, but less complex, speech. The difference between the Chinese and English learners was in their self‐reported preferences and levels of anxiety and motivation while performing the tasks in the respective conditions. Based on the learners’ background profiles, this difference in subjective response to the tasks is attributed to previous experience with formal L2 instruction.

The Role of Teacher-Student Relatedness and Teachers' Engagement on Students' Engagement in EFL Classrooms

“…Relationship is the key aspect of human social life, and relationship skills are the most important strategies that lead us to success (Lambert and Zhang, 2019;Hiver et al, 2021). According to the self-determination theory (SDT) (Cooper, 2013;Ryan and Deci, 2017), healthy behavior depends on satisfying psychological needs such as autonomy, competence, and relationship.…”

Student Artifacts as Language Learning Materials: A New Materialist Analysis of South Korean Job Seekers’ Student‐Generated Materials Use

“…Therefore, further research of the following type may be needed: (a) in-depth longitudinal research on SGMs and (b) action research on incorporating SGMs in institutionalized settings. The previous studies (e.g., Brown et al, 2013;Lambert et al, 2017;Lambert & Zhang, 2019) and this study considered the use of SGMs in a semester or shorter periods. As Jiwon's case hinted, learners' experience with SGMs might influence their life trajectories in the longer term; therefore, it would be fruitful to study learners' use of SGMs in relation to the classroom and society longitudinally.…”

“…These studies have found generally positive links between learner-generated attention and L2 focus on form, L2 input noticing, and L2 vocabulary recall. In task-based language teaching (TBLT) studies, learners were allowed to design instructional games (Butler, 2017a(Butler, , 2017b or content for the learning tasks (Brown, Iyobe, & Riley, 2013;Lambert, Philp, & Nakamura, 2017;Lambert & Zhang, 2019). The TBLT studies have found that learners' creation of games and content generally contributed to learners' autonomy, motivation, enjoyment, and engagement in English use.…”

“…These studies allowed learners to create content, but the task types were already designed by the researchers, such as input noticing (Park, 2011); form–meaning mappings (Deconinck et al., 2017); instructional games (Butler 2017a, 2017b); negotiation scenarios (Brown et al., 2013); explanation, narration, and opinion (Lambert & Zhang, 2019); and story‐telling (Lambert et al., 2017). However, we are interested in not only what the material contains but also how the material is used in relation to other resources, because this study is aimed at investigating how the learners create materials, use them with other resources, and design their own ways of L2 learning to achieve their goals.…”

“…However, we are interested in not only what the material contains but also how the material is used in relation to other resources, because this study is aimed at investigating how the learners create materials, use them with other resources, and design their own ways of L2 learning to achieve their goals. Therefore, we broadly define SGMs as all artifacts and activities that the students use according to their own interests to engage with meaning‐making resources, which include not only learner‐generated content (LGC; e.g., Brown et al., 2013; Lambert et al., 2017; Lambert & Zhang, 2019) but also content generated by others and used as LLT materials by the students. This broad definition allows us to expand the focus from materials to materials use.…”