Inter-cultural contact and flow in a task-based Japanese EFL classroom

Abstract

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.

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

“…Initial empirical work on the role of personal investment in the form of LGC with L2 English learners provides support for the hypothesis that LGC will result in increased ELU at the group level (e.g., Aubrey, ; Lambert, ; Lambert, Kormos, & Minn, ; Lambert & Minn, ; Lambert, Philp, et al, ; Phung, ; Stroud, ). Lambert, Philp, and Nakamura (), for example, asked 32 Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to relate stories of problems that they (a) actually experienced in the past, (b) wanted to share because they thought they were either funny or interesting, and (c) thought that the partner they were working with would enjoy hearing.…”

“…Previous studies have looked at learner engagement in L2 performance in terms of number of words, turns, and time on task (Dörnyei & Kormos, ), intake and pushed output (Batstone, ), corrective feedback (Hyland, ), language‐related episodes (Storch, ), language awareness (Svalberg, ), and learners’ engagement in language use (Lambert, Philp, et al, ). Philp and Duchesne () have also proposed a model L2 task engagement based on work in educational psychology (e.g., Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, ), which has influenced several recent studies (Aubrey, ; Lambert, Philp, et al, ; Phung, ; Qiu & Lo, ; Stroud, ). However, none of these studies attempt to capture the broader range of variation associated with pedagogic task performance, and more detailed analyses of task performances using triangulated data sources are needed to better understand this variation (Lambert, ).…”

Measuring Flow in the EFL Classroom: Learners’ Perceptions of Inter‐ and Intra‐Cultural Task‐Based Interactions

“…More recently, Czimmermann and Piniel () and Aubrey () have reintroduced flow as a tool to better understand to what extent learners engage in language tasks. In their quantitative study, Czimmermann and Piniel () examined the relationship between factors that support flow and suppress flow when EFL learners completed a narrative task in individual, pair, and group modes.…”

“…Recent publications, though, seem to signal a “refocusing” on investigating the role of motivational intensity in task performances (e.g., Aubrey, ; Baralt, Gurzynski‐Weiss, & Kim, ; Czimmermann & Piniel, ; Philp & Duchesne, ). This refocusing has involved the utilization of constructs of engagement that seek to examine how engagement manifests during task performances.…”

Tasks, affect and second language performance

“…Aubrey considers how pairing learners with different interlocutors affects their engagement in tasks. In particular, he investigates how pairing Japanese EFL learners with other Japanese as opposed to pairing them with non-Japanese to complete tasks affects their sense of absorption or 'flow' (for details, see Aubrey, 2017) as well as their turn-taking behavior during performance. The five oral discussion tasks used in the study were based on topics from an assigned textbook, but learners collected the content they would talk about for each topic before performing the tasks.…”