The effect of proficiency, gender, and learning style on the occurrence of negotiated interaction in communicative task performance

Abstract

Apart from positive evidence, or information about what is possible in the target language (TL), second language learners also need negative evidence, or information about what is not possible in the TL, and opportunities to engage in output production (Gass, 2003). As postulated by the cognitive-interactionist approach, these conditions can be met through opportunities for negotiated interaction. Building on previous research (e.g., Gass & Varonis, 1986; Iwashita, 2001; Porter, 1996; Rassaei, 2015), this study investigated the impact of English learners’ proficiency, gender, and learning style on the occurrence, nature, and outcomes of negotiation in two tasks, which differed with respect to the presence of information gap. Results provide some evidence for the mediating role of gender and learning style but not proficiency, with task type being an important mediating variable.

High school EFL students’ beliefs about oral corrective feedback: The role of gender, motivation and extraversion

“…Ross-Feldman (2007) found that in a picture story task, either female-female or male-female dyads engaged in more language related episodes and resolved them better than male-male dyads. Pawlak (2020) found a mediating role of gender in the occurrence and outcome of CF in communicative tasks. Same gender arrangements produced the majority of instances of negotiated interaction (90%) and output modification (75%).…”