This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Reinders, H. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Learner uptake and acquisition in three grammar-oriented production activities

University of Groningen, email{at}hayo.nl

This study investigates the effects of three types of production activities on uptake (operationalized as correct suppliance of the target structure during the treatment) and acquisition of negative adverbs in English. It also investigates the relationship between uptake and acquisition. The three production activities included a dictation, an individual reconstruction and a collaborative reconstruction activity. Each of these asked participants to produce the target structure but differed in (1) whether the activity was completed individually or collaboratively; (2) the amount of text participants had to produce; and (3) their degree of complexity and cognitive demand. It was found that all three activities resulted in uptake with the collaborative reconstruction, the dictation activities resulting in greater uptake than the individual reconstruction activity. There was also an effect for the activities on acquisition (of grammatical items only), but no differential effect for any of the three types of activities. It was concluded that a production activity can lead to increased uptake, but not to increased acquisition, and vice versa. The results may help language teachers look beyond immediate performance on an activity as a measure of success, and make better-informed decisions about when to use what type of activities.

Key Words: SLA • output • complexity • cognitive demand • uptake • reconstruction • dictation

Language Teaching Research, Vol. 13, No. 2, 201-222 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1362168809103449


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?