Learning New Words Through Information-Gap Tasks: Evidence From Utterances

抄録

　　Previous studies have suggested that communication tasks are a useful method of learning vocabulary. Such tasks provide learners with opportunities for generative use of vocabulary and deep processing of vocabulary (i.e., negotiation of meaning) and also facilitate vocabulary learning. The effects of the tasks are said to depend on the task types, and information-gap tasks especially are supposed to be effective for learning vocabulary. However, only a few studies have investigated it. Thus, it is important to revalidate their effectiveness in different environments. In addition, there is room to examine the knowledge learned through these types of tasks in more detail than previous studies measured. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of information-gap tasks on vocabulary knowledge using 4 tests. 77 EFL university students worked on the task in pairs or small groups for 25 minutes. They took 4 vocabulary tests before and after the task in order to measure learned knowledge. The utterances during the task were recorded and analyzed. Results of this study suggest that learners would gain vocabulary knowledge through information-gap tasks.