Motivation and task performance in a task-based web-based tandem project

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to describe a task-based project in tandem via e-mail, and to discuss the effects of motivation on task performance. In this project, a group of Irish students and a group of Spanish students are asked to carry out a series of tasks in collaboration with their tandem partners via e-mail by means of a web page especially designed for the project. Half the message is meant to be written in the student’s native language and half in the target language, and students are also encouraged to correct one another. The goal behind our research is to discuss the effects of motivation on task performance. We argue that resource directing (such as reasoning demands) and resource depleting factors (such as prior knowledge) which belong to task complexity in Robinson’s model (Robinson, 2001) are closely connected to affective variables which, as is the case with motivation, belong to task difficulty. Motivational factors like interest in the meanings to be exchanged, involvement in the decision-making process, students’ expertise in the topic, media and materials used, and the diffusion of outcomes among others have strong effects on task performance, and should therefore be considered together with complexity variables.

The Effect of Length of Exposure to CALL Technology on Young Iranian EFL Learners’ Grammar Gain

“…Positive effects of the application of computer technology have been revealed in many studies and its supportive outcomes in classrooms have been reported (Appel & Gilabert, 2002;Chang, 2005;García & Arias, 2000;Jerrell & Freiermuth, 2005).…”

Just the Two of us? The “¿Qué tal?” E-tandem Project for Translation Students

“…To obtain a reliable corpus of analysis based on interaction between participants is considered one of the problem areas in email tandem (Appel & Mullen, 2000;Appel & Gilabert, 2002;Appel & Mullen, 2002). With the aim of avoiding previously reported issues (copies of emails not sent to the coordinator, duplicates, disorganized or manipulated copies of emails, etc.)…”

Using Ict to Contact the Target Culture: Teachers’ View

“…Since then, calls can be made over the Internet across the world at no marginal cost, through free software such as Skype or GoogleTalk, even replacing landline technology (Graddol, 2006). Research has shown that online language exchange projects of this nature can contribute to the development of learner autonomy (O'Rourke, 2005;Schwienhorst, 2000;Newby et al 2007), linguistic accuracy (Kinginger and Belz, 2005;O'Rourke, 2005;Ware and O'Dowd, 2008), intercultural awareness (Müller-Hartmann, 2000;O'Dowd and Ritter, 2006;Ware, 2005), intercultural skills (Belz and Müller-Hartmann, 2003;Thorne, 2010), electronic literacies (Hauck, 2010), and task development (Appel and Gilabert, 2002;Furstenberg, Levet, English, and Maillet, 2001;Müller-Hartmann, 2000;Waire, 2008, 2009).…”