The impact of task structure on the use of vague expressions by EFL learners

Abstract

Vague language (e.g. thing, somewhere) is one of the linguistic features which typically differentiate the language use of a native or near-native speaker from that of a language learner since native speakers typically make abundant use of vague expressions. Thus far, however, there has been no published research on how features of pedagogic tasks might encourage L2 learnersÕ production of vague expressions. The present study sets out to examine whether and how task structure affects the number and type of vague expressions used by a group of higher-intermediate EFL learners. The participants were 50 Iranian EFL learners from six intact classes, all native speakers of Persian with limited opportunity to communicate with native speakers of English, and no experience in English-speaking countries. To elicit data, two picture description tasks were used. These picture-stories possessed the defining characteristics of structured and unstructured narrative tasks, respectively. Results revealed that (a) unstructured tasks were associated with the production of significantly more vague expressions; and (b) the most notable differences between performances on the two task types concerned Ôvague nounsÕ, Ôvague quantifiersÕ, Ôvague deintensifiersÕ and Ôvague subjectivisersÕ. The results of the study have implications for both teachers and teacher educators in that they may help identify the kinds of tasks which induce language learners to use vague expressions more frequently.

‘We Are Going to Do a Lot of Things for College Tuition’: Vague Language in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Debates

“…While vague language has to date been a topic of extensive research in a variety of settings (see, e.g., Cutting 2007bCutting , 2012Cutting , 2015Drave 2000Drave , 2001Fernández 2015;Gassner 2012;Li 2017;Metsä-Ketelä 2016;Parvaresh 2017a;Parvaresh and Ahmadian 2016;Parvaresh and Tayebi 2014;Ruzait_ e 2007;Sobrino 2015;Sabet and Zhang 2015;Zhang 2011Zhang , 2015, it appears that no research study has yet focused on the use of vague expressions in such high-stake endeavours as presidential campaigns and their corresponding debates. Such an inquiry would, theoretically, be appealing in that vague language can enable interactants to achieve a wide range of interactional functions, especially in face-to-face interactions.…”