| When second language learners speek, do they know if they are making mistakes? And what would they do if they knew? This research investigates noticing in relation to speaking. Noticing is an important first step in the process of second language learning. Many research studies have shown that different instructional approaches can draw learner attention to particular forms so that they can become noticed. However, why a learner chooses to attend to certain input and not others remains little understood.;In this longitudinal study, transcription was used as a means to initiate noticing. Twenty-four Hong Kong ESL senior secondary school students transcribed the oral presentations they had done as part of a mock exam practice. With the aid of the transcripts, they reflected on their oral production with a classmate or on their own, after which they were twice given time to prepare a revision and then repeat their performance. Stimulated recalls provided additional opportunities for noticing. Learners underwent the procedure three times over the course of one school semester.;I found that participants were able to discover their own grammar and pronunciation errors through their transcripts, and were able to correct most of their mistakes at the next opportunity. The main difference was in how collaborative pairs evolved in their process of noticing over time. The study found that the task itself had an impact on how the participants prioritized and acted on what they noticed. I conclude that transcription is a useful activity that leads students to notice their own speech production, while collaborative dialogue should have a significant place in the language classroom as shown in the qualitative, but not the quantitative, data. |
