An Investigation Of Types Of Forms Vocational College Students Focus On In Classroom Speaking Activities

This study attempts to explore the types of forms vocational college students focus on in English speaking activities. The theoretical foundation of the present study is the Noticing Hypothesis and the Interaction Hypothesis and it is empirically based on Williams (1999) and Poole's (2005) research. It is designed to compare student-initiated attention to form in an ESL and EFL context and in different teaching settings. Both Williams (1999) and Poole (2005) did their experiments in an ESL context. At the same time, Williams (1999) investigated student-generated focus on form in an intensive reading class and Poole(2005) in a writing class while the present study was carried out in a listening and speaking class.Results obtained through the analysis of LREs produced in students' speaking activities show that in both contexts and teaching settings, students' attention to form vary from group to group and the students spontaneously attend to form in various ways, and they mainly focus on lexical items. However, results coming out from the studies in different contexts and different teaching settings also show differences. For one thing, the frequency of the occurrence of LREs is different. For another, students in the present study are found to use dictionary and self-correction frequently while in Williams and Poole's study they were completely absent. By comparing and analyzing the results, pedagogical implications are put forward: (1) the role of teachers in FonF instruction; (2) balance vocabulary and morphosyntax in FonF instruction; (3) learning readiness.