The continuation task as a new way of learning a foreign language,has aroused widespread concern in the relevant academic area.The existing research made a series of theoretical explanations for this method,and tested its effectiveness in practical process of learning.The pedagogical utility of the continuation task was supported by systematic theory.Wang Churning put forward the "continuation theory",which argued that language was actually achieved through "continuation".The continuation task was to make full use of the mechanism of acquiring language in "continuation",so that learners could learn the language more effectively in the process of interaction.Some scholars carried out research from various aspects on the promotion effect of the continuation task.The research found that this method had obvious stimulating effect in helping improving learners' writing ability and learning difficult grammar items.In the past,the research on the continuation task was mostly carried out with quantitative analysis methods.According to those studies,we could know that the continuation task actually did have a stimulating effect,and this kind of stimulating effect had different influence in writing style,alignment and the performance of fluency,accuracy and complexity.However,how did this stimulating effect happen?What were the internal reasons for different performances?There were no specific answers for these questions.We believed that answering these questions required close observation of the thinking process when learners used this method.Therefore,we decided to adopt a qualitative research approach,and carried out case study on two Australia Chinese learners.We used the methods of think-aloud and semi-structured interviews.Our aim was to describe the details of the thinking process and personal experience when using the continuation task to learn Chinese,and also analyze and discuss the writing results of the two participants.In this study,we found(1)The changes in the form continuation tasks would have a certain impact on the learner's Conception.(2)The continuation task which was not too difficult with simple forms,was popular with learners.(3)The continuation tasks could have an impact on the fluency,complexity,and accuracy of learners' text output through formal changes.(4)The continuation tasks could change the form,affecting the interaction between learners and reading materials,thus affecting the alignment effect in their writing. |