Interaction Intensity,Alignment Effect And Second Language Oral Production In The Reading-Speaking Continuation Task

Studies on the writing continuation task are showing no signs of decline,which gave birth to the Extension Hypothesis(Wang 2016)that explains the mechanisms for language acquisition and effective language learning.This new-born hypothesis argues that learning outcomes hinge on the alignment effect that was produced by an intimate coupling of comprehension and production: learners interact with language input in the rich context and produce immediate output,during which alignment effect occurs and learners might have an increasing chance to use the language they've learnt before,in this way language acquisition and development are promoted.Interaction and alignment have central roles to play among the factors for the facilitative mechanisms of the continuation task,“as alignment constitutes an inherent feature of interaction,it follows that where there is interaction,alignment and hence learning will occur”(Wang & Wang 2015:506),and “where there is interaction,there is alignment.The more intense the interaction is,the greater the alignment strength will be”(Wang 2010:297).Regretfully,hitherto there have been scanty studies that empirically testified these claims,and the notion “interaction intensity” is yet to have a clear and feasible operationalized definition.Additionally,the effectiveness of the reading-speaking continuation task under the Extension Hypothesis didn't seem to have been reported.Hence the current study endeavors to explore(1)the alignment effect in the reading-speaking continuation task,(2)the effect of interaction intensity on Chinese EFL learners' oral alignment via a reading-speaking continuation task,and(3)the correlational effects between alignment strength and L2 learners' oral production.The study adopted a single-factor between-subjects design.Altogether 31 sophomores in a key university of foreign studies in South China were recruited in the study and they were randomly assigned into the three experimental groups.“Interaction” in the present study was defined from a socio-cognitive view(Atkinson,Churchill,Nishino and Okada 2007).Methodologically,the notion “interaction intensity” was manipulated from two lines: dimensions and directions of interaction.Specifically,the interaction intensity degrees of the three experimental groups are respectively high(bi-dimensional and two-way interaction),medium(unidimensional and two-way interaction)and low(unidimensional and one-way interaction).By comparing the alignment strength at linguistic levels(including lexical,phrasal and clausal levels)and at situational models(time,space,causation,intentionality,protagonist & objects),the current study aims to explore possible relationships among interaction intensity,alignment strength and Chinese EFL learners' oral performance.The findings indicated that(1)learners aligned with the input text at both linguistic levels and situation models in the reading-speaking continuation task;(2)higher interaction intensity generated higher degree of alignment strength,which was manifested at the phrasal level and two situational indices(causation and intentionality);(3)learners in the higher interaction intensity group produced more coherent and accurate oral continuation;(4)links weren't established between alignment strength and L2 oral performance.The present study corroborated the existence of alignment effect in the reading-speaking continuation task,and once more provided empirical verification to the claim that higher interaction intensity contributes to higher alignment strength.It advanced the studies on L2 interaction and have implications for L2 research and pedagogy.