Review Essay: Strategy Use and Think-aloud Protocols: How L2-Learners Process Text Comprehension Tasks in a Foreign Language

Authors

  • Lena Heine Universität Osnabrück

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-7.4.192

Keywords:

Internet-based self-study, reading competence, task-based language learning, reading strategies in foreign language contexts, think-aloud protocols

Abstract

In this book Nicola WÜRFFEL contributes to research on task-based learning material for learners of a foreign language. In an exploratory investigation she analyses the think-aloud protocols of six English-speaking learners of German as a foreign language, produced while working with self-study material with Internet support. The goal of the study was to show how the acquisition of reading competence takes place, with special attention paid to problem-solving strategies. As a main outcome of the study, the author presents a taxonomy of strategies for problem-solving performances specific to Internet courses. This can serve as a starting point for future research on second language acquisition. Through detailed analyses of the learners' performances, the author is also able to generate hypotheses about learners' capabilities in using Internet-based material for self-study and the needs they have in this regard, e.g. in terms of feedback. Nicola WÜRFFEL presents a carefully delineated and performed project, which nevertheless shows some methodological deficits: the think-aloud method is not implemented in a consistent way, and this reduces the quality of the data. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0604305

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Author Biography

Lena Heine, Universität Osnabrück

Lena HEINE ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin im Bereich Sprachwissenschaft des Englischen an der Universität Osnabrück. Sie arbeitet momentan an einer empirischen Arbeit über die Wechselwirkungen zwischen sprachlichen und fachlich-konzeptuellen Kognitionen bei der fremdsprachlichen Bearbeitung von Fachaufgaben. Während der Konzeptualisierung der Studie hat sie sich intensiv mit introspektiven Erhebungsverfahren befasst und zwei Aufsätze über die Methode des Lauten Denkens veröffentlicht.

Published

2006-09-30

How to Cite

Heine, L. (2006). Review Essay: Strategy Use and Think-aloud Protocols: How L2-Learners Process Text Comprehension Tasks in a Foreign Language. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-7.4.192