Task rehearsal

The goal of this study was to explore English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ and learners’ beliefs and classroom practices in relation to task rehearsal as an operationalization of repeating a task, which entails learners’ awareness of the repeated performance before they do a task for the first time. Five intact EFL classes with five teachers and 32 learners were recruited. The teachers asked the learners to perform a task that was included in the textbook twice with an interval of one week, while they made the learners aware of the second iteration prior to their first performance. Data were collected through observing the two sessions of each class and interviewing both the teachers and the learners immediately after the second task occasion. Results indicated that the participants (both teachers and learners) believed that task rehearsal was beneficial for facilitating task implementation and task performance. Findings also showed that task rehearsal led the participants to show changes in their classroom behaviors related to this practice from the first to the second session, which clearly reflected their beliefs. Implications of these results for L2 task implementation and teacher education are discussed.

Task-based instruction has gained significant attention in second language research, particularly in how task conditions impact learner performance. This study examined the differential effects of repetition and rehearsal, two distinct task-readiness conditions, on the immediate and delayed L2 performance of EFL learners with low Working Memory Capacity (WMC). A quasi-experimental design was employed to address the research questions. Four instruments were utilized: the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), a WMC test, a practice task, and a main task. Thirty-eight EFL learners were randomly allocated to two groups, each exposed to a distinct readiness condition—rehearsal or repetition. Participants were selected from an intermediate-level English course at a private language institute using convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to the two conditions. Both groups accomplished an oral task twice, with the rehearsal group being aware of the second performance in advance, while the repetition group had no such awareness. Task performances were evaluated based on Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF). The results indicated that although both conditions positively influenced task outcomes, only the rehearsal group showed statistically significant improvements across all CAF dimensions in both immediate and delayed performances. These results contribute to the growing body of research on individual differences in task-based learning by demonstrating that rehearsal is a more effective readiness strategy than repetition for EFL learners with low WMC. This finding can inform instructional design and classroom practice in contexts where cognitive load is a concern.