Assessing the effects of identical task repetition and task-type repetition on learners' recognition and production of second language request downgraders

Abstract

Abstract The present study explores the relative effectiveness of two types of task repetition for teaching polite request forms to Japanese learners of English: the identical task repetition (the repetition of the same task) and the task-type repetition (the repetition of the same type of task). The performance of a treatment group was compared to the performance of a control group on pre-, post-, and follow-up tests consisting of a discourse completion test and an acceptability judgment test. The results indicated that the two treatment groups outperformed the control group, with the identical task repetition group exhibiting more statistically significant improvement in the discourse completion test (a planned written-production test) and the acceptability judgment test (a planned written-judgment test). The results implied that identical task repetition stimulates deeper perceptual and mental processing than task-type repetition in learners' recognition and production of second language (L2) request downgraders.