Enhanced input, individual output, and collaborative output: Effects on the acquisition of the English subjunctive mood

Abstract

A number of studies have displayed the significance of focusing on form in L2 learners' acquisition of morphosyntactic features. This study compares the effects of three focus-on-form tasks (input enhancement, individual output, and collaborative output) on the acquisition of English subjunctive mood. The learners' trend of development in the subjunctive mood acquisition process is also investigated. Ninety freshmen from a B.A. program in TEFL were randomly divided into the three task groups. These tasks included textual enhancement in Group 1, and dictogloss in Group 2 and 3, where texts were reconstructed individually and collaboratively, respectively. A time-series design was used to measure progress in the participants' production of the target feature; in conjunction with a pretest and a posttest, three production tests were given to assess the trend of development in each group. The study revealed that the impact of input and collaborative output tasks was greater than that of the individual output task. Moreover, the findings showed that the trend of development in the individual output group was not a linear additive process, but a rather U-shaped one with backsliding. This study supports previous studies that have combined both enhancement and instructional assistance. It also adds further importance to the effectiveness of collaborative interaction in the acquisition of English structures. © 2013 PUCV, Chile.