2009 – CALICO Conference

Investigating learner variability: the impact of task type
on language learners’ errors and mistakes

Abstract

Language learners do not only write incorrect forms, but also correct instances of the target language, which both provide useful information on their strengths and weaknesses. Variation in learners’ performance may be due to factors such as task type. However, information drawn from direct observations in learners’ written texts only enables inferences about learners’ performance.
Following an overview of the instruments used to discriminate errors from mistakes, this paper argues that identifying both occurrences will provide a better insight into learners’ knowledge variability. It investigates whether one learner of French produces errors/mistakes in one task but not in another.

Paper presentation

Thouësny, S. (2009). “Investigating Learner Variability: The Impact of Task Type on Language Learner Errors and Mistakes“. Paper presentation. CALICO 2009 Conference, Language Learning in the Era of Ubiquitous Computing, 10-MAR-09 – 14-MAR-09, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, US.

Publication

Thouësny, S. (2010). Investigating learner variability: The impact of task type on language learners’ errors and mistakes. CALICO Journal, 28(1), 21-34.