Cover not available

In:Learning Language through Task Repetition
Edited by Martin Bygate
[Task-Based Language Teaching 11] 2018
► pp. 27–41

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Chapter 1
Task repetition for language learning

A perspective from skill acquisition theory

 | University of Maryland
Published online: 25 September 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.11.01dek
Abstract
This chapter looks at task repetition in second language learning from the point of view of skill acquisition theory and related areas of psychology. It explores not only what concepts like procedural and declarative knowledge, automatization, and transfer have to offer the applied linguist, but also summarizes the literature on distribution of practice, interleaving versus blocking, and similarity in repeated practice, drawing on both the psychological and the fledgling second language acquisition (SLA) literature. In general, the literature shows support for distributed practice, for interleaving, and for variety in practice. For all these points there are exceptions, however, in particular in the SLA literature. This chapter discusses some of the possible explanations for these differences, and ends with some recommendations for where to focus future research: how automatization may vary with the domain of language, how distribution of practice may depend on whether the knowledge practiced is declarative or procedural in nature, and how research can help find the ideal context for bringing about transfer from one task to the other.
Article outline
  • Contributions from skill acquisition theory
  • Contributions from other areas of cognitive psychology
  • Contributions from SLA research
  • What should be next
  • References
References (63)
References
Anderson, J. R., Fincham, J. M., & Douglass, S. (1997). The role of examples and rules in the acquisition of a cognitive skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 23(4), 932–945.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Arevart, S., & Nation, P. (1991). Fluency improvement in a second language. RELC Journal, 22, 84–94.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bird, S. (2010). Effects of distributed practice on the acquisition of second language English syntax. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31(4), 635–650.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Birnbaum, M. S., Kornell, N., Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2013). Why interleaving enhances inductive learning: The roles of discrimination and retrieval. Memory and Cognition, 41(3), 393–402.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (1999). How people learn. Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bygate, M., & Samuda, V. (2005). Integrative planning through the use of task-repetition. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 37–74). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bygate, M. (this volume). Introduction. In M. Bygate (Ed.), Learning language through task repetition (pp.1–25). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Carpenter, S. K., & Mueller, F. E. (2013). The effects of interleaving versus blocking on foreign language pronunciation learning. Memory and Cognition, 41, 1–12.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chein, J., & Schneider, W. (2005). Neuroimaging studies of practice-related change: fMRI and meta-analytic evidence of a domain-general control network for learning. Cognitive Brain Research, 25(3), 607–623.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Jong, N. (2005). Can second language grammar be learned through listening? An experimental study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2), 205–234.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Jong, N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2011). Fluency training in the ESL classroom: An experimental study of fluency development and proceduralization. Language Learning, 62(2), 533–568.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Jong, N. & Tillman, P. (this volume). Grammatical structures and oral fluency in immediate task repetition. In M. Bygate (Ed.), Learning language through task repetition (pp.43–73). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
DeKeyser, R. M. (1997). Beyond explicit rule learning: Automatizing second language morphosyntax. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19(2), 195–221.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009). Cognitive-psychological processes in second language learning. In M. Long & C. Doughty (Eds.), Handbook of second language teaching (pp. 119–138). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2012). Interactions between individual differences, treatments, and structures in SLA. Language Learning, 62(Suppl. 2), 189–200.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. (2015). Skill acquisition theory. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition. An introduction (pp. 94–112). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Knowledge and skill in SLA. In S. Loewen & M. Sato (Eds.), Handbook of instructed second language acquisition (pp. 15–32). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Ridder, I., Vangehuchten, L., & Seseña Gómez, M. (2007). Enhancing automaticity through task-based language learning. Applied Linguistics, 28(2), 309–315.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Focus on Form: A critical review. Language Teaching Research, 20(3), 405–428.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ericsson, K. A. (2006). The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of superior expert performance. In K. A. Ericsson, N. Charness, P. J. Feltovich, & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp. 683–703). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fukuta, J. (2016). Effects of task repetition on learners’ attention orientation in L2 oral production. Language Teaching Research, 20(3), 321–340.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gade, M., Druey, M. D., Souza, A. S., & Oberauer, K. (2014). Interference within and between declarative and procedural representations in working memory. Journal of Memory and Language, 76, 174–194.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gatbonton, E., & Segalowitz, N. (1988). Creative automatization: Principles for promoting fluency within a communicative framework. TESOL Quarterly, 22(3), 473–492.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Henke, K. (2010). A model for memory systems based on processing modes rather than consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11, 523–532.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hill, N. M., & Schneider, W. (2006). Brain changes in the development of expertise: Neuroanatomical and neurophysiological evidence about skill-based adaptations. In K. A. Ericsson, N. Charness, P. J. Feltovich, & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (pp. 653–682). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2012). Learning painting styles: Spacing is advantageous when it promotes discriminative contrast. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(1), 97–103.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kerr, R., & Booth, B. (1978). Specific and varied practice of motor skill. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 46, 395–401.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2008). Learning concepts and categories: Is spacing the “enemy of induction”? Psychological Science, 19(6), 584–592.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lightbown, P. (2007). Transfer appropriate processing as a model for classroom second language acquisition. In Z. Han (Ed.), Understanding second language process (pp. 27–44). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Logan, G. (2002). An instance theory of attention and memory. Psychological Review, 109(2), 376–400.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Long, M. (2015). Task-based language learning. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martin-Chang, S. L., & Levy, B. A. (2005). Fluency transfer: Differential gains in reading speed and accuracy following isolated word and context training. Reading and Writing, 18, 343–376.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). Word reading fluency: A transfer appropriate processing account of fluency transfer. Reading and Writing, 19, 517–542.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Morris, D. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16, 519–533.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nakata, T. (2015). Effects of expanding and equal spacing on second language vocabulary learning: Does gradually increasing spacing increase vocabulary learning? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(4), 677–711.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Newell, A., & Rosenbloom, P. S. (1981). Mechanisms of skill acquisition and the law of practice. In J. R. Anderson (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition (pp. 1–55). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Norris, J. (2009). Task-based teaching and testing. In M. H. Long & C. J. Doughty (Eds.), Handbook of language teaching (pp. 578–594). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Osthus, P. (2014). Is interleaved practice better than blocked practice for aurally presented grammar rules? A comparison of online- and laboratory-based methodologies (Unpublished qualifying paper). University of Maryland.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rodgers, D. M. (2011). The automatization of verbal morphology in instructed second language acquisition. IRAL, 49, 295–319.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Roediger, H. L. I., Gallo, D. A., & Geraci, L. (2002). Processing approaches to cognition: The impetus from the levels-of-processing framework. Memory, 10(5/6), 319–332.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rohrer, D. (2015). Student instruction should be distributed over long time periods. Educational Psychology Review, 27, 635–643.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rosenbloom, P., & Newell, A. (1987). Learning by chunking: A production system model of practice. In D. Klahr, P. Langley, & R. Neches (Eds.), Production system models (pp. 221–286). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second language learning. Houndmills: Palgrave MacMillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N. (2003). Automaticity and second languages. In C. Doughty & M. Long (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 382–408). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serrano, R. (2011). The time factor in EFL classroom practice. Language Learning, 61(1), 117–145.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Serrano, R., & Muñoz, C. (2007). Same hours, different time distribution: Any difference in EFL? System, 35, 305–321.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sheppard, C. (2006). The effects of instruction directed at the gaps second language learners noticed in their oral production. (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation), University of Auckland, New Zealand.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Singley, M. K., & Anderson, J. R. (1989). The transfer of cognitive skill. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spada, N., Jessop, L., Tomita, Y., Suzuki, W., & Valeo, A. (2014). Isolated and integrated form-focused instruction: Effects on different types of L2 knowledge. Language Teaching Research, 18(4), 453–473.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spada, N., & Lightbown, P. M. (2008). Form-focused instruction: isolated or integrated? TESOL Quarterly, 42(2), 181–207.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Squire, L. R., & Wixted, J. T. (2011). The cognitive neuroscience of human memory since H.M. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 34, 259–288.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stengers, H., Deconinck, J., Boers, F., & Eyckmans, J. (2016). Does copying idioms promote their recall? Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(2), 289–301..Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Suzuki, Y., & DeKeyser, R. (2016). Exploratory research on L2 distributed practice: An aptitude-by-treatment interaction. Applied Psycholinguistics, 38(1), 27–56.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Effects of distributed practice on the automatization of L2 morphosyntax. Language Teaching Research, 21(2), 166–188.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thai, C., & Boers, F. (2016). Repeating a monologue under increasing time pressure: Effects on fluency, complexity, and accuracy. TESOL Quarterly, 50(2), 369–393.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Toppino, T. C., & Gerbier, E. (2014). About practice: Repetition, spacing, and abstraction. Psychology of Learning and Motivation. Advances in Research and Theory, 60, 113–189.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trofimovich, P. (2005). Spoken-word processing in native and second languages: An investigation of auditory word priming. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26(4), 479–504.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vatz, K., Tare, M., Jackson, S. R., & Doughty, C. J. (2013). Aptitude-treatment interaction studies in second language acquisition. In G. Granena & M. H. Long (Eds.), Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment (pp. 273–292). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wahlheim, C. N., Dunlosky, J., & Jacoby, L. L. (2011). Spacing enhances the learning of natural concepts: an investigation of mechanisms, metacognition, and aging. Memory and Cognition, 39(4), 750–763.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zulkiply, N., & Burt, J. S. (2013). The examplar interleaving effect in inductive learning: moderation by the difficulty of category discriminations. Memory and Cognition, 41(1), 16–27.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (24)

Cited by 24 other publications

Abdi Tabari, Mahmoud & Mahsa Farahanynia
2025. Exploring the interplay between task-readiness factors and task complexity in L2 writing performance and anxiety. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics DOI logo
Abdi Tabari, Mahmoud, Xiaofei Lu & Renfen Hu
2025. The effects of task complexity and task repetition on sense-aware frequency-based lexical sophistication indices in L2 writing. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Abdi Tabari, Mahmoud & Yizhou Wang
2025. Comparing the effect of task sequencing, text modeling, and task repetition in the development of L2 writing complexity. Reading and Writing DOI logo
Doe, Timothy
2025. Fluency development in an EFL setting: A one-semester study. Language Teaching Research 29:1 ► pp. 363 ff. DOI logo
Hiver, Phil, Ali H. Al‐Hoorie & Akira Murakami
2025. Modeling the Effects of Task Repetition in Second Language Writing: Examining Interindividual and Intraindividual Variability. Language Learning 75:2 ► pp. 493 ff. DOI logo
Liu, Junge & Yinjie Tang
2025. The effect of task repetition on L2 learners’ writing performance: A meta-analysis. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Rogers, John & Peilin Li
2025. The time between tasks in task repetition research: A systematic review. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Suzuki, Yuichi, Ryo Maie & Bronson Hui
2025. Research timeline: Automatization in second language learning. Language Teaching ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Abdi Tabari, Mahmoud, Phil Hiver & Reza Norouzian
2024. Interactions between task complexity, task repetition, and task motivation in L2 writing. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Kakitani, Joe & Judit Kormos
2024. The effects of distributed practice on second language fluency development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 46:3 ► pp. 770 ff. DOI logo
Tabari, Mahmoud Abdi & Seyyed Ehsan Golparvar
2024. The interplay of task repetition and task rehearsal in L2 written production across varied proficiency levels. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Bourgoin, Renée & Josée Le Bouthillier
2023. A task-based framework for oral language instruction in support of young language learners in French immersion. TASK. Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning 3:1 ► pp. 74 ff. DOI logo
Green, Kieran
2023. Identification of commonalities across different languages. Frontiers in Language Sciences 2 DOI logo
O’Reilly, David & Emma Marsden
2023. Elicited metaphoric competence in a second language: a construct associated with vocabulary knowledge and general proficiency?. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 61:2 ► pp. 287 ff. DOI logo
Rogers, John
2023. Spacing Effects in Task Repetition Research. Language Learning 73:2 ► pp. 445 ff. DOI logo
Le Bouthillier, Josée, Renée Bourgoin & Joseph Dicks
2022. L’acquisition de la langue orale par l’entremise de tâches de centres d’apprentissage de littératie dans des classes d’immersion française. The Canadian Modern Language Review 78:2 ► pp. 91 ff. DOI logo
Suzuki, Yuichi, Masaki Eguchi & Nel de Jong
2022. Does the Reuse of Constructions Promote Fluency Development in Task Repetition? A Usage‐Based Perspective. TESOL Quarterly 56:4 ► pp. 1290 ff. DOI logo
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian & Michael H. Long
2021. The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching, DOI logo
Budach, Gabriele, Dimitri Efremov, Daniela Loghin & Gohar Sharoyan
2021. Conversing with Humans and Objects: On Repetition and the Curative Power in Animation Making. The Canadian Modern Language Review 77:4 ► pp. 353 ff. DOI logo
Bygate, Martin, Virginia Samuda & Kris Van den Branden
2021. A Pedagogical Rationale for Task-Based Language Teaching for the Acquisition of Real-World Language Use. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching, ► pp. 27 ff. DOI logo
Khezrlou, Sima
2021. Explicit instruction through task repetition: effects on explicit and implicit knowledge development. Language Awareness 30:1 ► pp. 62 ff. DOI logo
Suzuki, Yuichi
2021. Optimizing Fluency Training for Speaking Skills Transfer: Comparing the Effects of Blocked and Interleaved Task Repetition. Language Learning 71:2 ► pp. 285 ff. DOI logo
Bygate, Martin
2020. Some directions for the possible survival of TBLT as a real world project. Language Teaching 53:3 ► pp. 275 ff. DOI logo
SUZUKI, YUICHI, TATSUYA NAKATA & ROBERT DEKEYSER
2019. Optimizing Second Language Practice in the Classroom: Perspectives from Cognitive Psychology. The Modern Language Journal 103:3 ► pp. 551 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue