任务类型对英语专业大学生口语产出词汇多样性的影响研究Task Type Effects on English Majors’ Lexical Diversity in Oral Production开题报告

1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

Introduction1.1 Background of the research As people pay more and more attention on improving oral English proficiency, various practicing tasks are coming out. There are some popular and commonly used tasks, such as reading, retelling, talking on the given topic, pair work and so on. So it is important to find how tasks types influence oral production. It will enlighten the design and selection of oral practicing tasks. Skehan proposed (2003) three dimensions, fluency, accuracy and complexity to examine language. Domestic research on the fluency and accuracy of spoken language dominates, but insufficient attention is paid to the complexity of language forms (Wen Qiufang, 2006). Lexical diversity reflects the change and diversity of language and application ability of language, which is an important evaluation index to oral ability. However, students learn lots of vocabulary by rote memory, they tend to use those simple and familiar words in speaking, and fear to use unfamiliar but more accurate words. Therefore, the vocabulary in students' oral output is very monotony and poor. So how to turn the passive word to active word is an important problem that pester teachers and students. Scholars at home and abroad have studied more on the lexical diversity of second language writing, but few have reseaches on the oral vocabulary of the second language. It is also noted that previous studies on lexical diversity in oral production is not quiet enough. This research will focuse on the influence of task type on lexical diversity in the oral output of ESL learners.1.2 Purposes of the researchThe purposes for this research included two aspects. On the one hand, the most simple and direct, is to investigate the difference of lexical diversity between oral production in two task types. On the other hand, the changing patterns of ESL learners performance in terms of the diversity of spoken vocabulary provide a reference for improving the quality of oral vocabulary teaching.1.3 Organization of the research This thesis could be divided into five parts. The first chapter served as the general introduction, in which research background, research purposes and the organization of the research were stated. Chapter two was an overview of the literature, including the definitions of oral production ability, relevant theory and empirical studies of ESL learners oral production vocabulary. In chapter three, methodology was adopted in this research, including research questions, experimental design, subjects, variables and instruments. Chapter four reported the key findings based on the analysis of the research data and a detailed discussion of the major findings. This thesis ended with the summary of the major findings, the theoretical and implications, and limitations and suggestions for the future research in Chapter Five.2. Literature ReviewMeasuring second language performance has draw much attention from researchers in the areas of applied linguistics and instructed second language acquisition. One shortcoming of the research done so far on task performance is that it has focused mostly on the lexical complexity of writing, with very few studies investigating that of this oral production area. And task-based examination and teaching is commonly used in speaking area of the second language acquisition. So efficient practicing task could stimulate students oral prodution, activate their passive vocabulary and enhance their oral English. So it is worthwile to investigate task types characteristic in studuents oral production. Skehan (2003) and Bygate (1999) proposed three dimensions about language performance, complexity, accuracy and fluency. The lexical diversity reflects students capacity of oral vocaculary and communicative competence. Skehan (2009) stated that lexis has been strikingly absent in task research and that it is vital to incorporate some measures of lexis into task performance. So it is necessary to investiga

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

Methodology3.1 Research question1. Is there a significant difference in HD-D in oral production in different task type?2. Is there a significant difference in MAAS in oral production in different task type?3.2 Research designThis study will adopt a quantitative method to investigate the difference of lexical diversity between productions of retelling task and talking on the given topic task.3.2.1 ParticipantsStudents majoring in English in Nanjing Tech University will be subjects in this experiment. All of them, totaling 30 from English majors. 3.2.2 Research tools and data collection In this study, oral recording was used, and all oral output was recorded in Tem-4 exam, and then sorted into written text. This exam is divided into two parts: retelling and talking on the given topic. Under the task, the test subjects have 5 minutes of preparation time. In addition, there are no unnecessary restrictions. The testees can give full play to the class. The exam atmosphere is serious, and the oral output can reflect the testee's true level.3.3 Analytical method Lexical diversity was expressed by the HD-D and MAAS. Paired-Samples T test will be adopted to compare the differences between the production of two task types.