Performance Tasks as a Mediator to Communicating in English and for
Enhancing Language Learner Engagement
Abstract
This paper discusses whether technology-based performance tasks could be
a mediator to communicating in English and enhance language learner
engagement. Through the research, this study investigated how
low-proficiency Japanese English-language learners could change their
attitude toward communicating in their target language by completing a
performance task that involved making and presenting a digital
portfolio. The students had to mediate between themselves linguistically
and contextually when completing the performance task. The study adopted
two types of questions in a questionnaire: one type involved a
three-point Likert scale and the other included open-ended questions
about the performance task. Thirty-three students in the first and
twenty-eight in the second semester completed the questionnaire. The
data from the open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively from a
phenomenological research perspective. The students’ comments on the
task showed that they positively engaged in the performance task
throughout the two semesters by reflecting on themselves as English
learners, with some difficulty mediating themselves in L1 and L2.