Planning and Focus on Form in L2 Oral Performance

Previous research on the impact of pretask planning on interlanguage development (e.g., Crookes, 1989; Ellis, 1987; Foster & Skehan, 1996) has focused solely on the linguistic quality of planned output, leaving the cognitive and attentional processes engaged during planning time unexplored. Drawing on recent research on focus on form (Doughty & Williams, 1998a) and on retrospective methodologies used in strategy use research (e.g., O'Malley & Chamot, 1990), the study reported here investigated whether planning opportunity results in an increased focus on form at the level of strategic attention to form during planning time, as well as at the level of production outcomes during task performance. The results provide support for the claim that planning before doing an L2 task can promote an increased focus on form by providing space for the learner to devote conscious attention during pretask planning to formal and systemic aspects of the language needed to accomplish a particular task.