Task‐Based Interactions in Classroom and Laboratory Settings

This study was originally motivated by claims by a few classroom researchers (e.g., Foster, 1998 , see Foster Eckerth, 2009 ; Ellis, 2010 ; Fujii, Obata, Takahashi, Jenks, 2009 ; Johnstone, 2006 ; Nassaji, 2007 ; Philp, Oliver, Révész, 2009 ). Subsequent work in the field has continued to find similar task effects on interaction in other learner populations and instructional settings (e.g., Eckerth, 2009 ; Fujii Gilabert, Baron, & Llanes, 2009 ). In summary then, a major contribution of our study was to raise awareness that the effects of setting on interactional processes cannot simply be assumed and claimed but should be empirically demonstrated. The onus is on both classroom and laboratory researchers to determine whether setting has influenced their findings, and if so, how and to what degree.