Think-Aloud Protocols
Verbal reports (e.g. think-aloud protocols and stimulated recall) have been established as an important data collection method in SLA research because they have the potential for capturing learners’ cognitive processes as they process language. Many strands of SLA research have utilised some form of verbal reports, including studies of lexical inferencing (Cooper, 1999; Nassaji, 2003; Parabakht & Wesche, 1999), attention and awareness studies (Leow, 2001), and research on interactional feedback (Egi, 2004; Mackey, Gass, & McDonough, 2000; Nabei & Swain, 2002; Philp, 2003).
Despite their applicability to various areas of SLA research, there have been some concerns about the internal validity of verbal reports, and in particular, the issues of reactivity and veridicality (Russo, Johnson, & Stephans, 1989). Reactivity refers to the possibility that thinking aloud may alter the cognitive processes that learners engage in while performing a task. For example, the act of thinking aloud may prompt learners to notice forms that they would not have normally noticed. The issue of veridicality refers to the quality of information in the verbal report. Specifically, participants may not report their thought processes accurately, or may forget information during retrospective protocols.Fortunately, research on think-aloud methodology has clarified some of these concerns. With respect to the potential problem of veridicality, it can be minimised by using concurrent reports (i.e. verbalisations gathered while a task is being performed). Leow (2000) discussed the advantages of concurrent think-alouds over retrospective tasks because they involve ‘online’ reporting of what learners are thinking while they interact with L2 input. As for reactivity, there are advantages in using non-metalinguistic verbal reports, that is, asking participants to simply verbalise their thoughts while they perform a task, rather than eliciting explanations or reasons (cf. Bowles, 2008; Bowles & Leow, 2005; Leow & Morgan-Short, 2004).
Since no previous studies have utilised verbal reports to examine the problem of word class distinctions, I decided to follow the data collection and analysis procedures used in studies of lexical inferencing (e.g. Nassaji, 2003). In the present study, concurrent think-alouds were gathered while learners performed the FCT described earlier. Immediately afterwards, the researcher engaged the participants in retrospective reports in order to gather additional information on certain items.
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