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Volume 20 Number 4, Winter 2023, Pages 754-1004   


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Effects of Task Scheduling on L2 Attitude and Motivation: A Stimulus Appraisal-based Longitudinal Study on ESL Learners
    Sarat K. Doley & Sujata Kakoti


Significant correlations have been observed between the scheduling of language tasks in L2 classrooms and the learners' L2 attitude and motivation. As such, different task-scheduling methods are used in L2 classrooms to create and sustain learners' motivation towards learning the L2 to maximize language practice. Blocking and interleaving are two such methods of task scheduling that have been widely discussed in recent times. The present study aimed to examine and trace the differences between the effects of these two task-scheduling methods on L2 motivation during a three-month-long English-speaking training program. Two groups of Indian undergraduate ESL learners (N=44) were kept in blocked and interleaved conditions, and their attitude and motivation towards English were recorded using the attitude and motivation test battery at several intervals during the study. Although no statistically significant difference in L2 attitude and motivation was observed in the first month, a significant difference between blocking and interleaving in their effect on the stimulus appraisal scales of coping potential and self/social image was recorded in the third month. The findings highlight the importance of task scheduling in L2 classrooms and may provide valuable insights into the specific nature of language practice that can be used to create a highly motivated language classroom.

Keywords: Task scheduling, stimulus appraisal, L2 attitude and motivation, blocking, interleaving