Foregrounding the Learner-as-Communicator: An Idiodynamic Method to Examine Individual Dynamics in TBLT Research

Abstract

Every learner is an individual who brings a unique configuration of characteristics and experiences to language learning. A robust research tradition examines variation among individuals which includes prominent topics such as memory, motivation, anxiety, and willingness to communicate, to name a few (Li et al., 2022). Conative and affective ID variables can fluctuate a great deal across a group of learners during task performance, but more importantly to the present chapter, there also can be substantial variation within individuals over time. Unfortunately, TBLT research typically ignores this latter type of variation and by doing so is missing an important part of the puzzle that is task-based learning. Research methods are needed to study intra-individual variation in addition to inter-individual variation. The present chapter will address this need by providing practical guidelines for using the relatively new idiodynamic method to capture moment-by-moment fluctuations in specific learners’ conative (e.g., WTC, motivation) and affective (e.g., emotions) dispositions during L2 task performance. Before describing the method, let us set the context by discussing the two-part meaning of idiodynamics, the individual (idio) and variability (dynamics) within TBLT.