Same Task, Different Activities: Issues of Investment Identity, and Use of Strategy

Abstract

Drawing on activity theory and the construct of investment, this article explores how three francophone CEGEP students variously invested in a task that involved producing short documentary-style videos in English. Case study data included interviews with the students and teacher and student work portfolios. The analysis suggests that the appropriation of, or resistance to, particular strategies was related to the construct of motive and issues of identity. Although all three participants had a positive orientation to L2 language learning, differences surfaced about the value attached to classroom language learning, task preference, and attitude to group work. The author argues for task-based research that takes into account the sociocultural dimension of task performance and learner's perspective, as well as studies that involve a broader range of tasks than is currently the case in traditional SLA task-based research. Implications of the study for ESL teaching are discussed.