The relationship between negotiated interaction, learner uptake, and lexical acquisition in task-based computer-mediated communication

The present study builds on recent uptake research (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001a, 2001b; Lyster & Ranta, 1997) by exploring the relationship between negotiated interaction, a type of focus on form episode, and learner uptake. The study explores whether a negotiation routine's complexity affects learner uptake and if this uptake affects lexical acquisition in a synchronous computer-mediated environment. The data are chatscripts of task-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) interaction among intermediate-level learners of English (n = 24). Results suggest that the complexity of negotiation routines does not influence learner uptake. Findings also suggest that there is no relationship between degree of uptake (none, unsuccessful, and successful) and the acquisition of target lexical items. These results suggest a possible diminished role for uptake in SLA in a CMC environment. The pedagogical application of these findings includes a word of caution to classroom teachers to adjust their expectations about the relationship between learner uptake and acquisition. In attempting to explain the acquisition of target vocabulary items during task-based CMC interaction, teachers should focus on the nuances of negotiated interaction as well as more subtle indications of acquisition rather than learner uptake per se.