The effect of language of note taking on successful task completion

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of language choice on students‟ ability to take notes while listening; another aim in this study was to compare these students‟ performance in completing tasks, according to the language they take notes in. Moreover, it explored students‟ perceptions of and their preferences for language of note taking. The study was conducted with the participation of 38 intermediate level students, divided into two classes at English Language Preparatory School of Zonguldak Karaelmas University. A three-week note taking in L1 and L2 implementation was carried out according to the schedule and tasks developed by the researcher. The data were gathered through students‟ notes they took in L1 and L2, the tests they did after each note taking, the summaries written from their notes and group interviews with the students. In each week of the three-week implementation, the classes listened to a real world text in the second language and took notes in the first or second language and they also summarized their notes in the language they took the notes. After these procedures, they performed the tests. The first week of this three-week implementation was like a preparation for students‟ taking notes. The students were interviewed in order to see their attitudes towards note taking and language of note taking. The quantitative and qualitative analyses demonstrated that there was no significant difference between Turkish and English note taking on task completion. Further, the students found Turkish note taking more difficult than English note taking, yet they expressed positive perceptions of note taking in general. This study implied that a note taking strategy could be incorporated into English Language Preparatory School of Zonguldak Karaelmas University in order for the students to understand the listening texts.