Concurrent Verbal Reports in Second Language Acquisition Research

Language acquisition research consists (at least in part) of measuring and describing learners’ knowledge about a language. But it is well known that the evidence stemming from learners’ language production is incomplete; some other method is needed to elicit a more complete data set. Verbal reports have been used in first (L1) and second (L2) language research to provide insight on a variety of issues that production data alone cannot address, such as language learners’ thought processes and strategies. Simply put, verbal reports are verbalizations learners make either while they complete a task or sometime thereafter. Verbal reports completed during a task are referred to as concurrent reports (or think-alouds), and those completed after the task are referred to as retrospective reports (or stimulated recalls).