Verbal Protocol Analysis and Report in SLA and L2 Assessment

For the last three decades, verbal protocol has become a popular instrument to study such cognitive processes as problem solving, human-machine interaction, reading, writing and test performance. The individual’s verbal stream of thoughts can thus be assumed as a mirror to the internal processes in use. This paper is a survey of the historical background of verbal protocol as a research tool, the contribution of the verbal protocol in SLA and LA research followed by the procedure to be conducted in verbal protocol analysis and report. After verbalization, transcription and data analysis, the researchers obtain valuable and rich information about not only those internal processes, but also the subjects’ mental representations on which they operate in a task performance. In addition, verbal protocols can retrieve misconceptions or intellectual growth, strategy learning and application, task performance, and emotional reaction. The subjects in a verbal protocol session are initially coached to carry out a problemsolving task, while verbalizing their thoughts. The examiners record all verbalizations, map them into code schemes, write them down in a verbal report, and analyze those coded segments to testify their research questions. Verbal protocol analysis can be utilized in SLA and LA areas for a variety of purposes. For example, verbal reports during the experts and novice subjects’ performance on a single task can inform the researchers of different paths they take