Mobile Application Use in Technology-Enhanced DCTs - Abstract

Oct 15, 2026

In response to calls for improving the quality of DCTs as data-gathering instruments, this study investigates the effectiveness of technology-enhanced discourse completion tasks (TE-DCTs) as a method for eliciting nonverbal speaker data. A mobile application administered four TE-DCTs to Spanish native speakers and intermediate/advanced second-language learners. Each task combined written scenarios and short video clips, and participant videos captured oral responses with attention-getting nonverbal cues. Results show the app successfully captured diverse attention-getting devices across L1 and L2 responses, supporting mobile integration for measuring pragmatic ability and L2 pedagogy.

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Introduction

Technology-Enhanced DCTs

calico journal (online) issn 2056–9017 Article Mobile Application Use in TechnologyEnhanced DCTs Catherine Rockey 1, Jessica Tiegs2, and Julieta Fernández3 Abstract In response to calls for improving the quality of DCTs as data-gathering instruments, this study investigates the effectiveness of technology-enhanced discourse completion tasks (TE-DCTs) as a method for eliciting nonverbal speaker data. We used a mobile application to administer four TE-DCTs to native speakers (L1) and intermediate and advanced second-language (L2) speakers of Spanish. Each TE-DCT contained two scenarios with the goal of capturing nonverbal devices used in the speech act of attention-getting (i.e., devices used to draw the interlocutor’s attention). The written description of each DCT scenario was supplemented with a short video clip to provide participants with nonverbal factors such as distance to interlocutor, bodily stance, and orientation of interlocutors. To capture nonverbal cues as part of the participant responses, the participant video recorded their oral responses to each scenario. The mobile application used was successful in capturing a variety of attention-getting elements, including nonverbal devices, in the majority of both L1 and L2 participant responses for all DCT scenarios. Drawing on this data, we argue for the use of mobile applications as an ecologically valid way to measure one type of pragmatic ability. In addition, we advocate their integration into L2 pedagogical practice. Keywords: discourse completion task; TE-DCTs; attention-getting devices; gestures. Affiliations 1The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. [email: crockey1007@email.arizona.edu](email: crockey1007@email.arizona.edu) [2](2The University of Arizona)[The University of Arizona](2The University of Arizona), [Tucson](Tucson), AZ. [email: jtiegs@email.arizona.edu](email: jtiegs@email.arizona.edu) [3](3The University of Arizona)[The University of Arizona](3The University of Arizona), [Tucson](Tucson), AZ. [email: julietafernandez@email.arizona.edu](email: julietafernandez@email.arizona.edu) calico journal vol 37.1 2020 85–108 [https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.38773](https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.38773) ©2020, equinox publishing 86 Mobile Application Use in Technology-Enhanced DCTs Introduction One of the most researched areas in pragmatics is speech act performance (e.g., using language to apologize, promise, or make an offer). Based on their functional characteristics, different classifications of speech acts have been proposed in the pragmatics literature (e.g., Austin, 1962; Searle, 1976). A particular type of speech act that has received much attention is requests (e.g., Félix-Brasdefer, 2007; Pinto, 2005), including in technology-mediated contexts (e.g., Halenko, 2013; Schauer, 2009; Sykes, 2008). The data elicitation methods used in the study of speech act performance in interlanguage and cross-cultural pragmatics vary, with a marked preference for the use of Discourse Completion Tasks or Tests (DCTs) (Asención Delaney & Fernández, 2016), whereby participants are asked to state how they would respond to a scenario developed to elicit a specific speech act (Golato, 2003). The development of new technologies has enabled advancements in the design and delivery of DCTs, which often involve the use of video promptsand/or a request for video responses. As seen in this study, these technologymediated techniques, categorized as Technology-Enhanced DCTs (henceforth, TE-DCTs) (Culpeper, Mackey, & Taguchi, 2018), offer potential for the collection of a variety of types of pragmatic data. This study investigates the use of TE-DCTs to elicit nonverbal attention getters—a communicative strategy that is a lesser-studied component of the speech act of requests in Spanish. To that end, we utilized the mobile phone application Flipgrid© to develop TE-DCTs that provided extralinguistic cues, such as physical context, as part of the scenario des

FAQs

What is the purpose of using technology-enhanced DCTs in this study?

To evaluate whether TE-DCTs can elicit nonverbal speaker data effectively as a supplement or improvement over traditional DCTs.

How does the mobile application support the TE-DCT scenarios?

It administers TE-DCTs that combine written scenario descriptions with short video clips, and it records participants’ video responses to capture nonverbal attention-getting cues.

What nonverbal features are the tasks designed to capture?

The study targets attention-getting devices used in the speech act of drawing an interlocutor’s attention, including gesture and other extralinguistic factors reflected in participants’ video responses.

Oct 15, 2026

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