ABSTRACT
This chapter considers possibilities for employing psychophysiological technology and research methods in studying the role of learner in language performance and acquisition on pedagogic tasks. The chapter focuses primarily on the affordances of electroencephalography (EEG) and ways in which EEG data can be triangulated with eye tracking (ET), electrodermal activity (EDA) and automated facial expression analysis (FEA) using commercial software and sensors. This data can also be triangulated with the discourse analytic, non-verbal and self-report measures currently used in research on the role of affect in additional language acquisition. It is argued that a combination of psychophysiological and established measures can provide more objective insight into the role of affect in the initial stages of information processing and learning than has hitherto been possible. The chapter closes by providing some initial directions for research into this critical and emerging area of task-based language teaching (TBLT).
