Task complexity and measures of linguistic performance in L2 writing

Abstract In a study on L2 proficiency in writing, conducted among 84 Dutch university students of Italian and 75 students of French, manipulation of task complexity led in the complex task to a significant decrease of errors, while at the same time a trend for a lexically more varied text was observed (Kuiken and Vedder 2005, 2007, in press). Based on this first analysis in which some global performance measures were used, a more specific analysis was carried out. In the latter analysis, which is reported in this article, accuracy was investigated in more detail according to the type of errors in the L2 texts, while lexical variation was analysed further by distinguishing frequent words from infrequent ones. Results showed that the effect of task complexity could mainly be attributed to lower ratios of lexical errors in the more complex task. With respect to the use of frequent versus infrequent words mixed results were found. On the basis of these findings a number of implications with regard to the operationalisation of task complexity and linguistic performance are discussed.

[1]  L. Frank.  The Society for Research in Child Development , 1935 .

[2]  K. W. Hunt.  Syntactic maturity in schoolchildren and adults. , 1970, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development.

[3]  Tullio De Mauro,et al.  Guida all'uso delle parole , 1980 .

[4]  J. G. Hollands,et al.  Engineering Psychology and Human Performance , 1984 .

[5]  C. Wickens.  Attention and skilled performance. , 1989 .

[6]  A. Baddeley,et al.  Working Memory and Language , 2018, Working Memories.

[7]  Abdel Kazeroni.  Task-based language teaching , 1995 .

[8]  P. Nation,et al.  Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production , 1995 .

[9]  Michael H. Long.  The Role of the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition , 1996 .

[10]  Attention! , 1998, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[11]  P. Skehan.  语言学习认知法 = A cognitive approach to language learning , 1998 .

[12]  B. Vanpatten,et al.  Input Processing and Grammar Instruction: Theory and Research , 1998 .

[13]  Shunji Inagaki,et al.  Second Language Development in Writing: Measures of Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity , 1998 .

[14]  Peter Skehan,et al.  The Influence of Task Structure and Processing Conditions on Narrative Retellings. , 1999 .

[15]  C. Doughty.  Cognitive Underpinnings of Focus on Form , 1999 .

[16]  Peter Robinson,et al.  Cognition and Second Language Instruction: Task complexity, cognitive resources, and syllabus design: a triadic framework for examining task influences on SLA , 2001 .

[17]  B. MacWhinney,et al.  The Competition Model: the Input, the Context, and the Brain Part of the First and Second Language Acquisition Commons, and the Psychology Commons , 2022 .

[18]  P. Robinson.  Task complexity, task difficulty, and task production: exploring interactions in a componential framework , 2001 .

[19]  Merrill Swain,et al.  Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: Exploring task effects , 2001 .

[20]  P. Robinson,et al.  What Gets Processed in Processing Instruction? A Commentary on Bill VanPatten’s “Processing Instruction: An Update” , 2002 .

[21]  Nick C. Ellis,et al.  Frequency effects in language acquisition: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. (Target article) , 2002 .

[22]  N. Ellis.  FREQUENCY EFFECTS IN LANGUAGE PROCESSING , 2002, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[23]  David Malvern,et al.  Lexical Diversity and Language Development: Quantification and Assessment , 2004 .

[24]  David Nunan,et al.  Task-based language teaching , 2004 .

[25]  Rod Ellis,et al.  Planning and task performance in a second language , 2005 .

[26]  Maria Mos,et al.  Cognitive task complexity and second language writing performance , 2005 .

[27]  Peter Robinson,et al.  Cognitive Complexity and Task Sequencing: Studies in a Componential Framework for Second Language Task Design , 2005 .

[28]  Roger Gilabert Blanquerna.  The simultaneous manipulation of task complexity along planning time and + /-Here-and-Now : effects on L 2 oral production , 2005 .

[29]  L. Ortega.  3. What do learners plan?: Learner-driven attention to form during pre-task planning , 2005 .

[30]  B. Kumaravadivelu.  Learner perception of learning tasks , 2006 .

[31]  Roger Gilabert.  Chapter 3. The Simultaneous Manipulation of Task Complexity Along Planning Time and (+/- Here-and-Now): Effects on L2 Oral Production , 2006 .

[32]  Folkert Kuiken,et al.  Cognitive Task Complexity and Written Output in Italian and French as a Foreign Language. , 2008 .

[33]  Lourdes Ortega.  Chapter 14. What do learners plan?: Learner-driven attention to form during pre-task planning , 2009 .