Home Linguistics & Semiotics Chapter 7. The effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes
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Chapter 7. The effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes

  • Jiaxin Xing and Shaoqian Luo
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Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy
This chapter is in the book Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy

Abstract

Despite their difference in approaches to explaining the accuracy-complexity relationship, the Limited Attention Capacity Hypothesis (Skehan, 1998, 2001, 2009a, 2014) and the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2001, 2007, 2011) share the assumption that increased cognitive complexity will affect learners’ task performance. Although there has been much research related to the above hypotheses, the findings have not been consistent. In addition, most studies fail to provide empirical evidence of the effects of cognitive complexity on learners’ cognitive processes (Révész, 2014; Skehan, 2014). This chapter aims to explore the effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes. Thirty-four participants were asked to complete two narrative tasks with different reasoning demands – one simple and one more complex, under the same planning conditions. Their performance was measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, lexis, and fluency (CALF). Ten participants also engaged in stimulated recall as a means of eliciting reports of their cognitive processes. Results reveal that: (a) reasoning demand does not have a significant effect on learners’ oral performance in terms of CALF; (b) learners show a slightly lower percentage of cognitive processes at the stage of conceptualization and formulation and a higher percentage linked to comprehension/monitoring in the complex task, which might indicate they allocate attention differently in the more demanding task; (c) learners’ fluency in oral performance is likely to be jointly affected by the cognitive processes at all the stages of speech production. Accuracy seems to be most enhanced by learners’ form monitoring at the comprehension stage.

Abstract

Despite their difference in approaches to explaining the accuracy-complexity relationship, the Limited Attention Capacity Hypothesis (Skehan, 1998, 2001, 2009a, 2014) and the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2001, 2007, 2011) share the assumption that increased cognitive complexity will affect learners’ task performance. Although there has been much research related to the above hypotheses, the findings have not been consistent. In addition, most studies fail to provide empirical evidence of the effects of cognitive complexity on learners’ cognitive processes (Révész, 2014; Skehan, 2014). This chapter aims to explore the effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes. Thirty-four participants were asked to complete two narrative tasks with different reasoning demands – one simple and one more complex, under the same planning conditions. Their performance was measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, lexis, and fluency (CALF). Ten participants also engaged in stimulated recall as a means of eliciting reports of their cognitive processes. Results reveal that: (a) reasoning demand does not have a significant effect on learners’ oral performance in terms of CALF; (b) learners show a slightly lower percentage of cognitive processes at the stage of conceptualization and formulation and a higher percentage linked to comprehension/monitoring in the complex task, which might indicate they allocate attention differently in the more demanding task; (c) learners’ fluency in oral performance is likely to be jointly affected by the cognitive processes at all the stages of speech production. Accuracy seems to be most enhanced by learners’ form monitoring at the comprehension stage.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Series editors preface vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Profile of Peter Skehan xi
  6. Foreword xxi
  7. Introduction and overview 1
  8. Part I. Underlying constructs and emerging perspectives
  9. Chapter 1. Task preparedness 15
  10. Chapter 2. Automaticity, fluency and second language task performance 39
  11. Chapter 3. Task motivation 53
  12. Chapter 4. The relationship between task motivation and L2 motivation 67
  13. Part II. Task complexity and performance
  14. Chapter 5. Unravelling cognitive task complexity 95
  15. Chapter 6. The effects of task demands on linguistic complexity and accuracy across task types and L1/L2 speakers 133
  16. Chapter 7. The effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes 153
  17. Chapter 8. Peter Skehan’s influence in research on task difficulty 183
  18. Part III. Task pedagogy and L2 development
  19. Chapter 9. Strategic planning and repetition as metacognitive processes in task performance 199
  20. Chapter 10. Input-based tasks in the French language classroom 229
  21. Chapter 11. Task-readiness and L2 task performance across proficiency levels 253
  22. Chapter 12. Task-induced second language development 279
  23. Epilogue
  24. Chapter 13. Task-based analysis and the Competition Model 305
  25. List of contributors 317
  26. Index 325
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.13.08xin

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Series editors preface vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Profile of Peter Skehan xi
  6. Foreword xxi
  7. Introduction and overview 1
  8. Part I. Underlying constructs and emerging perspectives
  9. Chapter 1. Task preparedness 15
  10. Chapter 2. Automaticity, fluency and second language task performance 39
  11. Chapter 3. Task motivation 53
  12. Chapter 4. The relationship between task motivation and L2 motivation 67
  13. Part II. Task complexity and performance
  14. Chapter 5. Unravelling cognitive task complexity 95
  15. Chapter 6. The effects of task demands on linguistic complexity and accuracy across task types and L1/L2 speakers 133
  16. Chapter 7. The effects of reasoning demands on Chinese EFL learners’ oral performance and cognitive processes 153
  17. Chapter 8. Peter Skehan’s influence in research on task difficulty 183
  18. Part III. Task pedagogy and L2 development
  19. Chapter 9. Strategic planning and repetition as metacognitive processes in task performance 199
  20. Chapter 10. Input-based tasks in the French language classroom 229
  21. Chapter 11. Task-readiness and L2 task performance across proficiency levels 253
  22. Chapter 12. Task-induced second language development 279
  23. Epilogue
  24. Chapter 13. Task-based analysis and the Competition Model 305
  25. List of contributors 317
  26. Index 325
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