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Chapter 9. Strategic planning and repetition as metacognitive processes in task performance

Implications for EFL learners’ speech production
  • Raquel Carolina Souza Ferraz D’Ely , Mailce Borges Mota and Martin Bygate
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Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy
This chapter is in the book Researching L2 Task Performance and Pedagogy

Abstract

By manipulating strategic planning and repetition, we investigated the effects of four pre-task conditions – strategic planning, repetition, strategic planning plus repetition and strategic planning for repetition – on the oral production of 47 EFL learners performing a video-based narrative task. In general, Results of ANOVA show an intricate pattern of interaction between pre-task condition and the 4 dimensions of oral performance. The strategic planning for repetition condition exerted a positive and significant impact on learners’ accuracy, complexity, and lexical density at the expense of fluency. The repetition condition had a significant impact on fluency, lexical density, and accuracy, at the expense of complexity. The strategic planning plus repetition condition yielded significant gains only in lexical density. Crucially, the strategic planning condition did not have a significant impact on any of the dimensions of oral performance. Responses to the questionnaires show that learners’ approach to different experimental conditions is idiosyncratic and that a series of variables interact in different ways when learners perform orally in L2. These variables include the nature of the task, learners’ focus of attention during performance, and learners’ effectiveness in implementing and retrieving pre-planned ideas. Nevertheless, in general, the questionnaires show that participants saw strategic planning and repetition as beneficial to their oral performance. Together, our results add evidence to Peter Skehan’s Limited Attention Hypothesis (LAC) (1998) and highlight the importance of combining strategic planning repetition in the training of oral skills.

Abstract

By manipulating strategic planning and repetition, we investigated the effects of four pre-task conditions – strategic planning, repetition, strategic planning plus repetition and strategic planning for repetition – on the oral production of 47 EFL learners performing a video-based narrative task. In general, Results of ANOVA show an intricate pattern of interaction between pre-task condition and the 4 dimensions of oral performance. The strategic planning for repetition condition exerted a positive and significant impact on learners’ accuracy, complexity, and lexical density at the expense of fluency. The repetition condition had a significant impact on fluency, lexical density, and accuracy, at the expense of complexity. The strategic planning plus repetition condition yielded significant gains only in lexical density. Crucially, the strategic planning condition did not have a significant impact on any of the dimensions of oral performance. Responses to the questionnaires show that learners’ approach to different experimental conditions is idiosyncratic and that a series of variables interact in different ways when learners perform orally in L2. These variables include the nature of the task, learners’ focus of attention during performance, and learners’ effectiveness in implementing and retrieving pre-planned ideas. Nevertheless, in general, the questionnaires show that participants saw strategic planning and repetition as beneficial to their oral performance. Together, our results add evidence to Peter Skehan’s Limited Attention Hypothesis (LAC) (1998) and highlight the importance of combining strategic planning repetition in the training of oral skills.

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.13.10del

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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