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Chapter 4. Task complexity and linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking

The effect of mode
  • Folkert Kuiken and Ineke Vedder
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Second Language Task Complexity
This chapter is in the book Second Language Task Complexity

Abstract

The chapter discusses the question to what extent the effect of task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking is influenced by the mode in which the tasks have to be performed (oral versus written). The majority of studies which have been conducted so far in the framework of either the Limited Attentional Capacity Model (Skehan, 1998; Skehan & Foster, 2001) or the Multiple Attentional Resources Model (Robinson, 1995, 2007, this volume) concern oral task performance. While some studies have also looked at the effect of task complexity on the written production of L2 learners, there are no studies to our knowledge in which the effect of task complexity on linguistic performance in relation to mode has been investigated. For that reason a study was set up where two tasks of different task complexity, which already had been submitted to L2 learners in the writing mode, were presented to a group of L2 learners as speaking tasks. The participants in the oral mode were 44 learners of Italian as a second language, with Dutch as their mother tongue. Their performance was compared with that of another group of 91 Italian L2 learners with Dutch L1 who had performed the same tasks in the written mode. Scores on a cloze test were used as a measure of the general level of L2 proficiency of the learners. Our results demonstrate that both in the oral and the written mode task complexity mainly seems to affect accuracy, in particular with respect to lexical errors. We did not observe an interaction of task type and proficiency level, either in the written or in the oral mode.

Abstract

The chapter discusses the question to what extent the effect of task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking is influenced by the mode in which the tasks have to be performed (oral versus written). The majority of studies which have been conducted so far in the framework of either the Limited Attentional Capacity Model (Skehan, 1998; Skehan & Foster, 2001) or the Multiple Attentional Resources Model (Robinson, 1995, 2007, this volume) concern oral task performance. While some studies have also looked at the effect of task complexity on the written production of L2 learners, there are no studies to our knowledge in which the effect of task complexity on linguistic performance in relation to mode has been investigated. For that reason a study was set up where two tasks of different task complexity, which already had been submitted to L2 learners in the writing mode, were presented to a group of L2 learners as speaking tasks. The participants in the oral mode were 44 learners of Italian as a second language, with Dutch as their mother tongue. Their performance was compared with that of another group of 91 Italian L2 learners with Dutch L1 who had performed the same tasks in the written mode. Scores on a cloze test were used as a measure of the general level of L2 proficiency of the learners. Our results demonstrate that both in the oral and the written mode task complexity mainly seems to affect accuracy, in particular with respect to lexical errors. We did not observe an interaction of task type and proficiency level, either in the written or in the oral mode.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Series editors’ preface to Volume 2 xi
  6. Part 1. Cognition, task complexity, language learning, and performance
  7. Chapter 1. Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance 3
  8. Chapter 2. Speech production and the Cognition Hypothesis 39
  9. Chapter 3. Corpus-driven methods for assessing accuracy in learner production 61
  10. Part 2. Researching the effects of task complexity across task types and modes of L2 performance
  11. Chapter 4. Task complexity and linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking 91
  12. Chapter 5. Manipulating task complexity across task types and modes 105
  13. Part 3. Researching the effects of task complexity on L2 interaction, modified output, and uptake
  14. Chapter 6. Effects of task complexity and interaction on L2 performance 141
  15. Chapter 7. Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development in learner–learner interaction 175
  16. Chapter 8. Task complexity, uptake of recasts, and L2 development 203
  17. Part 4. Researching the influence of learner characteristics and perceptions on simple and complex L2 task performance
  18. Chapter 9. When individual differences come into play 239
  19. Chapter 10. Working memory capacity and narrative task performance 267
  20. Chapter 11. Task complexity, language anxiety, and the development of the simple past 287
  21. Chapter 12. Examining the influence of intentional reasoning demands on learner perceptions of task difficulty and L2 monologic speech 307
  22. Author index 331
  23. Subject index 337
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.2.09ch4

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Series editors’ preface to Volume 2 xi
  6. Part 1. Cognition, task complexity, language learning, and performance
  7. Chapter 1. Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance 3
  8. Chapter 2. Speech production and the Cognition Hypothesis 39
  9. Chapter 3. Corpus-driven methods for assessing accuracy in learner production 61
  10. Part 2. Researching the effects of task complexity across task types and modes of L2 performance
  11. Chapter 4. Task complexity and linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking 91
  12. Chapter 5. Manipulating task complexity across task types and modes 105
  13. Part 3. Researching the effects of task complexity on L2 interaction, modified output, and uptake
  14. Chapter 6. Effects of task complexity and interaction on L2 performance 141
  15. Chapter 7. Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development in learner–learner interaction 175
  16. Chapter 8. Task complexity, uptake of recasts, and L2 development 203
  17. Part 4. Researching the influence of learner characteristics and perceptions on simple and complex L2 task performance
  18. Chapter 9. When individual differences come into play 239
  19. Chapter 10. Working memory capacity and narrative task performance 267
  20. Chapter 11. Task complexity, language anxiety, and the development of the simple past 287
  21. Chapter 12. Examining the influence of intentional reasoning demands on learner perceptions of task difficulty and L2 monologic speech 307
  22. Author index 331
  23. Subject index 337
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