John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 3. Measuring task complexity
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Abstract
The current study explored whether language proficiency mediates the perception of task difficulty and whether intended task complexity differences are reflected in the language production (i.e., fluency, accuracy, and complexity) of learners of different proficiency levels in English. 37 participants (20 advanced and 17 pre-intermediate learners of English) took part in the experiment, all of them undergraduate students at a Spanish university, aged between 18 and 25. They were provided with two tasks of hypothetically differing cognitive complexity levels manipulated along ± few elements and ± spatial reasoning dimensions. Two kinds of instruments were used to measure participants’ perceptions of task difficulty: self-reported difficulty ratings and time estimation of task completion. Complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures were used to analyze participants’ speech production on the two tasks. As far as the perception of complexity is concerned, no significant differences between the high and low proficiency groups were found. Regarding performance measures, in the high proficiency group the complex task triggered greater lexical and structural complexity and accuracy, to the detriment of fluency. In the low proficiency group, on the complex task, fluency was boosted while the other areas remained intact irrespective of cognitive task complexity. These results are discussed in terms of Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis and Skehan’s Trade-off Hypothesis.
Abstract
The current study explored whether language proficiency mediates the perception of task difficulty and whether intended task complexity differences are reflected in the language production (i.e., fluency, accuracy, and complexity) of learners of different proficiency levels in English. 37 participants (20 advanced and 17 pre-intermediate learners of English) took part in the experiment, all of them undergraduate students at a Spanish university, aged between 18 and 25. They were provided with two tasks of hypothetically differing cognitive complexity levels manipulated along ± few elements and ± spatial reasoning dimensions. Two kinds of instruments were used to measure participants’ perceptions of task difficulty: self-reported difficulty ratings and time estimation of task completion. Complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures were used to analyze participants’ speech production on the two tasks. As far as the perception of complexity is concerned, no significant differences between the high and low proficiency groups were found. Regarding performance measures, in the high proficiency group the complex task triggered greater lexical and structural complexity and accuracy, to the detriment of fluency. In the low proficiency group, on the complex task, fluency was boosted while the other areas remained intact irrespective of cognitive task complexity. These results are discussed in terms of Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis and Skehan’s Trade-off Hypothesis.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface xi
- Foreword xv
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
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Section I. Variables affecting task-based language learning and performance
- Chapter 2. Effects of task complexity and pre-task planning on Japanese EFL learners’ oral production 23
- Chapter 3. Measuring task complexity 43
- Chapter 4. Effects of strategic planning on the accuracy of oral and written tasks in the performance of Turkish EFL learners 67
- Chapter 5. Effects of task instructions on text processing and learning in a Japanese EFL college nursing setting 89
- Chapter 6. Task structure and patterns of interaction 109
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Section II. Implementation of task-based language teaching
- Chapter 7. Patterns of corrective feedback in a task-based adult EFL classroom setting in China 137
- Chapter 8. Incidental learner-generated focus on form in a task-based EFL classroom 163
- Chapter 9. Qualitative differences in novice teachers’ enactment of task-based language teaching in Hong Kong primary classrooms 187
- Chapter 10. Implementing computer-assisted task-based language teaching in the Korean secondary EFL context 215
- Chapter 11. Task-based language teaching through film-oriented activities in a teacher education program in Venezuela 241
- Chapter 12. Task-based language teacher education in an undergraduate program in Japan 267
- Chapter 13. Incorporating a formative assessment cycle into task-based language teaching in a university setting in Japan 287
- Chapter 14. Language teachers’ perceptions of a task-based learning programme in a French University 313
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Epilogue. What is next for task-based language teaching?
- Chapter 15. TBLT in EFL settings 345
- About the contributors 359
- Index 363
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface xi
- Foreword xv
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section I. Variables affecting task-based language learning and performance
- Chapter 2. Effects of task complexity and pre-task planning on Japanese EFL learners’ oral production 23
- Chapter 3. Measuring task complexity 43
- Chapter 4. Effects of strategic planning on the accuracy of oral and written tasks in the performance of Turkish EFL learners 67
- Chapter 5. Effects of task instructions on text processing and learning in a Japanese EFL college nursing setting 89
- Chapter 6. Task structure and patterns of interaction 109
-
Section II. Implementation of task-based language teaching
- Chapter 7. Patterns of corrective feedback in a task-based adult EFL classroom setting in China 137
- Chapter 8. Incidental learner-generated focus on form in a task-based EFL classroom 163
- Chapter 9. Qualitative differences in novice teachers’ enactment of task-based language teaching in Hong Kong primary classrooms 187
- Chapter 10. Implementing computer-assisted task-based language teaching in the Korean secondary EFL context 215
- Chapter 11. Task-based language teaching through film-oriented activities in a teacher education program in Venezuela 241
- Chapter 12. Task-based language teacher education in an undergraduate program in Japan 267
- Chapter 13. Incorporating a formative assessment cycle into task-based language teaching in a university setting in Japan 287
- Chapter 14. Language teachers’ perceptions of a task-based learning programme in a French University 313
-
Epilogue. What is next for task-based language teaching?
- Chapter 15. TBLT in EFL settings 345
- About the contributors 359
- Index 363
