A Comparative Study of the Effects of Task Repetition, Unguided Strategic Planning, and Pressured On-line Planning on the Accuracy of Upper-intermediate EFL Learners' Written Production

Abstract

The present study set out to explore the effects of task repetition (TR), unguided strategic planning (USP), and pressured on-line planning (POP) on the accuracy of Iranian EFL Upper-intermediate learners' written production. To achieve this, 90 EFL learners from three intact classes of an English institute were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. All participants in three groups experienced a written narrative task based on a set of six pictures as pre-test, a week prior to the 10-session treatment, two weeks after it as post-test, and for the treatment itself as well. Participants in the first group (TR) were required to write a 150-word narrative based on the pictures they were shown and repeat the performance a week later. In the second group (USP), participants were given 10-minute planning before performing the narrative task. Finally, students in the third group (POP) were asked to perform the task within the time limit of 17 minutes. All participants' performance was then analyzed and measured in terms of accuracy. The findings of the study revealed that repeating the task contributed in improvement in accuracy. In a similar vein, giving students the opportunity for on-line planning resulted in a similar effect on accuracy in their output, whereas no statistically significant enhancement in accuracy was achieved in strategic planning group.

Effects of Task Repetition on Saudi EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

“…Regarding precision and complexity, EFL learners can draw lexical and syntactic details either independently or in groups. Finding a positive effect of TR on learners' reading performance was consistent with the recommendations of Bayat (2018), who suggested that repetition enhanced the learners' usage of the language program, reading fluency and consciousness. Findings on CAF were consistent with those of previous works in preserving the reading form and meaning (e.g.…”

“…However, as repeated activities stimulate understanding and familiarity with the elements of cognitive benefits, this process overcomes the effects of restricted or limited capability. Such hypotheses are examined through activity repetition studies, and most of these studies have sought to determine if replicating similar activities influenced learner L2 learning (Bayat, 2018;Cho, 2018;Dawadi, 2019;Hopp, 2014). For example, a study conducted on college students examined whether replicating a story and meeting a task after a 10-week interval would help them perform better in most complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) regions (Bayat, 2018).…”

“…Learners apply cognitive functions to adopt, organise and verbalise information during TR. Therefore, the ability for cognitive procedures or attentional resources is discharged (Bayat, 2018). Based on the assumptions about TR, this study aims to shine new light on this aspect of language learning through an examination of the effect of TR on Saudi EFL learners' reading comprehension.…”