The effects of cognitive task complexity on L2 oral production

Levkina, Mayya; Gilabert, Roger

doi:10.1075/lllt.32.08lev

Cited by 23 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…These results echo Levkina & Gilabert's (2012) decision-making task findings regarding task complexity and ±elements. Likewise, all prompts performed similarly in compositional complexity.…”

Section: Some Tentative Explanationssupporting

confidence: 89%

Similar prompts may not be similar in the performance they elicit: Examining fluency, complexity, accuracy, and lexis in narratives from five picture prompts

Jong

Vercellotti

2015

Language Teaching Research

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Only a few characteristics of picture-based narrative prompts have been studied to determine what features affect task performance. Thus, it is not easy to identify equivalent narrative prompts or identify features that are impactful. Tavakoli and Foster (2008) and Tavakoli (2009) examined the impact of prompt on the language produced by English learners during a picture-based narrative task in respect to narrative structure and storyline complexity. This study investigates if prompts within these known categories elicit similar performance. Considering the findings based on different prompts in Tavakoli and Foster, as well as in Robinson's (2011) Triadic Componential Framework for pedagogical tasks, we added another feature, number of elements. All of the prompts in this study had a tight sequential structure (±causal reasoning), similar storyline complexity (±intentional reasoning), and similar main characters and props (±elements). Although the accuracy and complexity in the ESL narratives were similar across prompts, there were some unexpected differences in fluency and lexis. Potential explanations of the variation in these subareas of language performance are discussed. Overall, this study highlights the importance of piloting research and testing materials and of investigating features that constitute task complexity.

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Section: Some Tentative Explanationssupporting

confidence: 89%

Similar prompts may not be similar in the performance they elicit: Examining fluency, complexity, accuracy, and lexis in narratives from five picture prompts

Jong

Vercellotti

2015

Language Teaching Research

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“…Meanwhile, the map task typically elicited structures related to movement and its location and direction, with the consequence that only a few structures, including prepositional phrases, were predominantly used to exchange information. In sum, different tasks tend to elicit different structures and lead to different kinds of interaction, lending further support to prior research showing that task types and task characteristics impact features of interaction, such as negotiation for meaning (Lambert, Philp, & Nakamura, 2017;Nuevo, Adams, & Ross-Feldman, 2011;Oliver, 2002;Phung, 2017), language-related episodes (Authors, 2017;Colina & Garcia Mayo, 2007;Kim, 2013), and language performance, in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (Foster & Skehan, 1996;Levkina & Gilabert, 2012). The novel contribution of this study is that task type also influences the extent of structural alignment in task-based interaction, in terms of the scope of the structures eliciting alignment.…”

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confidence: 78%

Structural alignment in L2 task-based interaction

Dao

Trofimovich

Kennedy

2018

ITL

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This study investigated L2 structural alignment, the tendency for interlocutors to re-use a syntactic structure present in recent discourse, focusing on two information-gap interactive tasks. Thirty-four university students from diverse language backgrounds, recruited from different academic programs at a Canadian English-medium university, carried out the two information-gap interactive tasks in dyads. Interaction data were transcribed and coded for instances of structural alignment and the alignment’s characteristics in terms of structure type and accuracy. Results indicated that structural alignment occurred in L2 task-based interaction generated by both tasks. This structural repetition was linked to an improved accuracy of subsequent language production. Furthermore, the two tasks were associated with different structures that were converged on, and with varying degrees of structural alignment. These findings are discussed in terms of effects of task features on structural alignment, and the role of structural alignment in subsequent language production.

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“…However, a further examination of the specific levels of both the complexity and accuracy measures, and an analysis of the rest of the texts, is needed before such a claim can be made. The possibility of other factors being at play, such as fluency, task characteristics, and task difficulty, etc., which affect and shape the interactions between the two constructs under observation (Housen et al, 2012;Levkina & Gilabert, 2012) should also be taken into consideration in the further attempt to explain the nature of their interaction.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic development of complexity and accuracy

Rosmawati

2014

ARAL

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This paper reports on the development of complexity and accuracy in English as a Second Language (ESL) academic writing. Although research into complexity and accuracy development in second language (L2) writing has been well established, few studies have assumed the multidimensionality of these two constructs (Norris & Ortega, 2009) or endeavoured to make long-term observations on the course of their development (Vyatkina, 2012). Given that recent research in the field of Second Language Acquisition has moved towards a more holistic perspective on language learning and development (Larsen-Freeman, 2011, 2012), there is a need to consider the potential dynamics of the longitudinal development of these constructs in L2 writing.This study addresses this issue by exploring the dynamic unfolding of complexity and accuracy development in the academic writing of an advanced L2 learner during her postgraduate study in Australia. The results suggested that both complexity and accuracy displayed the characteristics of a dynamic system and their development was highly variable, non-linear, and idiosyncratic. Their interaction, too, was dynamic and changed over time. The findings in this study confirm and substantiate the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) proposition of L2 developmental dynamics, including the development of L2 academic writing.

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The effects of cognitive task complexity on L2 oral production

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Similar prompts may not be similar in the performance they elicit: Examining fluency, complexity, accuracy, and lexis in narratives from five picture prompts

Similar prompts may not be similar in the performance they elicit: Examining fluency, complexity, accuracy, and lexis in narratives from five picture prompts

Structural alignment in L2 task-based interaction

Dynamic development of complexity and accuracy

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