This paper reports on a study in which two models proposed to explain the influence of cognitive task complexity on linguistic performance in L2 are tested and compared. The two models are Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson 2001a, 2001b) and Skehan and Foster’s Limited Attentional Capacity Model (Skehan 1998, Skehan and Foster 2001). Sixty-two Dutch university students of Italian performed two writing tasks with prompts of differing cognitive complexity. Linguistic performance was operationalized in terms of syntactic complexity, lexical variation and accuracy. The study provides partial support for the Cognition Hypothesis, in so far as the written products of the cognitively more demandings task turned out to be more accurate, with significantly lower error ratios per T-unit than those of the cognitively less demanding task. In addition stronger effects of cognitive task complexity were found for high-proficiency learners than for low-proficiency learners. No effects could be observed on measures of syntactic complexity or lexical variation.
2023. The effects of task complexity on lexical complexity in L2 writing: An exploratory study. System 114 ► pp. 103021 ff.
Afzaal, Muhammad & Xiangtao Du
2023. Syntactic complexity in translated eHealth discourse of COVID-19: a comparable parallel corpus approach. Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies 10:1 ► pp. 3 ff.
2023. One size fits all? The role of task complexity in L2 production via the audio chat. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education 8:1
Xu, Ting Sophia & Lawrence Jun Zhang
2023. Effects of cognitive task complexity and online planning on second language learners’ argumentative writing. Frontiers in Psychology 14
2022. Effects of Task Complexity on Linguistic Complexity for Sustainable EFL Writing Skills Development. Sustainability 14:8 ► pp. 4791 ff.
Xu, Ting Sophia, Lawrence Jun Zhang & Janet S. Gaffney
2022. EXAMINING THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF TASK COMPLEXITY AND COGNITIVE DEMANDS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44:2 ► pp. 483 ff.
Xu, Ting Sophia, Lawrence Jun Zhang & Janet S. Gaffney
2023. A multidimensional approach to assessing the effects of task complexity on L2 students’ argumentative writing. Assessing Writing 55 ► pp. 100690 ff.
Dobrić, Nikola, Günther Sigott, Gašper Ilc, Vesna Lazović, Hermann Cesnik & Andrej Stopar
2021. Errors as indicators of writing task difficulty at the Slovene general matura in English. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 31:3 ► pp. 475 ff.
Nair, Veena & Shruti Sircar
2021. Task Complexity and Language Proficiency: Its Effect on L2 Writing Production. In Task-Based Language Teaching and Assessment, ► pp. 139 ff.
YILDIZ, Mine & Savaş YEŞİLYURT
2021. Effects of Task Complexity on Text Easibility and Coherence of EFL Learners’ Narrative Writing. Adıyaman Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 11:1 ► pp. 36 ff.
Manchón, Rosa M. & Olena Vasylets
2019. Language Learning Through Writing: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence. In The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning, ► pp. 341 ff.
Plakans, Lia, Atta Gebril & Zeynep Bilki
2019. Shaping a score: Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in integrated writing performances. Language Testing 36:2 ► pp. 161 ff.
Johnson, Mark D.
2017. Cognitive task complexity and L2 written syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency: A research synthesis and meta-analysis. Journal of Second Language Writing 37 ► pp. 13 ff.
Kim, YouJin & Caroline Payant
2017. Impacts of task complexity on the development of L2 oral performance over time. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 55:2
Zalbidea, Janire
2017. ‘One Task Fits All’? The Roles of Task Complexity, Modality, and Working Memory Capacity in L2 Performance. The Modern Language Journal 101:2 ► pp. 335 ff.
RÉVÉSZ, ANDREA
2011. Task Complexity, Focus on L2 Constructions, and Individual Differences: A Classroom‐Based Study. The Modern Language Journal 95:s1 ► pp. 162 ff.
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