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Part of
Writing and Language Learning: Advancing research agendas
Edited by Rosa M. Manchón
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 56] 2020
► pp. 183–206

Chapter 8
Task modality, communicative adequacy and CAF measures

The moderating role of task complexity

| University of Barcelona
| University of Barcelona
| University of Murcia

In this study we looked into the learning affordances of task modalities as mediated by task complexity. A group of intermediate learners performed an argumentative task with two levels of complexity orally and in writing and their performance was rated for adequacy, and assessed in terms of the CAF (complexity, accuracy, and fluency) measures. In both oral and written modes, communicative success was found to be linked to lexical complexity and fluency. However, adequacy was associated with accuracy only in speech and with propositional complexity (idea units) only in writing. Task complexity did not moderate the links between communicative adequacy and the CAF dimensions. Based on these findings, implications for task design and for language-learning potential across modalities are drawn.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Task complexity and task modality in SLA research
  • CAF and communicative adequacy
  • The present study: Research questions
  • Method
    • Participants
    • The experimental task
    • Data collection procedures
    • Data analysis procedures
    • CAF measures
    • Communicative adequacy raters and scale
    • Statistical analyses
  • Results
  • Discussion
    • Similarities and differences across modalities
    • Implications of the findings for the connection between L2 writing and L2 learning
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 20 November 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.56.08vas
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