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Part of
Individual Differences and Task-Based Language Teaching
Edited by Shaofeng Li
[Task-Based Language Teaching 16] 2024
► pp. 111–137

Chapter 4
Task complexity, task features, and task anxiety at low L2 proficiency levels

 | 1Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
 | 2Georgetown University
TBLT is a growing research strand in the instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) literature. However, there is a paucity of studies on the role of individual differences (ID) such as task anxiety in L2 tasks (Baralt & Gurzynski-Weiss, 2011; Donate, 2021). Importantly, very few studies have examined this learner factor in connection with task complexity, and what features in L2 tasks contribute to learners’ anxiety during task performance. To gain a better understanding of task-related features contributing to task anxiety, two L2 oral narrative tasks with varied cognitive demands were investigated using a mixed method design. 51 early-stage learners of Spanish performed the two tasks and responded to a task anxiety scale at two points in time during the tasks. The results showed that the complex task led to more anxiety than the simple task, but the former also appeared to have led to more enjoyment. At the same time, learners in the simple task reported experiencing more anxiety after task completion than in the middle. In addition, code complexity, in particular vocabulary demands, the absence of planning time, oral task modality, and task repetition contributed to task anxiety. The potential benefits of manipulating specific task features to mitigate the effects of anxiety and increase enjoyment during oral task performance are discussed in relation to lower proficiency levels.
Keywords: task anxiety, task enjoyment, task complexity
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • Task complexity
    • Individual differences in task-based research
    • Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA)
    • Task anxiety in task complexity research
    • The role of task factors in task anxiety
    • Purpose of the study
  • Methodology
    • Participants
    • Materials
    • Measures of anxiety
    • Procedure
    • Coding of task factors as task anxiety predictors
  • Results
    • RQ1: What’s the relationship between task complexity and task anxiety?
      • Quantitative results
    • Qualitative results: Task anxiety by level of task complexity
    • Qualitative results: Task enjoyment by level of task complexity
    • RQ2: What task factors are related to learners’ task anxiety?
  • Discussion
    • Methodological considerations
    • Pedagogical considerations
    • Limitations and future directions
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 6 June 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.16.04don
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