Effects of manipulating writing task complexity on learners’ performance in completing vocabulary and syntactic tasks

• Published in: Language teaching research : LTR Vol. 28; no. 3; pp. 1011 - 1032
• Main Authors: Zhan, Ju, Sun, Qiyu, Zhang, Lawrence Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2024; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Accuracy; Chinese languages; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Processes; Complexity; Curriculum Design; English as a second language instruction; Fluency; Foreign language learning; Hypotheses; Information processing; Language; Language Proficiency; Language thought relationship; Learning environment; Learning outcomes; Linguistics; Memory; Problem solving; Second language writing; Second language writing instruction; Student writing; Syntax; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Variables; syntactic learning; EFL learning; EFL writing; lexical learning; task complexity
• ISSN: 1362-1688; 1477-0954
• DOI: 10.1177/13621688211024360

The present study investigated the potential of writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) for language learning by manipulating cognitive task complexity based on related models and hypotheses. English essays written by 59 Chinese postgraduate EFL students from different subject areas were analysed with reference to writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Results showed that task complexity had no significant effect on EFL learners’ lexical complexity but had an influence on their syntactic variation in EFL writing. Findings suggest that manipulating writing task complexity could be a feasible means to promoting and enhancing EFL learners’ language learning. Such findings might broaden our understanding of the relationship between EFL writing and language learning in an EFL learning context. The interplay of EFL writing and EFL learning is also pedagogically relevant to those who are interested in appropriately sequencing tasks for more effective language teaching.