The impact of task complexity on integrated writing performance is under-researched. This study purports to investigate the effect of graph complexity and planning time on graph writing performance as well as graph description strategies. Ninety-six EFL learners of English were assigned into three groups to examine the effect of three planning…

From the perspective of complexity theory and based on Robinson's Cognition Hypothesis and the Triadic Componential Framework, this paper investigated the effect of manipulating task complexity along resource-dispersing dimension on L2 written performance. The results showed that: 1) Significant interactive effects were found between the two…

It is unknown whether and to what extent cognitive individual differences may play different roles in paper versus computer-based second language (L2) writing. This exploratory study is a first attempt to explore this issue, focusing on the effects of working memory and language aptitude on the quality of paper versus computer-based L2 writing…

Previous studies demonstrated that the continuation task has great language learning potential and that various task-related factors may affect the extent to which the potential can be exploited (e.g. Wang & Wang, 2015). This study investigates the effect of one understudied factor, the linguistic complexity of the input text, on English as a…

This study investigated whether task complexity influences second language (L2) writers' fluency, pausing, and revision behaviors and the cognitive processes underlying these behaviors; whether task complexity affects linguistic complexity of written output; and whether relationships between writing behaviors and linguistic complexity are…

Building a text is a multidimensional endeavor. Writers must work simultaneously on the content of the text, its discursive organization, the structure of the sentences, and the individual words themselves. Knowledge of vocabulary is central to this endeavor. This study intends (1) to trace the development of writer's vocabulary depth, their…

As task-based language teaching focuses on real word tasks and the learners need to complete these tasks in the process of learning a foreign or second language, it helps target language fluency and student confidence. That is why second and foreign language teachers and researchers have shown interest in TBLT. This study attempts to investigate…

This study investigates the combined effects of task-based careful online planning and the storyline structure of a task on second language performance (complexity, accuracy and fluency). Sixty intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 15). Participants were asked to perform two tasks with different degrees of storyline…

Critics argue that requiring subjects to verbalize their thoughts while completing certain language tasks increases the participants' cognitive load and impairs their final performance (e.g., Jourdenais, 2001). Despite the importance of this claim for language instructors, few studies have produced contradicting evidence after an empirical study…

The notion of "fluency" is most often associated with spoken-language phenomena such as stuttering. The present article investigates the relevance of considering fluency in writing. The basic argument for raising this question is empirical--it follows from a focus on difficulties in written and spoken language as manifestations of different…