The Role of Teacher-Generated, Learner-Generated, and Creative Content in Chinese EFL Students’ Narrative Writing: A Contextual Perspective

Abstract

Task complexity has long been posited as an influential task feature inspiring much research. However, task complexity frameworks might be in need of adjustment, as they tend to emphasize the role of cognitive factors and neglect affective ones despite the fact that learner agency and potential for creativity have been linked to certain aspects of task performance, possibly exerting their influence through learners’ affects. Thus, to investigate the role of agency and creativity in task-based L2 writing, this study aimed to explore the relationship between task conditions conceptualized as the levels of learner agency and the potential for creativity in Chinese students’ English written performances on the one hand, and the possible role that the study contexts might play in the written performances in each task condition on the other. Participants of the study were two groups of Chinese intermediate learners of English studying in Hungary and China (n = 40), producing 120 narratives altogether. In our study, different aspects of task performance, i.e., syntactic and lexical complexity and accuracy, were associated with learner agency and potential for creativity. Moreover, differences were found in fluency between Chinese students studying in the different contexts, indicating the possible role of study contexts in this regard.