Effects of Task Complexity on Linguistic Complexity for Sustainable EFL Writing Skills Development

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from a study that explored the effects of task complexity on linguistic complexity in EFL writing with a within-and-between-subject design for the sustainability of EFL writing skills. A total of 178 English majors and non-English majors participated in the study. They each performed two writing tasks that were manipulated using two variables: the number of elements and prior knowledge. Linguistic complexity was measured from both syntactic and lexical aspects with 39 indices. Data analysis indicated that task complexity produced different effects on different dimensions of linguistic complexity, suggesting that research on task complexity needs to break away from simplicity and that the Cognition Hypothesis and Limited Attentional Capacity Hypothesis require further verification and refinement. This study contributes to a better understanding of task complexity and linguistic complexity in EFL writing, yielding meaningful implications for pedagogy and assessment in this field.