Task type and task processing conditions as influences on foreign language performance

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of planning and post-task activity on task-based performance. It is motivated by the need, given recent claims that task-based instruction has desirable pedagogic qualities, to investigate the effects of choosing different types of tasks, as well as different task implementation conditions, on the fluency, accuracy and complexity of the language which is produced when tasks are carried out. Three tasks are investigated: a personal task, a narrative task and a decision task. A 2-by-2 research design was used, with two planning conditions (10 minutes' planning time vs no planning time) and two post-task conditions (plus or minus knowledge of a post-task). Performance was assessed through the number of pauses (as a measure of fluency), the percentage of error-free clauses (to measure accuracy) and the level of subordination (as a measure of complexity). Confirming hypotheses and previous research, planning had clear effects on almost all measures. The hypothesis that foreknowledge of a post-task activity would selectively influence accuracy received only partial confirmation. Data from the present study was also related to results reported in an earlier study. This revealed that there is strong evidence of trade-off effects between the different dependent variables used, in that fluency, accuracy and complexity seem to enter into competition with one another, given the limited attentional capacities of second language users. Finally, there are indications that task characteristics interact with planning time and lead to selective improvements in particular areas. Tasks which contain clearer inherent structure, when planned, seem to favour accuracy, whereas tasks which require more on-line processing or which have complex outcomes, when planned, produce greater complexity.