دانشگاه تربیت مدرس جستارهای زبانی 2322-3081 9 3 2018 07 23 The Role of Task Complexity, Task Condition, and Self-regulation of Learners in L2 Writing نقش پیچیدگی تکلیف، شرایط انجام تکلیف و خودنظم‌جویی فراگیران زبان در مهارت نوشتن 227 249 6654 FA افسر روحی دانشیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران امیر رضا نعمت تبریزی استادیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران منوچهر جعفری گهر دانشیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران فاطمه همتی دانشیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران اسماعیل قادری دانشجوی دکتری آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران Journal Article Task-based language teaching (TBLT) characterized by involving language learners in meaning-focused activities with some focus-on-form has enjoyed increasing popularity in the past two decades. Meanwhile, ample theoretical and empirical evidence has been presented to account for different task design features that influence language learning and learners’ performance. However, selecting and sequencing suitable tasks as well as recognizing appropriate task combinations that can provide a good opportunity for learning are still topical issues in SLA research (Robinson, 2011; Skehan, 2014). Considering this interest, this study set out to examine whether changes in the cognitive demands of tasks and their implementation condition (operationalized by individual and collaborative writing) would lead to differential improvement in language learners’ writing performance. The study also explored the relationship between an under-researched learner factor (self-regulation) and EFL learners’ written performance in individual and collaborative tasks varying in terms of cognitive complexity. The novelty of the present study lies primarily in its considering the combined effect of task complexity and task condition on writing—which is a somewhat neglected mode in research on TBLT—of EFL learners. Although different models and criteria have been proposed to account for task complexity, psycholinguistic rationales have drawn more support recently. Skehan’s (1998, 2009) trade-off hypothesis and Robinson’s (2001, 2003, 2009) cognition hypothesis are two influential models in vogue toady. Different views on attentional capacity of human beings have led Skehan and Robinson to have almost contradicting predictions on learners’ performance in tasks with different levels of cognitive complexity. Robinson (2001, 2003), assuming multiple-resource model of attention, holds the view that performing some complex tasks (e.g., those made complex by the number of elements) pushes learners to make efficient use of their attentional resources and produce more accurate and complex output. Contrarily, Skehan (1998), acknowledging the limited attentional capacity of learners, claims that simultaneous increase in accuracy and syntactic complexity of linguistic output is not feasible just due to the manipulation of task complexity. He claims that learners carrying out cognitively demanding tasks have to prioritize one (accuracy or complexity) at the expense of the other. Two research questions were formulated for the present study: (a) Do task complexity, task condition, and their interaction affect the accuracy, syntactic complexity, and fluency (CAF) of language learners’ written performance? (b) Is there any relationship between self-regulation of language learners and their performance in individual and collaborative writing tasks varying in terms of cognitive complexity? To answer these questions, 122 EFL learners whose homogeneity was ensured by Nelson English Language Proficiency Test were recruited. They were randomly assigned into four groups. The participants in four groups carried out the tasks which were different in terms of cognitive demands (simple/complex) and their implementation conditions (individual/collaborative). Task complexity was manipulated by the number of elements that participants had to consider while performing the writing task. The collected data were analyzed by MANOVA and Pearson correlation after checking for the assumptions underlying these statistical analyses. Findings revealed that task condition had a significant effect on the writing accuracy of language learners but manipulation of task complexity did not affect three writing dimensions, i.e., syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) significantly. These findings lent partial support to Skehan’s (2009) trade-off approach toward task design and also Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivism. Moreover, self-regulation of learners who performed the complex writing task in isolation showed a positive significant correlation with the accuracy of their writing. Robinson (2011) has made a similar prediction regarding the role of individual differences in learners’ performance in complex tasks. The findings add support to the view that selecting appropriate levels of task complexity and suitable task implementation conditions enhance different dimensions of the written performance of language learners. The study calls for more prominent place for task condition and individual differences of learners in the frameworks and models put forward for task designing and sequencing. در این پژوهش، تأثیر ایجاد تغییر در بار شناختی تکلیف و شرایط اجرای آن در عملکرد نوشتاری فراگیران زبان مطالعه شده است. بررسی رابطۀ بین خود‌‌نظم‌جویی فراگیران و تولید نوشتاری انفرادی و مشارکتی آن‌ها در تکالیفی متفاوت ازنظر پیچیدگی شناختی، هدف دیگر تحقیق حاضر است. 122 فراگیر زبان انگلیسی به‌طور تصادفی در چهار گروه تقسیم شدند و چهار نوع تکلیف ساده- انفرادی، ساده- مشارکتی، پیچیده- انفرادی و پیچیده- مشارکتی را انجام دادند. داده‌های جمع‌آوری‌شده با تحلیل واریانس چند‌متغیره و ضریب همبستگی پیرسون تحلیل شدند. یافته‌ها نشان دادند که شرایط انجام تکلیف باعث ایجاد تفاوت معنا‌داری در صحت نوشتاری فراگیران زبان شد؛ ولی پیچیدگی تکلیف تفاوت چشمگیری در اَبعاد مختلف نگارش آن‌ها ایجاد نکرد. فراگیرانی که تکلیف ساده را به‌طور مشارکتی انجام دادند، بالاترین میانگین را در صحت نوشتاری به‌دست آوردند. همچنین، خودنظم‌جویی فراگیرانی که تکلیف پیچیده را به‌شکل انفرادی انجام دادند، همبستگی مثبت معنا‌داری با صحت نوشتاری آن‌ها نشان داد. یافته‌های ما بر نیاز به توجه بیشتر به شرایط انجام تکلیف و تفاوت‌های فردی فراگیران در مدل‌ها و چارچوب‌های ارائه‌شده برای طراحی و تنظیم تکالیف، تأکید می‌کند.

https://lrr.modares.ac.ir/article_6654_2d36b5821f8affc6868b59dfc9af6c9f.pdf