چکیده:
The present meta-analysis was conducted to provide a quantitative measure of the overall effects of task complexity on Chinese EFL learners’ language production. Based on the strict inclusion criteria, 12 primary studies were synthesized according to key features. Eleven of them were meta-analyzed to investigate effects of raising the resource-directing task complexity. Results revealed that (a) there was an assortment of treatments and measures, (b) there was a small to medium positive effect for syntactic complexity (d=0.64) and small effect for lexical complexity (d=0.20), which lends support to the Cognition Hypothesis; there was a small negative effect for accuracy (-0.18) and a close to negative effect (0.01) for fluency in writing, which partly confirms Skehan’s Trade-off effects, and (c) task modality (oral or written) did not make a significant difference on the overall effects on complexity and accuracy, while make a significant difference on fluency.
خلاصه ماشینی:
The effects of task complexity on Chinese learners’ language production: A synthesis and meta-analysis* Jiaxin Xing* (PhD candidate, Beijing Normal University & Lecturer, Qufu Normal University, China) *Corresponding author email: randxing2003@126.
com Shaoqian Luo (Professor, Beijing Normal University, China) The present meta-analysis was conducted to provide a quantitative measure of the overall effects of task complexity on Chinese EFL learners’ language production.
Abstract: Key Words: task complexity, meta-analysis, complexity, accuracy, fluency * The paper is supported by "the seventh batch of fund for Chinese foreign languages education", which is sponsored by National Research Centre for Foreign Languages Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University (ZGWYJYJJ2014A69).
However, the findings of these studies have not been conclusive; they suggest that more complex tasks positively impact linguistic performance in general, yet more specific findings related to both accuracy and syntactic complexity only partially supported the cognition hypothesis (e.
The research domain was defined as all published articles and unpublished dissertations investigating the effects of task complexity on Chinese learners’ language production.
Table 1 Descriptive features of the included primary studies Complexity Lexis Accuracy Fluency TTR (n=2) increased task complexity along resource-directing dimension results in increased syntactic complexity.
With respect to accuracy, the meta-analysis found a small negative effect size of task complexity.
Only 7 primary studies investigating the effects of task complexity on fluency are included in meta-analysis.
), Second language task complexity: Researching the Cognition Hypothesis of language +/-Here-and-Now dimensions: effects on L2 oral production" in M.
The cognition hypothesis: A synthesis and meta-analysis of research on second language task complexity.