Abstract
The impetus of the present study was to scrutinize the impact of planning and proficiency on 172 EFL learners’ written task performance regarding concept load, fluency, complexity and accuracy. Planning was operationalized at two levels: pretask planning (PTP) and on- line planning (OLP). Participants of this study were two groups, high and low proficiency learners who were randomly chosen. The first group was required to plan for their performance for 10 minutes and take notes before they performed the tasks, whilst the participants in the second group began writing immediately and took time as long as they like. The participants’ performances were then analyzed utilizing paired samples t-test. The results of statistical analysis showed that low-proficiency learners appear to benefit more from planning time with respect to concept load, fluency, and complexity. On the other hand, high-proficiency learners were advantaged by planning time concerning concept load and accuracy.
Highlights
Second language acquisition (SLA) researchers and language teachers both seek to elicit samples of language use from learners
Planning and its role in task- based performance are of both theoretical interest to second language acquisition (SLA) researchers and of practical significance to language teachers
A number of studies have investigated the effects of planning on L2 learner’s performance of oral narratives (Foster and Skehan, 1996; Skehan and Foster, 1997, 1999; Ortega, 1999; Yuan and Ellis, 2003). These studies showed that giving learners opportunity to plan a narrative before they speak it resulted in significant gains in both fluency and complexity
Summary
Second language acquisition (SLA) researchers and language teachers both seek to elicit samples of language use from learners. In the case of teachers, these samples serve as evidence that successful learning is taking place Both researchers and teachers acknowledge the need to elicit samples of language use that is representative of how learners perform when they are not attending to accuracy. A number of studies have investigated the effects of planning on L2 learner’s performance of oral narratives (Foster and Skehan, 1996; Skehan and Foster, 1997, 1999; Ortega, 1999; Yuan and Ellis, 2003) These studies showed that giving learners opportunity to plan a narrative before they speak it (i.e., pretask planning) resulted in significant gains in both fluency and complexity. 3. What effect does proficiency have on L2 learner's performance of written narrative task under planned vs unplanned conditions in terms of complexity?. What effect does proficiency have on L2 learner's performance of written narrative task under planned vs. unplanned conditions in terms of accuracy?
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