Writing Task Performance Research Articles

Creativity and the linguistic features of argumentative and narrative written task performance

This study investigated the relationship between creativity and the linguistic quality of the output in L2 written argumentative and narrative essays produced by 95 Hungarian secondary school students at intermediate to advanced level of proficiency. Participants also completed a figural creativity test which was standardized and validated for the target sample. The creativity test assessed creative fluency and elaboration, the abstractness of title and resistance to premature closure of the figurative representations. The lexical sophistication and diversity, syntactic complexity and elaboration, and cohesion and coherence of the students’ writing was analyzed with automated natural language processing tools. The interrelationship of creativity and the linguistic features of the argumentative and narrative texts was examined using correlational analyses. The results reveal a complex interplay of the role of different facets of creativity in L2 written task performance that varies across the two types of tasks.

Unraveling interlanguage variability: A psycholinguistic exploration of morphological forms in Iranian ESL learners' written performance

The present research study aimed to investigate the psycholinguistic aspects of interlanguage (IL) variability in English as a second language learners from Iran. Three morphological forms were specifically examined in this study: the plural "-s," past tense forms, and present tense forms. In order to investigate the learners' cognitive processes, the researchers used a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative semi-structured interviews with quantitative analysis of written task performance. Under various task conditions, learners exhibited two opposing patterns of IL variability (increasing and decreasing) in their morphological forms. Various degrees of accuracy were noted for every kind of morpheme. Different students allocated their attention differently to form and meaning in both under pressure and relaxed task environments. The observed variations could have been caused by limited working memory and attention capacity in addition to L1 transfer. The research indicated that the field of second language acquisition could benefit from an explanatory approach to comprehend IL variability from the learner's perspective. It provides recommendations for larger-scale research projects in a variety of educational contexts, along with pedagogical implications.

Task repetition versus task rehearsal: Understanding effects of task-readiness factors and elemental genres on L2 writing task performance

In the literature on task-based language teaching (TBLT), task repetition and task rehearsal have frequently been used interchangeably. However, this distinction, identified as potentially significant (Ellis, 2019), is noteworthy due to the potential impact of participants’ awareness of future repetitions on second language (L2) task performance. Given the lack of empirical exploration regarding task repetition and task rehearsal distinction in the context of L2 writing, this study investigates how task rehearsal and task repetition affect the narrative and argumentative writing performances of 120 students of English as a second language (ESL) from a U.S. university. They were randomly assigned to four groups. Groups 1 and 3 wrote the narrative text initially, repeated the same task, and then proceeded to write the argumentative text, which was also repeated. The intervals between these performances were one week apart. However, Group 3 knew in advance that they were going to repeat the task, whereas Group 1 lacked this knowledge. Conversely, Groups 2 and 4 began by writing the argumentative text, repeated that task, and then proceeded to complete the narrative text, which was also repeated within the same time intervals. Group 4 had forewarning of their future performance, while Group 2 did not. We analysed the essays using the complexity, accuracy, lexis, and fluency (CALF) measures. The results indicated that time significantly influenced almost all CALF measures in narrative and argumentative writing, irrespective of the forewarning condition. Additionally, task readiness and essay order had a significant impact on most CALF measures, particularly in narrative writing. Specifically, task readiness positively affected the majority of CALF measures in narratives, whereas essay order exhibited sporadic influence.

Writing Task Performance and First Language Background on an ESL Placement Exam

First Language (L1) has been assumed to play a role in Second Language ability (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). However, the interplay between them across skill, task, or scoring criteria is more complex (Hamp-Lyons & Davies, 2008). Using Many-Facets Rasch Measurement, this study investigates the main effects of examinee ability, rater severity, task difficulty, and rubric scale difficulty and functionality on the writing section of an English as a Second Language program's placement test, then compares performance among L1 Spanish and Japanese examinees to discern the presence of bias across facet. The results for examinee ability and rater severity suggest score variability not expected by the model. Regarding task difficulty and scale difficulty and functionality, it can be concluded that an argumentative essay genre was more difficult than a customer review, or that rater assessed rubric criteria for Content, Organization, and Language more harshly for the former. A bias analysis among L1 Spanish and Japanese examinees revealed that the customer review displayed a bias against Japanese examinees, particularly for Organization, while the argumentative essay displayed bias for them, particularly for Organization and Language. These results demonstrate how placement testing could inform curricula in language programs with linguistically diverse student populations.

Exploring the effects of planning conditions and peer familiarity on Chinese EFL learners’ argumentative writing

Despite numerous studies on the effect of task planning on L2 writing, little research has examined the combined effects of pre-task planning (PTP) and (pressured and unpressured) online planning (POP and UOP). This study, therefore, investigated the effects of the combined planning conditions and peer familiarity on Chinese EFL learners' argumentative writing. Sixty-four Chinese EFL participants were assigned to four groups: 2 planning conditions (i.e., PTP + POP vs. PTP + UOP) × 2 levels of peer familiarity (i.e., ± familiar). With a 14-min collaborative prewriting discussion, the PTP + POP groups performed the argumentative writing task within 27 min, while the PTP + UOP groups finished the task at their own pace. MANOVA analyses revealed the following findings: (1) the PTP + UOP groups outperformed their counterparts in analytic rating, syntactic complexity, accuracy, and lexical complexity; (2) the PTP + POP groups enhanced fluency and lexical complexity; (3) unfamiliarity seemed to foster lexical complexity and fluency; (4) interactional effects between planning conditions and peer familiarity were observed in syntactic complexity, lexical complexity, and fluency. These findings provide novel evidence regarding the effects of planning conditions and peer familiarity on L2 learners’ writing task performance.

Writing while walking: The impact of cognitive-motor multi-tasking on collision avoidance in human locomotion

BackgroundWhen moving in public space, individuals are challenged with having to master multiple cognitive and motor demands, either simultaneously or in short succession. Empirical evidence suggests that cognitive-motor multi-tasking during walking may impact one or both, cognitive and motor performance. These performance changes may result from unintentional task-interference effects, but also from strategic behavioral changes to cope with the multiple task demands. Strategic changes in human walking behavior have been uncovered in experimental scenarios, in which individuals avoid colliding with other individuals or objects in the environment. However, whether collision avoidance behavior is sensitive to cognitive-motor multi-task demands has remained underexplored, yet. Thus, with this study, we aimed at systematically studying cognitive-motor multi-task effects on collision avoidance during human locomotion. MethodsTen healthy participants (23.9 ± 4.3 years, 4 female) were walking at their preferred speed from a predefined start to end position under four experimental conditions: walking only (BL), walking while having to avoid a collision with another person (IO), writing a text message on a mobile phone while walking (cognitive-motor dual-task, DT), and writing while walking with collision avoidance demand (multi-task, MT). Parameters quantifying locomotor as well as collision avoidance behavior (path length, walking speed, minimum distance, path and speed adjustment) were assessed using optical motion tracking. In addition, performance in the writing task (errors, writing speed) was examined. ResultsParticipants' locomotor behavior was significantly affected by experimental conditions, with additive effects of multi-task demands on both path length (BL = DT < IO < MT) and walking speed (BL > IO > DT > MT). Further, participants showed an increased error rate and writing speed in the writing task when walking as compared to when standing still, independent of the presence of an interferer. Importantly, collision avoidance behavior was selectively influenced by cognitive-motor multi-task demands, with an increased minimum distance to the other person in the MT-condition, but no differences in path or speed adjustment. DiscussionOur results suggest significant multi-tasking effects of writing a message on the mobile phone while walking on both locomotor behavior and writing task performance. Collision avoidance behavior seems to be selectively affected by multi-task demands, reflected in an increased minimum passing distance, without overt changes in path or speed adjustments. This may be indicative for a strategic change in collision avoidance behavior towards a more cautious strategy to account for altered attention allocation and less visual feedback when writing while walking.

Metacognitive Skills: Investigating the Effect on Pupil Teachers’ Written Task Performance

The current study was conducted for investigating the effect of the Metacognitive skills on pupil teachers’ written assignment performance. The study was executed while using the Quasi-Experimental nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. The two sections of B.Ed (Honors) Semester-I (each consisting of 30 students) were selected conveniently for this study. Before the intervention, both of the selected groups have been pretested and there was no statistical difference found among them concerning their Metacognitive Skills. The intervention (Cooperative Learning approach) was given to the experimental group whereas the controlled group was given the conventional treatment. The intervention duration consisted of one semester only. There were five Metacognitive skills that the researcher intended to develop. The “Planning” and “Information Management” skills were focused during the first two weeks of each month whereas the rest of the skills “Monitoring, “Debugging” and “Evaluation” were focused during the last two weeks. The researcher used a performance test named “Metacognitive Skills Assessment Tool” (MSAT) adapted from (Ali, Siddiqui, &amp; Tatlah, 2020) comprising 14 items (representing Metacognitive skills) to measure the prospective teachers’ skills. Furthermore, the Rubrics for Metacognitive Skills Assessment Tool (RMSAT) were used to rate the prospective teachers’ performance taken on MSAT. These were also adopted from (Ali, Siddiqui, &amp; Tatlah, 2020). On the other hand, the pupil teachers’ written assignment performance has been measured with the help of the “Assessment Criteria for Report Writing (ACRW)” developed by (Siddiqui, 2016). Base on the results taken from Pearson’s r and Linear Regression analysis, it has been concluded that the Metacognitive skills have a statistically significantly high effect on prospective teachers’ Metacognitive skills development.

Task complexity, task repetition, and L2 writing complexity: exploring interactions in the TBLT domain

Abstract Considering the increasing application of task-based frameworks to second language (L2) writing research, there has been a pressing need to examine TBLT views on the interactions between task conceptualization, task performance, and L2 writing outcomes. To address this need, the present study was designed to explore the synergistic effects of task complexity and task repetition on different facets of syntactic complexity as a key construct of proficiency and development in L2 writing. In doing so, 96 ESL learners performed written argumentative task versions with varying cognitive complexity in a counterbalanced fashion and then complete a task difficulty questionnaire. Afterward, they repeated the tasks in the opposite order at a one-week interval. The essays were analyzed using fine-grained syntactic complexity measures (reported by Lu’s L2 syntactic complexity analyzer, 2010). Linear mixed-effects models indicated significant main effects of task complexity and task repetition on different facets of syntactic complexity with robust effect sizes. However, no significant interaction effect between task complexity and task repetition was observed. These findings provide a reliable and accurate understanding of how syntactic complexity plays a role in the current accounts of connections between task features, implementation variables, and L2 writing task performance.

The role of gender differences in the effect of ideal L2 writing self and imagination on continuation writing task performance

Ideal second language (L2) writing self (ILWS), defined as an individual's hoped-for future self-concept in L2 writing, is underlyingly correlated with imagination. Both ILWS and imagination are assumed to promote L2 writing performance. In the context of a continuation writing task which necessitates imagination to do well, this study constructed a framework that probed the relationship between ILWS, imagination and writing performance, with an aim of understanding how the exertion of ILWS and imagination play a role in writing. Twelfth-graders (N = 679) from a mainland China city attempted a continuation writing (CW) task and responded to questionnaires that solicited ILWS and the application of imagination. Structural equation models showed that ILWS was positively correlated with two types of imaginations, creative and reproductive. Only reproductive imagination contributed to writing performance. There was an indirect positive path from ILWS to female group's writing performance via the mediation of reproductive imagination. Albeit both groups reported comparable magnitudes in their ILWS and imaginations, the female group's overall writing score significantly outperformed that of the male group. Findings suggested that reproductive imagination was uniquely beneficial to the specific CW task for the female group, while the male group did not manage to use their imagination in writing effectively, which potentially accounts for the discrepancy in academic performance in broader practice sites. This study lends support for the cultivation of Chinese students’ ILWS and imaginative awareness to enhance writing experience, as well as enrich the overall learning achievement.

Integrated writing across conflicting L2 texts: The effects of prior beliefs on perspectivism and propositional content

In light of the ever-increasing predominance of sources that present conflicting information on socio-scientific issues, constructing integrated written representations across such sources has become a routine practice for information users, particularly in academic contexts. Evidence accumulates that readers’ pre-existing beliefs affect source comprehension. Since source comprehension has been documented to significantly affect integrated writing task performance, the present study examined how participants’ prior beliefs interact with their integrated written representations of documents that present divergent standpoints on a controversy. The study, more specifically, examined perspectivism and propositional content in integrated summaries written by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) participants across documents that presented perspectives contradicting or aligning with their pre-existing beliefs. The results revealed that perspectives adopted by participants in their integrated summaries were largely biased towards their pre-existing beliefs. The results further indicated a strong bias towards the participants’ pre-existing stances on the controversy in the propositional content of the integrated writing task. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the propositional content of integrated summaries that adopted different perspectives. Furthermore, perceived plausibility judgements of the information were found to moderate the propositional content of the integrated summaries. • Propositional content of integrated summaries are biased towards prior beliefs. • Perspectives taken in integrated summaries are biased towards pre-existing beliefs. • Perceived information plausibility moderate belief-biased written representations.

Research on the Teaching Strategies of Senior High School English Continuous Writing Task

Considering the poor quality of English teaching in China, many domestic experts and scholars have spared no effort to explore effective teaching methods for foreign language teaching. The continuous writing task proposed by Wang Chuming in 2012 has been confirmed by a large number of experts and scholars from the theoretical and practical aspects of its excellent learning-promoting effect. In order to improve the quality of English teaching in our country, continuous writing task has gradually been adopted in the English writing questions of the New college entrance examination in various provinces. However, the new writing question type puts forward higher writing requirements for students' writing ability, thus this new writing question type is a new challenge for students. There are a series of problems in the students' continuous writing task, such as deviant theme and inconsistent continuous content with the given material gist; simple, bland and illogical continuous writing plots; improper use of vocabulary and grammar and confusing language expression, etc. In order to enhance students' continuous writing task performance, the author proposes three effective teaching strategies: firstly, analyse the original text carefully and focus on synergy with the original text and the coherence of the whole text; secondly, excavate the original text to enrich language expression; thirdly, pay attention to multiple evaluation methods to form a multidimensional interactive evaluation mode.

Planning time in Relation to Complexity of the Writing Task Performance of EFL learners in Non-English Country: Case Study at English Department Khairun University, Indonesia

Writing is a place to express feelings and thoughts in relatively permanent form. However, it becomes problematic because it requires certain linguistic features such as fluency, accuracy, and complexity, (the latter being the dependent variable for the study). One way to overcome these problems is through planning. Thus, this research is focused to find out the effect of planning on complexity in the writing performance especially in EFL learners. There are 20 final-year of undergraduate students of Unkhair involved and are selected through individual IELTS prediction writing-test. This study applies Independent t-test for the first variable of complexity: richness and diversity, and the second variable: size and elaborateness uses Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test. The study uses two different groups as independent variables: 1) Planning group will be coded P1, P2, P3, … and so on, while 2) without planning group will be coded WP1, WP2, WP3, … and so on. The result of the study presents that the mean score in planning groups of both number of words per T-unit and number of clauses per T-unit are generally higher with 10.684 and 1.487, respectively, than in without planning group with just 9.403 and 1.225, respectively. The figures conclude that through planning which happened before the writing, helps the learners to accomplish a better performance regarding the number of words and clauses occur per T-unit.

Role of Task Repetition and Content Familiarity in EFL Students’ Fluency and Accuracy in Narrative Tasks: A Case Study

Developing writing skills has become a priority for many students in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. To this end, classroom practices should be facilitative of opportunities to communicate accurately and fluently in written and oral forms. Drawing on evidence which suggests that task repetition allows students to perform subsequent tasks more efficiently and accurately, the study examines the likely effect of procedural repetition with four narrative tasks (i.e. narrating stories in written form after watching short animated videos) on five EFL students’ fluency and accuracy (AF). To do this, the levels of the students’ AF were measured during the performance of each task. Moreover, qualitative data from questionnaires administered to the students after each task were also included to better understand the behavior of the AF levels in relation to their perceptions of the task performance and the familiarity with the content of the tasks. The evidence shows that the students’ AF tended to progressively increase as weeks went by. The highest AF levels were found in the tasks where the content was familiar to the students. The opposite was observed when the students claimed not to be familiar with the content. The argument that we put forward in this article is that task (procedural) repetition may be beneficial for enhancing students’ AF in writing task performance; however, if this practice combines with the students’ lack of content familiarity, AF may engage in a dynamic interaction in which trade-off effects can be observed.

Task repetition, synchronous written corrective feedback and the learning of Korean grammar: A classroom-based study

Recently, there has been a shift in the perception of tasks. Tasks are no longer viewed as ‘one-off’ activities, and the importance of studying the role of task repetition has been increasingly addressed (Bygate, 2018). However, the way task repetition effects are mediated by other instructional conditions such as corrective feedback has not been widely researched. The current study examined the effects of task repetition and indirect synchronous written corrective feedback (WCF) during collaborative writing on the quality of students’ written task performance and the learning of Korean grammar. Fifty-four Korean as a foreign language learners completed a pretest, two collaborative writing tasks, and two posttests over 10 weeks. Their task performance was analysed in terms of complexity, accuracy and fluency, and the pretest and posttest results were scored for both suppliance and accuracy of the production of target grammatical features. The findings showed that task repetition improved writing fluency, and while synchronous WCF negatively impacted fluency during collaborative writing, it facilitated accuracy in students’ writing. In terms of the learning of target grammatical features, no significant benefit of synchronous WCF was found.

Differential contribution of oral and written modes to lexical, syntactic and propositional complexity in L2 performance in instructed contexts

Complexity of L2 output during oral or written task performance has been associated with the process of restructuring; that is, a qualitative change of the internal L2 system by which interlanguage becomes more elaborate and more efficient in communication. While online pressures may restrain the occurrence of restructuring in oral production, the availability of time and visibility of output in writing might create optimal conditions to deploy more complex linguistic structures, with the concomitant interlanguage development. To test these claims, we conducted a study in which we explored if and how the manifestation of lexical, syntactic and propositional L2 complexity was moderated by the mode in which the task was performed. Our participants were 290 instructed L2 learners. They performed orally and in writing a narrative video-retelling task. The analysis revealed moderating task-modality effects on L2 complexity. We found that the written texts displayed higher scores on all the sub-dimensions of syntactic and lexical complexity. Differences were also observed in the way speakers and writers conveyed the propositional content of the task. We interpret these findings as evidence of the facilitating conditions for restructuring during written production in instructed settings and, accordingly, of the language-learning-potential of L2 writing tasks.

Exploring L2 writers’ source-text use in an integrated writing assessment

The current trend in second language writing assessment has been toward the integration of multiple competencies in one task, specifically by incorporating reading and listening sources into integrated writing tasks. However, research has shown that novice writers may have difficulty understanding source text information, paraphrasing and summarizing source information, and incorporating that information into a coherent piece of writing. To shed further light on the relationship between source text use and integrated writing task performance, this short communication reports the findings of a larger study that explored EAP students’ (N = 111) performance on the Canadian Assessment of English Language (CAEL) integrated writing task. Their written texts were analyzed in terms of the number of source-text ideas used, linguistic modifications to source information, and content accuracy of source information. Results indicated that both the number of source ideas and content accuracy predicted participants’ CAEL writing band scores.

Predicting integrated writing task performance: Source comprehension, prewriting planning, and individual differences

Integrated writing tasks are widely used in L2 academic proficiency tests (Cohen, 2009) even though L2 writers experience challenges with the comprehension and integration of source ideas (Plakans & Gebril, 2013). Relatively few studies have examined whether prewriting planning helps mitigate these challenges (Hayes, 1996) or whether L2 writers' individual differences affect any potential benefits for prewriting planning. Therefore, this study explores the contribution of source comprehension, individual differences, and prewriting planning to English L2 writers' performance on a Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment integrated writing task. English for academic purposes students (N = 111) carried out reading comprehension, listening comprehension and integrated writing sections of a CAEL test, writing anxiety and self-efficacy questionnaires, and a semi-structured interview. CAEL writing band scores along with reading and listening comprehension scores were obtained and participants' prewriting planning notes were analyzed in terms of their strategies and degree of elaboration. Multiple regression models indicated that anxiety and reading scores were significant predictors of CAEL writing band scores, and the interview data provided greater insights into the L2 writers' reading-to-plan strategies and challenges. Pedagogical implications are discussed to increase students' understanding of the connections between reading comprehension and prewriting planning.

The effect of noise on attention and performance in reading and writing tasks.

This study investigated the effects of two levels of noise on the performance of young students of three educational levels and tested their ability to maintain attentional focus in reading and writing tasks. 162 school children in the third, fourth and fifth grades were placed in three groups according to their educational level: Control Group (CG), Experimental Group A (GEA) and Experimental Group B (GEB). All groups were submitted to a Sustained Attention Test, Reading Assessment and Isolated Words Test and Writing Dictation Sub-test (part of the International Dyslexia Test). The GEA and GEB performed the tests in a noisy environment: 20dB and 40dB, respectively. The CG was assessed in the usual school environmental noise at the same time of the day. The data was submitted to an ANOVA, the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation test. The higher the score on the Sustained Attention Test, the shorter the time spent reading and fewer errors in the dictation task. There were no differences across the three grades within the GEA (lower levels of noise) with regard to the effect of noise on attention and in the reading and writing task performance. The higher levels of noise for the GEB, however, decreased the attention levels, therefore increasing mistakes on the dictation test. Comparing the performance across educational levels on the reading tasks, the fourth grade presented decreased reading time, while the third and fifth grades spent more time reading. Auditory interference can influence the ability to focus attention as well as worsen performance in reading and writing tasks at more intense noise levels.

The Impact of Linear Process versus Genre-Based Approach on Intermediate EFL Learners’ Accuracy in Written Task Performance

The main purpose of the present quasi-experimental study was to investigate the effects of linear process versus genre-based approach on EFL learners’ written production. To this end, 40 learners of English at intermediate level were randomly selected as the participants of the study and assigned into two groups of experimental (process and genre) which received different types of instruction for 8 sessions. Narrative and process-tasks were employed to collect data from the participants. The collected written data was quantified in terms of the accuracy measure. Independent samples T-test was employed as the statistical means of analysis. The results of the study revealed no difference between the performances of two groups in written narrative task, however, the result of statistical analysis in process task was significant. The study might carry some pedagogical implications for second language teachers, SLA researchers, teacher education and task designers.

Influence of Language Learning Anxiety on L2 Speaking and Writing of Filipino Engineering Students

Feelings of anxiety, apprehension, and nervousness remain a prevailing phenomenon in learning a second or a foreign language. This explanatory sequential research examined the influence of language learning anxiety on students’ second language (henceforth L2) writing and speaking performance. A total of 162 students in an engineering University in Manila, the Philippines participated in the initial quantitative phase, in which they accomplished a self-developed scale adapted from Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) to fit the context of the present investigation. Speaking and writing scores from an institutional English language test were also used as measures for the outcome variables. The analyses of variance yielded significant results for both anxiety on speaking [F(2,162)=43.35; p=0.00; h p 2 =0.35] and anxiety on writing [F(2,162)=10.73; p=0.00; h p 2 =0.12]. The findings on the influence of language learning anxiety on speaking corroborate previous studies that found high levels of anxiety to have debilitative impact on L2 speaking. Interestingly, however, the influence of anxiety on writing reflects the less frequent facilitative impact of anxiety on language abilities found in a very small number of studies in the literature. Therefore, in the consequent, qualitative phase, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews among nine, purposefully selected respondents and focused on the factors explaining the dissimilar influence of anxiety on L2 speaking and writing. Results exposed the double-edged nature of anxiety within the study’s context. On one hand, social comparison-instigated anxiety debilitated speaking task performance. On the other, grade anxiety facilitated constant correction, which aided the engineering students in writing task performance. Besides implication for research, the pedagogical implications of the results in relation to teaching engineering students as learners of English are provided. Keywords: language learning anxiety; facilitative anxiety; debilitative anxiety; engineering students as learners of English; explanatory sequential