مسعود سعیدی

Research findings reported to date indicate that carefully planning speech while performing a task increases second language (L2) learners’ attention to formal aspects of their discourse. The evidence, however, is mostly based on performance analysis with respect to the linguistic measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To enhance the psycholinguistic validity of current findings, the present research adopted a process-product approach to analyze L2 learners’ performance and attention shift as indicated by the occurrence of pauses in their speech. The study involved thirty Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) who were divided into two groups of fifteen. Whereas participants in the first group were given unlimited time to carefully plan while performing a narrative task, their counterparts in the other group completed the same task under time constraint. Following participants’ performance, both performance analysis and retrospective interviews were conducted to collect their protocol data. The results revealed that carefully planned speech is characterized by increased complexity and accuracy and reduced fluency stemming from attention being primarily focused on syntactic encoding, lexical choice, and phonology instead of conceptualizing the message. The outcomes are discussed in light of their theoretical and pedagogical implications.

Research evidence reported to date demonstrates the differential effects of manipulating second language (L2) task conditions on the resultant production as measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The present study was aimed at adding to the available body of findings by exploring the synergistic effects of two task condition variables, namely online planning and immediacy (± Here/Now) on L2 oral discourse. For this purpose, 60 Iranian intermediate learners of English as a foreign langue (EFL) were asked to perform the task of narrating a story based on a sequenced set of pictures under four conditions (i.e., Here/Now and pressed online planning, Here/Now and careful online planning, There/Then and pressed online planning, There/Then and careful online planning). The results of statistical analyses revealed that carefully planning speech while performing the task consistently assists complexity and accuracy, but negatively affects fluency of speech. Besides, it was observed that carrying out the same task using the past tense without contextual support (i.e., There/Then), if coupled with careful online planning, simultaneously enhances complexity and accuracy. Performing a task in Then/There also reduces fluency. Interestingly, it was also found out that the opportunity to carefully plan online while performing the task in There/Then exponentially increases complexity and accuracy with strong negative effects on fluency. Lastly, pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed regarding the contribution of task condition to directing learners’ attention and their L2 speech quality.

این تحقیق به موضوع برداشت زبان آموزان از سطح دشواری تکالیف آموزشی می پردازد. بیست زبان آموز ایرانی بطور داوطلبانه در این پژوهش شرکت نمودند. محققین با استفاده از مدل های تعیین دشواری تکالیف آموزشی موجود، چهار تکلیف روایی که در چهار سطح دشواری مختلف بودند بطور عملی تعریف کرند. پس از انجام تکالیف، شرکت کنندگان مورد مصاحبه قرار گرفتند. بر اساس بررسی کمی داده ها پنج معیار کلی زبان آموزان در تعیین سطح دشواری تکالیف روایی مشخص گردید. به منظور بررسی قابلیت مدل های موجود در انعکاس عوامل موثر بر دشواری تکالیف آموزشی، معیارهای بدست آمده در قالب چارچوب های اسکین و رابینسون قرار گرفتند. در این ارتباط، درون مایه های شناسایی شده ازدیدگاه تئوری زاویه شناختی و پردازش اطلاعات تحلیل شده و نتایج عملی مرتبط با امر آموزش زبان خارجی مورد بحث قرار گرفتند.