The Effects Of Task Complexity On Chinese EFL Learners’ Business English Writing Performance

In recent years,with task-based language teaching booming ahead,the relationship between cognitive task complexity and language performance of foreign language learners has rushed into the forefront of second language acquisition.Many studies concerning task complexity emerged under the Cognition Hypothesis and the Trade-off Hypothesis.Based on the Triadic Componential Framework(the operationalization of the Cognition Hypothesis),the present study used ± few elements(a resource-directing variable)and ±planning time(a resource-dispersing variable)to investigate the effects of task complexity on Business English writing performance of Chinese EFL learners.More specifically,this study applied four Business English writing tasks with different task complexities as experimental materials.97 sophomores majoring in Business English from 4 classes were invited as the participants.Lexical Complexity Analyzer(LCA)and L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer(L2SCA),two online linguistic complexity analyzers,were used to explore the effects of task complexity on written language performance from the four dimensions: lexical complexity,syntactic complexity,accuracy and fluency(CALF).This study specifically addressed the following research questions: 1)What are the effects of task complexity manipulated through ± few elements variables on Business English written language performance? 2)What are the effects of task complexity manipulated through ± planning time variables on Business English written language performance? 3)What are the interactive effects of ±few elements and ±planning time variables on Business English written language performance?The study found that: 1)Increasing task complexity along resource-directing dimensions(± few elements)significantly decreased the lexical complexity of Business English writing,while having no effect on syntactic complexity,accuracy and fluency;2)Increasing task complexity along resource-dispersing dimensions(±planning time)significantly impaired lexical complexity of Business English writing,while having no effect on syntactic complexity,accuracy and fluency;3)Increasing task complexity simultaneously along resource-directing dimensions(±few elements)and resource-dispersing dimensions(± planning time)had interactive effects on Business English writing performance.More specifically,such a combination decreased lexical sophistication,lexical diversity,and accuracy.The present study partially verifies the Cognition Hypothesis and the Trade-off Hypothesis.Furthermore,it provides first-hand empirical evidence for the supplement of the two Hypotheses concerning task complexity,for we investigated task complexity in Business English writing that previous studies seldom focused.From the pedagogic view,this study provides theoretical and practical support for task design and sequencing in the teaching of Business English writing.