| The present study was designed to investigate the respective effects and interactive effects of task complexity(manipulated by+/-reasoning demands)and learners’motivation(ideal L2 writing self)on Chinese EFL learners’ writing performance(in terms of lexical complexity,syntactic complexity,accuracy,fluency,and cohesion).Since the introduction of task-based language pedagogy in the 1980s,task-based research has been hot.Recently,much attention has been paid to the effects of task complexity on language production under two competing theoretical models,namely Skehan’s Limited Attentional Capacity Model(2001)and Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis(2001a,2001b).In task-based research,writing is a flexible,significant but underexplored process,especially combining learner factors such as motivation.D?rnyei’s(2005)L2 Motivational Self System(L2MSS)is an important second language motivational theory.Therefore,studies on writing task complexity,the L2MSS,and writing performance are required to investigate L2 writers’ allocation of attentional resources in the writing process and the effects of affective variables on writing performance in task-based research.A 2*2 empirical study was designed to examine the effects of task complexity and ideal L2 writing self on Chinese EFL learners’ writing performance.Before the main study,questionnaires,writing tasks,and data coding were piloted.In the main study,according to self-reported ideal L2 writing self questionnaires,forty-eight Chinese undergraduate EFL learners majoring in English were divided into two groups with different levels of ideal L2 writing self,and half of them were randomly assigned to a simple or complex writing task.They were asked to finish the task difficulty and background information questionnaires after the writing tasks.Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with eight participants.The writing data were collected and transcribed into word and text versions.Lu’s(2012)LCA,NeoSCA,and CohMetrix 3.0 were used to measure CALF and cohesion.Independent sample t-tests,Mann-Whitney U tests,two-way ANOVA analysis,Spearman correlation analysis,multi-linear regressions,generalized linear models,and a between-subjects effect test were used by SPSS(version 27)to do statistical analysis.Manual coding and analysis were also carried out by two researchers.The results show that(1)increasing reasoning demands of writing tasks can lead to higher lexical sophistication(LS2)and casual cohesion significantly;(2)EFL learners with a higher level of ideal L2 writing self would produce writings with significantly higher syntactic complexity(CN/C),a lower ratio of grammatical errors(100*GE/W),and more temporal cohesion;(3)reasoning demands and ideal L2 writing self have significant interactive effects on syntactic complexity(CN/C).When performing a complex task,the syntactic complexity of writings produced by participants with higher levels of ideal L2 writing self is significantly higher than those with lower levels of ideal L2 writing self.For learners with higher levels of ideal L2 writing self,when they perform a complex task,the syntactic complexity of their writing production is significantly higher than that in a simple writing task.In general,the results lend support to Cognition Hypothesis.The present study has great theoretical and pedagogical implications.Theoretically,the present research lends support to Cognition Hypothesis,confirms the significant positive effects of ideal L2 writing self on L2 writing,and verifies the interactive effects of task complexity and learner factor(ideal L2 writing self)on EFL writers’ writing performance.Pedagogically,the present research could give some suggestions to EFL writing learners and teachers. |
