TAVARES, Maria da Glória Guará. Pre-task planning, working memory capacity, and L2 speech performance. 2008. 236f. Tese (Doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Pós-graduação em Letras/inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Florianópolis, 2008. / Submitted by anizia almeida (aniziaalmeida80@gmail.com) on 2016-09-09T11:59:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_tese_mggtavares.pdf: 1165475 bytes, checksum: 852a777e4cdd48f0e8e4a4c30db7d5c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-13T16:57:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_tese_mggtavares.pdf: 1165475 bytes, checksum: 852a777e4cdd48f0e8e4a4c30db7d5c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-13T16:57:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_tese_mggtavares.pdf: 1165475 bytes, checksum: 852a777e4cdd48f0e8e4a4c30db7d5c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Research on task-based planning provides evidence of trade-off effects among the goals of fluency, accuracy, and complexity of L2 performance in the context of learners’ limited attentional resources (e.g., Foster & Skehan, 1996; Menhert, 1998; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). However, there is a lack of empirical investigation on the role of working memory within the effects of planning on L2 performance. The present study investigates the relationship among pre-task planning, working memory capacity, and L2 speech performance. More specifically, it addresses the question whether individual differences in working memory capacity plays a role in performance under planning conditions and in the processes learners engage in when they plan. A population of 50 students from Letras Licenciatura, Letras Secretariado, and Cursos Extracurriculares at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina was divided in two groups: control and experimental. Participants in the control group performed a working memory test, two narrative tasks under a no-planning condition, and a retrospective interview. Participants in the experimental group performed a working memory test, two narrative tasks (one under a no-planning and one under a planning condition), a retrospective online protocol, and a retrospective interview. L2 speech performance was assessed in terms of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. In general, results show that under a no-planning condition, working memory capacity significantly correlates with L2 speech accuracy (for the control group) and L2 speech fluency (for the experimental group). Under a planning condition, working memory capacity significantly correlates with L2 speech fluency and complexity. As for the impact of planning on performance, there was a significant effect on L2 speech accuracy and complexity, but not on fluency. Results also show that learners engage mainly in organization of ideas, rehearsal, lexical searches, and monitoring when they plan an oral task. Moreover, higher spans employ significantly more metacognitive strategies during planning when compared to lower spans. Results were discussed in terms of the working memory capacity model proposed by Engle, Kane, and Tuholski (1999), according to which individuals differ in the capacity for controlled attention in face of interference; and studies on task-based planning (e.g.,Ortega, 1999, 2005; Foster & Skehan, 1996; Menhert, 1998; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). Pedagogical implications were also pointed out suggesting that planning is as a task implementation condition that can be employed in the L2 classroom with the aim of drawing learners’ attention to form. / As pesquisas sobre o planejamento dentro da abordagem de ensino baseado em tarefas evidenciam efeitos de troca atencional entre os aspectos da fluência, acurácia e complexidade do desempenho em L2 devido à limitação dos recursos atencionais dos aprendizes (Foster & Skehan, 1996; Menhert, 1998; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). Entretanto, há uma carência de investigação empírica sobre o papel da memória de trabalho mediante os efeitos do planejamento no desempenho oral em L2. O presente estudo investiga a relação entre planejamento pré tarefa, capacidade da memória de trabalho e desempenho oral em L2. Mais especificamente, ele investiga se diferenças individuais na capacidade de memória de trabalho afetam tanto o desempenho oral em condições de planejamento quanto os processos nos quais os aprendizes embarcam quando planejam uma tarefa oral. Uma população de 50 alunos dos cursos de Letras Licenciatura, Letras Secretariado e Cursos Extracurriculares foi dividida em dois grupos: controle e experimental. Participantes do grupo controle foram submetidos à coleta de dados que consistiu de: um teste de memória de trabalho, duas tarefas narrativas sob a condição de não planejamento e uma entrevista retrospectiva. Participantes do grupo experimental foram submetidos à coleta de dados que consistiu de um teste de memória de trabalho, duas tarefas narrativas (uma na condição de não planejamento e outra na condição de planejamento), um protocolo verbal e uma entrevista retrospectiva. O desempenho oral foi medido através da fluência, acurácia e complexidade. Em geral, os resultados mostram que na condição de não planejamento, há correlação significativa entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e fluência (para o grupo experimental), assim como também, entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e acurácia (para o grupo controle). Na condição de planejamento, há correlação significativa da capacidade de memória de trabalho com fluência e complexidade. Os resultados mostram também que o planejamento levou a diferenças significativas em acurácia e complexidade e que os alunos focam principalmente em organização de idEias, buscas lexicais, ensaio e monitoramento quando planejam uma tarefa oral em L2. Os resultados indicam ainda que o número de estratégias metacognitivas utilizadas durante o planejamento é significativamente maior para participantes com maior capacidade de memória de trabalho. Os resultados foram discutidos com base no modelo de memória de trabalho proposto por Engle, Kane e Tuholski (1999), segundo o qual, indivíduos se diferenciam em termos da capacidade de controle da atenção em condições de interferência; e também com base nos estudos sobre planejamento pré tarefa (Ortega, 1999, 2005; Foster & Skehan, 1996; Menhert, 1998; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). Implicações pedagógicas também foram apontadas sugerindo que o planejamento é uma condição de implementação de tarefas a qual pode ser adotada em sala de aula com o objetivo de chamar a atenção dos aprendizes para o foco na forma.

Enabling learners to successfully use their second language (L2) in meaningful ways is a critical goal of instruction. Ultimately, most learners want to meet the L2 demands of the contexts in which they will use the language. To accomplish this, learners must develop linguistic knowledge and apply it in a manner that is contextually appropriate considering the requirements of the task at hand. In other words, learners must develop their L2 across both linguistic and communicative aspects to use it successfully. However, there is a paucity of L2 research in which linguistic and communicative performance have been simultaneously investigated.In this study, I investigated the development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ L2 written production across the lexical and communicative dimensions of performance. The study involved 290 Japanese participants recruited from 20 intact EFL classes at four tertiary educational institutions in Japan, representing a wide range of L2 English proficiency levels and instructional contexts. The study used a non-intervention, repeated-measures design, allowing for the general development of participants’ L2 English writing to be examined. Participants’ L2 English written responses were collected using four argumentative writing tasks, which were administered at the beginning and end of the first and second semesters in a counterbalanced manner. Although a total of 952 responses were collected, responses shorter than 50 words were removed, leaving a total of 775 responses written by 250 participants. The 775 responses included in the primary analyses constituted a corpus of 89,122 words. Twenty-four single-word, multi-word, and lexical variation measures were calculated for the responses and subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. Seven latent lexical factors were identified in the data: High-Frequency Trigrams, Lexical Clarity, High-Frequency Bigrams, Lexical Variation, Lexical Breadth, Low-Frequency N-Grams, and Directional Association Strength of N-Grams. In addition, raters scored the responses for functional adequacy (i.e., Content, Comprehensibility, Organization, and Task Completion) and Lexical Appropriateness. The scores were analyzed using many-facet Rasch measurement, which converted the ordinal scores into equal-interval measures that had been adjusted for the influences of task and rater severity. The lexical factor scores and communicative Rasch measures were examined using linear mixed modeling, dominance analysis, and latent growth modeling to investigate (a) if and how lexical development had occurred, (b) if and how communicative development had occurred, (c) the relationships between the lexical and communicative components, and (d) the relationship between lexical and communicative growth. For the lexical factors, the results indicated that Directional Association Strength of N-Grams scores increased in a linear manner. Directional Association Strength of N-Grams comprised ΔP scores, which indicate the degree to which the first word(s) are predictive of the following word(s) in two- and three-word combinations. Thus, the results indicated that participants’ use of multi-word expressions improved. On the other hand, Lexical Clarity, which comprised imageability, concreteness, meaningfulness, and hypernymy scores, showed quadratic change, with scores improving and then regressing. Thus, the findings provide evidence of differing developmental trends for lexical aspects of L2 writing. For the communicative measures, the results indicated that Comprehensibility, Organization, and Lexical Appropriateness changed substantially over time. Improvement of Task Completion was dependent on the university context, and little change was observed for Content. Lexical Appropriateness showed the most improvement, with evidence of both linear and quadratic change. Bias interaction analyses also confirmed the presence of linear and quadratic trends for the communicative measures. Thus, the findings provide evidence of differing developmental trends for communicative aspects of L2 writing. For the relationships between the lexical and communicative components, the results indicated that two lexical factors were of key importance: Lexical Variation and Directional Association Strength of N-Grams. Lexical Variation was found to predict Content, Organization, and Task Completion; and Directional Association Strength of N-Grams was found to predict Comprehensibility and Lexical Appropriateness. The findings suggest that L2 performance assessments should not conflate measurement of lexical variation and use of multi-word expressions because they diverge in terms of the communicative outcomes they predict. The results also indicated a positive relationship between lexical and communicative development. A parallel process latent growth model was constructed that related lexical and communicative growth. The paths tested in the model suggest participants who had lower initial communicative scores were able to increase their lexical scores at faster rates, which in turn leveraged communicative growth. The findings highlight the potential for learners to improve their communicative ability through a targeted focus on multi-word expressions. / Applied Linguistics