Cited by 1,147EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningSecond Language Acquisition and LearningLinguistics and Language Analysis

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 37 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The Influence of Planning and Task Type on Second Language Performance

Open access
Foster, Pauline, Skehan, Peter·1996·Studies in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

This study focuses on the impact of different variables on the nature of language performance in the context of task-based instruction. Characteristics of tasks are discussed, and then a framework is offered that can organize the nature of task-based instruction and relevant research. The framework is used to generate predictions regarding the effects of three different tasks (Personal Information Exchange, Narrative, and Decision-Making) and three different implementation conditions for each task (unplanned, planned but without detail, detailed planning) on the variables of fluency, complexity, and accuracy. The study reports strong effects of planning on fluency and clear effects also on complexity, with a linear relationship between degree of planning and degree of complexity. However, a more complex relationship was discovered between planning and accuracy, with the most accurate performance produced by the less detailed planners. In addition, interactions were found between task type and planning conditions, such that the effects of planning were greater with the Narrative and Decision-Making tasks than with the Personal Information Exchange task. The results are discussed in terms of an attentional model of learning and performance and highlight the importance of tradeoff effects between the goals of complexity and accuracy in the context of the use of limited capacity attentional resources. The study contributes to the development of cognitive models of second language performance and addresses a number of pedagogic issues.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s0272263100015047

Cites

30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

59 Own result · 48 Own interpretation · 14 Own method · 13 Sources not found · 13 No full text of the sources · 6 No basis given · 5 Not checked yet · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 66 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 61
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 52
93 of 93
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    If there was a practice effect of consistent strength over the three visits of the study, the Personal Information Exchange task, always completed in the second week, would be affected to the same degree as the averaged performance on the other two tasks.

    “It was assumed that if there was a practice effect of consistent strength over the three visits of the study, the Personal Information Exchange task, always completed in the second week, would be affected to the same degree as the averaged performance on the other two tasks.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Attention is limited in capacity and its use to achieve one goal can reduce the capacity remaining for the achievement of other goals.

    “The general perspective in this article is that attention is limited in capacity and that its use to achieve one goal can reduce the capacity remaining for the achievement of other goals.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The tasks were closely based on types commonly used in classrooms.

    “This was unproblematic, as each of the tasks was closely based on types commonly used in classrooms.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The three tasks used are valid representatives of the Personal, Narrative, and Decision task types.

    “These three tasks were chosen because they vary the importance of background knowledge and general familiarity, on the one hand, and inherent structure, on the other.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency used validly capture those constructs.

    “the present study used a more global measure based on all contributory influences on error and correctness”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The planning conditions (no planning, undetailed, detailed) successfully manipulated planning time and cognitive load as intended.

    “detailed planning causes subjects to structure their subsequent task contributions in a more ambitious manner”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The subjects' reactions (Narrative task most difficult) reflect actual cognitive difficulty.

    “a proposal consistent with the reactions of the subjects, who thought the Narrative task most difficult but produced the most complex language while doing it”
7 of 7

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Citations

Cites

Show all 30 references

Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. Norusis, 1990, SPSS PC user's manual, Version 4
  2. Plough, 1993, Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice, 35
  3. Harrison, 1986, Innovations in language testing, 72
  4. Alvarez-Ossario, 1996, The effect of planning in L2 Spanish narratives
  5. Willis, 1988, Collins COBUILD English Course: Book 1
  6. Skehan, 1996, The influence of post-task activities and planning on task-based performance
  7. Bygate, 1987, Speaking
  8. Long, 1989, Task, group, and task-group interaction, University of Hawaii Working Papers in English as a Second Language, 8, 1
  9. Schmidt, 1994, Deconstructing consciousness: In search of useful definitions for applied linguistics, AILA Review, 11, 11
  10. Hunt, 1966, Recent measures in syntactic development, Elementary English, 43, 732
  11. Pica, 1993, Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice, 9
  12. Duff, 1986, Talking to learn, 147
  13. Foster, 1994, Discoursal outcomes of small-group work in an EFL classroom

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 701–800 of 1,141

Metadata

Authors
Foster, P., & Skehan, P.
Affiliations
University of West London (GB)
Venue
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Published
1996-09
Volume
18
Issue
3
Pages
299-323
ISSN
  • 0272-2631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1470-1545
OpenAlex
W2001528051
Cited by
1,147
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 77 · 2020: 99 · 2019: 80 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 62 · 2015: 80 · 2014: 60 · 2013: 53 · 2012: 50
FWCI
28.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Studies in Second Language Acquisition (publishedVersion)
Funders
Economic and Social Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Linguistics and Language Analysis
Keywords
task-based language teaching, task planning, second language performance, fluency, complexity, accuracy, task type, narrative task, decision-making tasks

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