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The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on Learners’ Performance

Received: 15 July 2016     Accepted: 25 July 2016     Published: 6 August 2016
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Abstract

In the field of task-based language teaching, sequencing tasks is of substantial importance. One of the proposals for sequencing tasks is cognitive task complexity. Robinson, as one of the proponents of sequencing tasks based on cognitive task complexity, distinguishes between three factors of: task complexity (i.e. the intrinsic cognitive demands of the task), task conditions (i.e. features of tasks which are determined by the situational setting and conditions in which they take place), and task difficulty (i.e. learners’ perceptions of the demands made by the task and the resources that learners bring to the task). After presentation of Robinson’s cognitive task complexity model, there has been a great deal of research which has investigated the influences of the components of this model on the three dimensions of performance including accuracy, fluency, and complexity. The present paper is a brief review of the studies that have been conducted in this respect.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 4, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11
Page(s) 157-164
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cognitive Task Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency, Lexical and Syntactic Complexity

References
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    Nasrin Sanajoo, Nasrin Asadi. (2016). The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on Learners’ Performance. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(5), 157-164. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11

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    ACS Style

    Nasrin Sanajoo; Nasrin Asadi. The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on Learners’ Performance. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2016, 4(5), 157-164. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11

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    AMA Style

    Nasrin Sanajoo, Nasrin Asadi. The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on Learners’ Performance. Int J Lang Linguist. 2016;4(5):157-164. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11,
      author = {Nasrin Sanajoo and Nasrin Asadi},
      title = {The Effects of Cognitive Task Complexity on Learners’ Performance},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {4},
      number = {5},
      pages = {157-164},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160405.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20160405.11},
      abstract = {In the field of task-based language teaching, sequencing tasks is of substantial importance. One of the proposals for sequencing tasks is cognitive task complexity. Robinson, as one of the proponents of sequencing tasks based on cognitive task complexity, distinguishes between three factors of: task complexity (i.e. the intrinsic cognitive demands of the task), task conditions (i.e. features of tasks which are determined by the situational setting and conditions in which they take place), and task difficulty (i.e. learners’ perceptions of the demands made by the task and the resources that learners bring to the task). After presentation of Robinson’s cognitive task complexity model, there has been a great deal of research which has investigated the influences of the components of this model on the three dimensions of performance including accuracy, fluency, and complexity. The present paper is a brief review of the studies that have been conducted in this respect.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    AB  - In the field of task-based language teaching, sequencing tasks is of substantial importance. One of the proposals for sequencing tasks is cognitive task complexity. Robinson, as one of the proponents of sequencing tasks based on cognitive task complexity, distinguishes between three factors of: task complexity (i.e. the intrinsic cognitive demands of the task), task conditions (i.e. features of tasks which are determined by the situational setting and conditions in which they take place), and task difficulty (i.e. learners’ perceptions of the demands made by the task and the resources that learners bring to the task). After presentation of Robinson’s cognitive task complexity model, there has been a great deal of research which has investigated the influences of the components of this model on the three dimensions of performance including accuracy, fluency, and complexity. The present paper is a brief review of the studies that have been conducted in this respect.
    VL  - 4
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Author Information
  • Department of English Language, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

  • Department of English Language and Linguistics, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, Iran

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