Task complexity, task difficulty, and task production: exploring interactions in a componential framework

TLDR

The study proposes a framework to examine how task cognitive complexity influences language production and learner perceptions of difficulty, and to inform sequencing decisions in task‑based syllabuses. The framework evaluates the relationship between task complexity, difficulty, and production by analyzing direction‑giving map tasks and their effects on speaker and hearer behaviors. Higher task complexity increases lexical variety in speaker production and prompts more confirmation checks by hearers, while simpler tasks enhance speaker fluency; learners find complex tasks more stressful, and sequencing affects accuracy and fluency but not difficulty ratings.

Abstract

This paper describes a framework for examining the effects of the cognitive complexity of tasks on language production and learner perceptions of task difficulty, and for motivating sequencing decisions in task-based syllabuses. Results of a study of the relationship between task complexity, difficulty, and production show that increasing the cognitive complexity of a direction-giving map task significantly affects speaker-information-giver production (more lexical variety on a complex version and greater fluency on a simple version) and hearer-information-receiver interaction (more confirmation checks on a complex version). Cognitive complexity also significantly affects learner perceptions of difficulty (e.g. a complex version is rated significantly more stressful than a simple version). Task role significantly affects ratings of difficulty, though task sequencing (simple to complex versus the reverse sequence) does not. However, sequencing does affect the accuracy and fluency of speaker production. Implications of the findings for task-based syllabus design and further research into task complexity, difficulty, and production interactions are discussed.