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The Influence of Task Structure and Processing Conditions on Narrative Retellings
Author(s) -
Skehan Peter,
Foster Pauline
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9922.00071
Subject(s) - fluency , task (project management) , narrative , contrast (vision) , psychology , cognitive psychology , task analysis , linguistics , computer science , artificial intelligence , philosophy , mathematics education , management , economics
This article explores the effects of inherent task structure and processing load on performance on a narrative retelling task. Task performance is analyzed in terms of competition among fluency, complexity, and accuracy. In a study based on 47 young adult low‐intermediate subjects the fluency of performance was found to be strongly affected by degree of inherent task structure; more structured tasks generated more fluent language. In contrast, complexity of language was influenced by processing load. Accuracy of performance seemed dependent on an interaction between the two factors of task structure and processing load. We discuss which aspects of performance receive attention by the language learner. The implications of such cross‐sectional results for longer term language development are considered.