Exploring the effects of task sequencing on L2 oral performance from the perspective of the SSARC model

Abstract

Task sequencing in Task-Based Language Teaching has gained increasing attention in the realm of L2 acquisition. But little research has been done on the role of task sequencing in L2 oral performance within the framework of the SSARC model. Thus, this study investigated the effects of task sequencing manipulated from both resource-directing (±number of elements) and resource-dispersing (±planning time) dimensions on L2 oral performance. Ninety-nine Chinese EFL participants were assigned to three groups: simple-to-complex (StC), complex-to-simple (CtS), and task repetition (TR). the Mann-Whitney U test and MANOVA analysis were conducted on the data of pretest, treatment and post-test tasks, and revealed the following results: 1) CtS sequence resulted in better complexity and accuracy of L2 oral performance than StC sequence, but StC sequence produced better fluency than its counterpart; 2) both StC and CtS sequences enhanced syntactic complexity compared with TR, while TR promoted lexical complexity and fluency; 3) both sequences and task repetition induced moderate learning in syntactic and lexical complexity and fluency, while CtS sequence brought about a slight improvement in accuracy. These findings shed new light on the role of task sequencing in promoting L2 oral learning.