Exploring the interplay between task-readiness factors and task complexity in L2 writing performance and anxiety

Abstract This study examined the relationship between task-readiness factors, task complexity, and their impact on L2 writing task performance and anxiety in the task-based language teaching (TBLT) domain. The study aimed to address gaps in the TBLT literature by investigating the combined effects of task repetition, task rehearsal, and task complexity on different constructs of L2 writing, including syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF), as well as their effects on L2 writing anxiety. The study involved 90 undergraduate ESL students enrolled in advanced academic writing courses at an American university. Participants completed an L2 writing anxiety questionnaire before performing two argumentative writing tasks of varying cognitive complexity, spaced one week apart. After the initial task performances, a perception questionnaire was completed to validate assumptions about cognitive task complexity. The participants then repeated the same writing tasks within the same time interval. Results indicated that task readiness generally improved all CALF measures. Task repetition resulted in more accurate and lexically and syntactically complex writing while task rehearsal led to greater fluency. All the CALF measures, except for accuracy, varied as a function of task complexity. Furthermore, the participants experienced lower levels of L2 writing in the simple task and the second performance.