Task-generated processes in second language speech production: Exploring the neural correlates of task complexity during silent pauses

Abstract The last three decades have seen significant development in understanding and describing the effects of task complexity on learner internal processes. However, researchers have primarily employed behavioral methods to investigate task-generated cognitive load. Being the first to adopt neuroimaging to study second language (L2) task effects, we aimed to provide novel insights into the neural correlates of task-related variation in L2 oral production. To advance research methodology, we also tested the utility of a neuroimaging technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in examining the impact of task-related variables on L2 speech production when combined with cognitive–behavioral tools (speech analysis, expert and learner judgments). Our research focus was the effects of task complexity on silent pausing. Twenty-four Japanese learners of English completed eight simple and complex versions of decision-making tasks, half in their first language and half in their L2. The dataset for the present study included the L2 speech and fMRI data, expert judgments, and participants’ difficulty ratings of the L1 and L2 tasks they completed. Based on our findings, we concluded that brain imaging and L1 task difficulty ratings were more sensitive to detecting task complexity effects than L2 self-ratings and pausing measures. These results point to the benefits of triangulating cognitive and neural data to study task-based neurocognitive processes.