Research evidence reported to date demonstrates the differential effects of manipulating second language (L2) task conditions on the resultant production as measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The present study was aimed at adding to the available body of findings by exploring the synergistic effects of two task condition variables, namely online planning and immediacy (± He...

Recently tasks, as the basic units of syllabi, and the cognitive complexity, as the criterion for sequencing them, have caught many second language researchers’ attention. This study sought to explore the effect of utilizing the cognitively simple and complex tasks on high- and low-proficient EFL Iranian writers’ linguistic performance, i.e., fluency, accuracy, lexical complexity, and structura...

Designing a task with a reasonable level of cognitive complexity has always been important for syllabus designers, teachers, as well as researchers. This is because task manipulation may lead to different results in oral production. The present study was an attempt to explore the effect of this  manipulation  -  based  on  Robinson’s  resource-directing  model  (reasoning  demands, number of el...

abstract this study investigated the validity of processability theory proposed by pienemann (1998/2015) among iranian efl learners’ oral performance. the theory defines six procedural stages for learners in the process of second language acquisition. in order to conduct the study, 10 intermediate efl learners were selected based on their performance on oxford placement test. then, they partici...

Abstract This study investigated the validity of processability theory proposed by Pienemann (1998/2015) among Iranian EFL learners’ oral performance. The theory defines six procedural stages for learners in the process of second language acquisition. In order to conduct the study, 10 intermediate EFL learners were selected based on their performance on Oxford Placement Test. Then, they partici...

The  present  meta-analysis  was  conducted  to  provide  a  quantitative  measure  of  the overall effects of task complexity on Chinese EFL learners’ language  production.  Based  on  the strict inclusion criteria, 12 primary  studies  were synthesized according to key  features.  Eleven of them  were  meta-analyzed  to  investigate  effects  of  raising  the  resource-directing  task  comple...

Procedural deficit hypothesis claims that language deficit in children with specific language impairment is affiliated to sequence learning problems. However, studies did not explore on aspects of grammar vulnerable to sequence learning deficits. The present study makes predictions for aspects of grammar that could be sensitive to procedural deficits based on core ideas of procedural deficit hy...

We show how to translate HTN domain descriptions (if they satisfy certain restrictions) into PDDL so that they can be used by classical planners. We provide correctness results for our translation algorithm, and show that it runs in linear time and space. We also show that even small and incomplete amounts of HTN knowledge, when translated into PDDL using our algorithm, can greatly improve a cl...