The Effect Of Different Planning Time On Generation Of Ideas And Task Performance In Second Language Writing

In recent years, many researchers studied the effect of different task conditions on the language output. Planning is one of them. Different planning time has great effect on L2 speech and writing. But whether different planning time would influence the generation of ideas in second language writing is unknown. The key point of this study is to explore whether three different planning time conditions(pre-task planning,on-line planning and no planning) would have different impact on generation of ideas and task performances.In this research, an experiment was conducted with 69 freshmen majored in English from a university in Jiangxi Province. They were randomly allocated into three groups, and each group has 23 participants. They were asked to do the same argumentative writing task in three different planning conditions. In the pre-task planning condition, the participants were given 10 minutes to make an outline before they did the writing task, and at least 200 words should be written within 20 minutes.In the on-line planning condition, the participants had neither time limitation(the researcher assistant ensured they had used at least 30 minutes) nor words limitation.In the no planning condition, participants were required to write a composition of at least 200 words within 20 minutes instantly without planning time. After the experiment there was an interview. The rating of idea quality was based on Chai's rating schemes(2006) and the quantity of idea units was defined as a sentence or a clause that contains a verb or a participle and expresses one action. Task performances were assessed in terms of composition rating criteria of TEM-4. The data were analyzed by SPSS 17.The results of the data show: 1) In terms of quality of ideas, there is significant difference between pre-task planning and no planning(p=0.009), and between on-line planning and no planning(p=0.002). No significant change was found between pre-task planning and on-line planning(p= 0.654). So we can draw the conclusion that the quality of ideas in the essays in pre-task planning condition and on-line planning condition were better than that of no planning condition.2)In terms of quantity of idea units, there is significant difference between on-line planning and no planning(p=0.041). No significant change was foundbetween pre-task planning and on-line planning(p = 0.409) and between pre-task planning and no planning(p=0.217). So we can come to the conclusion that the quantity of idea units in on-line planning condition was larger than that of no planning condition. The reason may be that planning time can give writers time to activate the ideas units in their long-term memory.3) In terms of task performance, there is significant difference between pre-task planning and no planning(p=0.003), and between on-line planning and no planning(p=0.011). No significant difference was found between pre-task planning and on-line planning(p= 0.666). The results shows that the task performance of the essays in pre-task planning condition and on-line planning condition were better than that of no planning condition. The reason may be that planning time can reduce the working load during writing, and help the learner to performance better.The results suggested that planning has positive effects on generation of ideas in second language writing. Several suggestions for language teaching and testing were presented based on this study. First, teachers should pay attention to nature students' planning strategies. If students can use their planning time appropriately while they are writing, better performance in L2 writing will be conducted by them. Second, it also has implication in testing. If the conner wants to enable L2 writers to present their best products for assessment, planning time should be given.