Effects Of Task Complexity On Chinese EFL Learners' Engagement In Pair Collaborative Writing

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of task complexity on learner engagement in pair collaborative writing based on two multi-dimensional theoretical frameworks.Collaborative writing has been widely applied in second language classrooms to improve learners' writing ability in recent years and researchers in this area focus on the effects of task type,group size and interactive pattern on the collaborative process.Tasks cannot only be identified through types,but also can be identified through task features,including task complexity,Robinson(2011)introduced a multi-dimensional framework of task complexity with six variables.Researchers can manipulate task complexity by adding or eliminating one variable to design tasks of different task complexity.One main construct applied when researchers explored the effects of task complexity on the collaborative process is LRE(language-related episode),which occurs when there is a language-related problem,in terms of the frequency,type and nature.However,LRE was once operationalized as one construct of learner's cognitive engagement(Baralt et al.,2016;Lambert et al.,2017),which is not enough to describe the entire collaborative process.Moreover,according to Dao and Mc Donough(2018),learner engagement includes cognitive,emotional,and social engagement,along with various constructs including LRE.In addition to those,there are few studies in our country that have investigated learner engagement.Therefore,it is meaningful to adopt a multi-dimensional theoretical framework to investigate the effects of task complexity on learner engagement in pair collaborative writing process.The research questions involved in this study include:(1)How does task complexity affect learners' cognitive engagement?(2)How does task complexity affect learners' emotional engagement?(3)How does task complexity affect learners' social engagement? The participants of this study are third-year undergraduates of Business English Major in a university in South China and two pairs were elected as samples of data analysis.The entire collaborative writing process of each pair and interviews concerning learners' thoughts and attitudes for each learner were recorded in audio and video.The audio and video materials were transcribed,then identified and coded according to the theoretical framework applied in the study.Major findings are:(1)in the more complex task,the total number of topic-related idea units increases a lot with an increase of exclusion;the frequency of LREs has increased significantly,especially in terms of lexis and grammar but the proportion of correctly resolved LREs is lower;the tendency of expressing ideas through limited statements hasn't been changed;the performance of one learner in each pair in producing idea units has significantly improved.(2)In the writing task with low complexity,learners are more likely to express positive emotions through laughter,clapping,nodding,etc.,and show positive attitudes towards the task itself in interviews;in the more complex writing task,there are more verbal reports which reflect learners' negative emotions and negative attitudes towards the task itself in interviews.(3)In the more complex task,the frequency of social behaviors showing help,encouragement and responsiveness between learners is in a slight increase.Therefore,enhancing task complexity through controlling few elements,reasoning demands,prior knowledge and planning can make learners more cognitively and socially but less emotionally engaged.This study has both theoretical and pedagogical implications.It enriches the studies of learner engagement which provides help for further research.Moreover,it will be helpful for educators to better understand learner engagement and provides them with some inspirations in cognitively,emotionally and socially engaging learners in EFL classroom.