In:Second Language Cognitive Task Complexity: A research synthesis
Shoko Sasayama, Aleksandra Malicka and John M. Norris
[Task-Based Language Teaching 18] 2025
► pp. 291–295
Index
Published online: 26 June 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.18.index
https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.18.index
A
- Abdi Tabari, M. 70, 104, 107, 241, 250
- accuracy: dependent variable
16–26, 37,
46, 48, 60–64, 91–92, 111, 136–138
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 201–252
- measures of 162–171, 180–184, 189–191, 196 ; see also grammatical accuracy, linguistic accuracy
- affect 1, 9, 194–195
- affective factors 194–195
- age: demographic variable
51, 59, 65, 73, 96–97
- moderating variable 251, 257
- range 76–77
- reporting 74–75
- Anderson, L. 10–11
- anxiety 195, 257
- argumentative tasks 49, 109, 125, 138, 146–153
- articulator 22–24, 111
- assessment 2, 4, 8–9, 36, 43, 47, 74, 86–88, 184, 229, 238, 243, 257
- attention 1–9, 12–26, 48–50, 55–56, 99–100, 104–105, 111, 119, 123–124, 126–132, 135, 154, 192–196, 216, 220–221, 244, 256–257
- attentional resourcessee attention
- authentic 3–7, 15, 20, 144, 152–154, 258
- awareness 9, 171
B
- background knowledge54; see also prior knowledge, familiarity
- Baddeley, A. 11, 21
- Baralt, M. 41, 48, 70, 88, 106, 110, 142, 191, 244, 252, 256
- behavioral methods 194–195, 256
- benefits of cognitive task complexity 7, 223, 230–234, 249
- best-evidence meta-analysis 33, 199, 236
- Biber, D. 126, 151, 163–164, 250, 253
- Bloom, B. 10–11
- Bloom’s Taxonomysee Bloom, B.
- Bryfonski, L. 239, 251
- Bui, G. 113, 149, 164, 204, 213–214, 223, 251
- Bygate, M. 49, 70, 111–113
- Byrnes, H. 181, 244, 253
C
- CAF 164, 180–181
- CALF: measurement of
34, 93, 96, 163–183, 190–192, 196–197
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 203–237, 247–251
- moderating variable 233–237, 251, 255
- syntheses of research on 239–244
- Candlin, C. 14, 43
- causal variable 27, 33–34, 50, 98, 102–103, 110–114, 125–127, 131–135, 189, 194–196, 201–204, 216–217, 223, 228, 233–236, 243–245, 250–255
- Chong, S. 33, 199
- code complexity 22, 45, 54, 99–100, 126–128
- codingsee study coding
- Cognition Hypothesis 13–27, 37, 41, 56–57, 70, 186, 189, 193, 239–240, 249
- Cognitive Load Theory 11–13, 37, 57, 122–128, 192, 197
- cognitive load: extraneous, germane, intrinsic
11–13, 22,
246
- measurement of 104, 110, 134–136
- source of task complexity 14, 37, 57, 102, 104, 122–129, 192, 246
- subjective ratings of129
- cognitive task complexity: amount, degree, difference
49, 51, 58, 71, 98–136, 195–198, 228–229, 236, 248–258
- type of 29, 47, 56, 106, 218, 231, 242
- see also independent measures of cognitive task complexity
- Cohen, J. 5, 207
- Cohen’s d 92, 206
- Communicational Teaching Project (aka Bangalore Project)13
- communicative adequacy189; see also task accomplishment
- communicative demands20
- communicative stress 14, 22
- communicative task: definition and criteria
43–44
- design 131–132, 137
- comprehension: dependent variable
12, 22, 44, 46, 49,
56–57, 60,
94, 115, 122–128, 137–146, 152–160
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 221–223, 227–233, 242, 248
- measures of 162, 192–197, 242, 248
- conceptual demands 23–24
- conceptualizer 23–26, 111, 149
- confidence intervals 62, 64, 200, 207–235
- construct definitionsee construct operationalization
- construct operationalization: cognitive task complexity
26, 29, 48, 53–56, 63–64, 98–136, 205, 216, 218,
229, 230–234, 244–245
- measures of CALF 163–196, 251
- contextual support 54, 99, 118–119, 131, 205, 219–220
- corpus linguistics 250, 255
- creativity 121, 160
D
- decision-making task 5, 44, 60, 110, 113, 138, 145–148, 153
- demographic characteristics 53, 65, 73–97
- dependent variable 29, 33, 35–36, 60–65, 78, 103, 194–195, 199–228, 234–235, 247–255 ; see also measures
- descriptive task149
- dichotomous distinction in complexity 27, 58, 115, 134–135, 245–246, 255
- directionality of measures 201–202, 226–227
- discourse: familiarity
115–116
- features 144, 159, 187
- measures of 144, 187–190, 215
- organization 191–192, 248
- dual-task methodology 110, 129, 256
E
- ecological validity 243, 257
- effect size: calculation
61–63, 200
- comparison 63–64, 91, 203–206
- direction207
- interpretation 199, 206–207
- magnitude 135, 207–208
- multiple 204–205
- results for task complexity comparisons 209–236
- Ellis, R. 34, 43, 45, 47, 70, 86, 102–104, 112–114, 157, 166
- engagement 2, 7, 12, 26, 46, 115, 12, 160, 195, 222, 258
- enjoyment 195, 257
- epistemological discord 35, 114, 245
- expert judgement of task complexity 110, 119, 128
- expert narrative review34
- expertise reversal effect253
F
- familiarity: cognitive complexity factor
4, 18–19, 22, 48, 54,
99, 114, 134–135, 144, 155, 193, 205,
230
- effects of 221–223, 231–233, 240, 242, 245
- operationalization of 115–118 ; see also background knowledge, prior knowledge
- fidelity of tasks to the real world 6–7
- fire-chief task148
- fluency: dependent variable
16, 23–26, 34, 37, 46,
60–64, 91–92, 111–112, 124, 136, 162–165
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 201–252
- measures of 174–183, 190–191, 196
- foreground vs. background events 54, 99–100, 126, 129
- foreign language learning context 59, 65, 71–75, 96, 251
- formulator 23–25, 111
- Foster, P. 21, 24, 44–48, 57, 77, 90, 102, 115–116, 120, 129, 145, 150, 164
- fugitive literature 37, 40–42, 46
- functional adequacy 238, 248–255 ; see also task accomplishment
- functional demands 105, 145
G
- gender 18, 65, 73, 77–79, 82, 96–97
- generalizability 26, 85, 90, 160
- geographical location of studies 65, 72–74, 80–82, 96
- Gilabert, R. 15, 19, 35, 45–47, 70, 106–110, 119, 142, 148–150, 164, 171, 193–194, 202, 239, 244
- Givon, T. 17–18
- global accuracy 169–171, 181
- grammatical accuracy 16, 48 ; see also accuracy, linguistic accuracy
- grammatical complexity: dependent variable
34, 46, 60–64, 91–92, 111, 163–165
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 201–252
- measures of 165–169, 174, 180–183, 191, 196 ; see also syntactic complexity
- grey literaturesee fugitive literature
H
- Haji, F. 6–7
- Hedges, L. 204, 206
- Hedges’ g 206, 210–229
- here-and-now vs. there-and-then: cognitive complexity factor
18, 46, 54, 134, 240
- effects of 93, 205, 219–221, 232, 240, 242, 252
- operationalization of 99, 118–119
- high-fidelity tasks7
- high proficiency learners 91–92, 122, 214–221
- HN/TTsee here-and-now vs. there-and-then
- holistic measures of CALF variables 163, 165, 169, 196–197, 214, 224–225, 234, 238, 248, 250, 255
- Housen, A. 164, 169, 183, 234
I
- independent measures of cognitive complexity 52, 58–59, 110, 132–135, 228–229, 232–233, 238, 245, 250 ; see also behavioral methods, dual-task methodology, expert judgement of task complexity
- independent task 139–140, 151
- individual differences 50, 239, 251, 257
- Input Processing Theory 21–22, 49
- information exchange task 48, 113, 145–146, 149
- instruction/instructional: context
2, 10, 132
- design 8, 11, 13, 15, 20
- intervention 112, 162, 214
- materials 11–12
- relevance for 197, 243–244, 258
- role of 102, 104, 127
- task-based239
- see also sequencing
- instruction-giving task 109, 117, 146, 150
- instructions for tasks 44–45, 51, 55, 60, 101, 104, 118, 123, 138, 140, 142, 145, 148, 150
- integrated task 126, 138–141, 146, 151
- interaction: dependent variable
19, 49, 60, 116, 119,
138, 144, 159,
162, 250, 258
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 200–201, 205, 209, 217–219, 222, 227–228, 231, 233, 236, 242, 248
- measures of 193–194, 248
- interactive task 115, 141–144, 154, 159–160, 243
- interestsee affective factors
- interpretability: of claims and findings
203, 236
- of participant proficiency measures and reporting 84–90
- of task complexity operationalizations26
- intervening variables 61, 132, 193–198, 256
- Iwashita, N. 102, 129, 130
J
- Jackson, D. 47, 240
- Johnson, M. 47, 83, 101, 240–241
K
- Kim, Y. 45, 49, 54, 58, 70, 91–92, 104, 107, 111–113, 142, 146, 149, 151, 164, 191, 219, 239, 254
- Kormos, J. 44, 121, 164, 182, 195, 256
- Kuiken, F. 48, 106, 163–164, 169, 190, 197, 239, 248
L
- language performance 4, 7, 28, 32, 105, 114, 132, 155–156, 162, 200, 221, 230, 234, 237, 239, 250, 253
- language tasksee communicative task
- language-related episodes 46, 91–92, 193–194, 201, 248
- learner attentionsee attention
- learner cognition 27, 48, 132–134, 253, 257
- learning: dependent variable
60, 98, 103, 114–115, 119, 131–133, 136, 144, 156,
194–198
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 200–201, 205, 217–219, 222, 227–228, 233, 236, 239, 244, 248–249, 258
- measures of 162, 191–192
- learning outcomes 10, 197, 231, 258
- levels of processing 55, 99, 124–125, 192
- Levelt, W. 22, 111
- lexical density 171–174
- lexical sophistication 171–174
- lexical variation/diversity 171–174
- lexis: dependent variable
17, 22–25, 34, 46, 60–64, 91–92, 162–165
- effects of cognitive task complexity on 201, 206–223, 230–232, 240–242, 247, 249, 252
- measures of 171–174, 180–183, 185, 191, 196
- Li, S. 196, 239, 251, 257
- Limited Attentional Capacity model 13, 21–25, 37, 45–46, 52, 56–57, 100, 239, 249
- linguistic accuracy 19, 23, 184, 190, 196 ; see also accuracy, grammatical accuracy
- linguistic demands 23, 186
- Lipsey, M. 42, 62, 199–200, 208
- listening comprehension 44, 49, 152–153, 192, 231 ; see also comprehension
- listening tasks 44, 49, 115, 191 ; see also listening comprehension
- literature search and retrieval 28, 31, 36–51, 56
- local estimate of proficiency 60, 84–85, 88–91, 97
- low proficiency learners 91–92, 122, 216, 219, 221
- LREssee language-related episodes
M
- Malicka, A. 34–35, 109–110, 244
- materials development 8–14, 257
- medical education, cognitive task complexity in 5–7
- memorysee working memory
- mental effort 4, 13–14, 16–17, 21, 228, 238, 256
- meta-analyses of L2 cognitive task complexity 238–241
- methodological features 53, 59–61, 71–97
- Michel, M. 44, 110, 183, 186, 190, 239
- modality: language performance
22, 29, 35, 48, 51,
60, 96, 123, 137–143, 148–150, 153–159, 166
- moderating effects of 201, 203, 205, 210–212, 216–217, 230, 239, 241, 252
- mode of task performance 51, 60, 137, 141–144, 153–155, 159
- moderating variables 29, 33, 35, 51, 61, 65, 83, 91–93, 96, 161, 195, 198, 201, 203, 211, 213, 216–217, 223, 232, 235, 238–243, 251–253, 255–257
- monologic/individual task 44, 141–144, 154, 240, 243
- motivation 4, 10, 50, 195, 257
- multivariate/multi-level experimental designs, modeling 200–204
N
- narrative tasks 19, 45, 54, 58, 104, 107, 113, 115, 120, 123, 125, 129, 136, 145, 150, 154 ; see also task type (story-retelling)
- native language (L1) 79–81
- native speaker data 95–96
- nonindependence of effect sizes235
- Norris, J. 8, 28, 32–36, 47, 51, 62, 103, 108–110, 135–136, 163–166, 169, 181, 183, 189, 199, 208, 234, 239, 245–247, 249, 251, 254, 256, 258
- number of elements: cognitive complexity factor
18, 20, 45, 55, 57–58
- effects of 91–92, 216–233, 242–246
- operationalization 99, 105–110, 132–135
O
- online planningsee planning
- oral narrative 116, 154, 243 ; see also task type (story-retelling)
- Ortega, L. 28, 31–36, 45–46, 51, 62, 70, 102–103, 163–165, 169, 181, 183, 189, 195, 199, 234, 245, 251, 254
- Oswald, F. 28, 32, 62, 199, 207
- outcome: comprehension
192–193
- learning 191–192
- interaction 193–194
- other 194–196
- production 162–191
P
- pedagogic tasks 11, 15, 18
- perspective-taking 18–19, 55, 100, 129–130
- planning: cognitive complexity factor
19–27, 37,
43–46, 55–57, 70
- effects of 209–214, 230, 232, 240–252
- guided/unguided 101–102, 245
- online 100, 103–104
- operationalization 99–104
- pre-task 100–103
- strategic241
- Plonsky, L. 28, 32–33, 62, 97, 199, 207, 239, 254
- Prabhu, B. 13–14, 43
- pragmatics 70, 96, 130, 187, 239, 248
- prior knowledge 19–20, 54, 115 ; see also background knowledge, familiarity
- problem-solution structure 120–121
- processing demands 17, 22, 141, 149, 152
- productive tasks see speaking tasks, writing tasks
- proficiency: demographic characteristic
59–60, 82,
133
- groupings201
- levels 65, 71, 83, 96
- measurement 83–90
- moderating variable 33, 91–93, 122
- effects of 201, 203, 213–214, 216, 219, 221, 223, 232, 234, 236, 247, 251–255, 257
- pronunciation 184–185, 189, 247
- publication: bias
40, 42, 44, 208–209
- type66
- venue 66–67
- year 69–71
R
- reading comprehension 94, 115, 122, 125–128, 137–138, 140, 153–154, 192–193 ; see also comprehension
- reading tasks 56, 115 ; see also reading comprehension
- real-world tasks 7, 43, 190, 197 ; see also high-fidelity tasks, target tasks
- reasoning demands: cognitive complexity factor
18, 55, 58
- effects of 91–92, 216–219, 222–223, 229, 231–232, 240–244
- operationalization 99, 105–110, 122, 125, 132–133, 135, 186
- recall tasks 191–192
- receptive taskssee listening comprehension, reading comprehension
- recommendations for improvement 254–258
- referential demands 119, 121
- rehearsal 21, 24, 114, 241
- reliabilitysee study coding reliability
- repetition: cognitive complexity factor
55, 58, 70
- content 55, 112–113
- effects of 214–216, 231, 241, 252
- operationalization 99, 111–115, 131, 245
- procedural 55, 112–113, 116
- task-type 112–113, 116
- replication 1, 30, 32–33, 131, 160, 196, 236, 239, 247, 249, 256
- reporting features 65–97
- reporting practices 29, 65, 74–75, 79, 80, 84–85, 89, 97, 157, 158–160, 254
- research quality 32, 70 ; see also study quality
- researched pedagogy 8, 9, 258
- resource-directing 18–20, 25–27, 56, 105, 118–120, 125, 128–130, 136, 193, 223–228, 233–234, 240–246
- resource-dispersing 18–20, 25–27, 56, 100, 103, 111, 115, 119, 122, 124, 126, 129, 131, 136, 223–228, 233–234, 240–246
- Révész, A. 41, 44, 46, 70, 88, 103, 107, 118–119, 123–124, 148, 164, 191, 193–194, 238–239, 245, 256–257
- Robinson, P. 4, 9, 13, 15–20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 45, 47–48, 56–57, 70, 80, 100–131, 136, 163–164, 180, 184, 186, 189, 193–194, 223, 238–240, 244, 249, 258
- Rosenthal, R. 40, 42, 204
S
- sample size 51, 59, 63, 65, 78, 94–96, 200–201, 206–207, 209, 215, 217, 220, 222, 232, 241
- Sasayama, S. 3, 26, 34, 35, 49, 103, 108–110, 129, 135–136, 189, 238–239, 245–247, 256, 258
- scaffolding 55, 99, 123–124, 133–134, 192
- scoping review 33, 34, 42, 199
- second language learning context 71–73
- self-repairs 169, 171, 176, 177, 180
- sequencing 7, 9, 11, 13–15, 18, 20, 25, 70, 244
- simulation-based learning 5–6
- single vs. dual mode 55, 99, 122–123, 131–133, 192–193
- single vs. dual task 55, 99, 125–127
- Skehan, P. 4, 13, 15, 21–26, 43–45, 47, 52, 56–57, 70, 75, 77, 100, 102–103, 115–116, 119–121, 127–128, 130, 135, 145, 150, 154, 163–164, 174, 180, 183, 193, 238–239, 249, 258
- Slavin, R. 50, 199
- speaking tasks 115, 141, 148, 157–161, 240, 243, 252
- speech act complexity 99, 100, 126, 130, 131
- split-attention vs. integrated format 56, 100, 128–129, 131, 192
- SSARC model20
- standardized test 60, 83, 86–88
- stimulated recall 110, 195
- study coding: categories
53–61
- reliability 53–60, 145, 202
- scheme 51–53
- sheet 50–51, 200–201
- study exclusion criteria 46–50
- study inclusion criteria 43–46
- study quality 50, 70, 199, 235, 236 ; see also research quality
- subjective human ratings 189–190
- subjective task difficulty ratings 49, 52, 55, 119 ; see also cognitive load, task difficulty questionnaire
- Sweller, J. 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 22, 57, 122, 125, 129, 130, 136, 152, 153, 192, 193, 247, 257
- syllabus design 8–9, 18
- syntactic complexity 23–25, 166, 196–197, 213, 250–251, 253, 255 ; see also grammatical complexity
- systematic review 27, 30, 31, 36, 239
T
- target language 71–73
- target tasks 12, 15, 20, 244
- task accomplishment 162–163, 189–190, 194, 197, 201, 209, 217, 227–228, 233, 236, 238, 242, 248, 255, 258 ; see also functional adequacy
- task characteristics 60, 137–161
- task conditions45
- task difficulty 13, 18, 110, 121, 229, 233, 238
- task difficulty questionnaire 110, 117, 126, 130, 131, 229, 256 ; see also subjective task difficulty ratings
- task etymology 2–3
- task modality: design characteristics
137–141, 142–144, 153–156
- effects of 201, 209–223, 230–252 ; see also modality
- task mode 51, 60, 137, 141–144, 153–156, 159
- task promptsee instructions for tasks
- task time: duration/length
156–159
- frame 156–157
- limit 103–104, 156–160
- on task 103–104, 110, 129, 156–161
- task type: argumentative
148, 153–156
- decision-making 147–148, 153–156
- description 149, 153–156
- expository listening 145, 152–156
- expository reading 152–156
- information exchange 149, 153–156
- instruction-giving 150, 153–156
- integrated 151, 153–156
- narrative listening 152–156
- narrative reading 152–156
- personal narrative 150, 153–156
- spot-the-difference 151, 153–156
- story-retelling 145–147, 153–156, 160
- tight vs. loose task structure 24, 99, 120–122
- time estimation 110, 126, 256
- time pressure 6, 22, 23, 100 ; see also online planning
- TOEFL 59, 84, 85, 87, 91, 94, 126
- trade-off effect 25, 180, 205, 220, 230, 252
- Triadic Componential Framework 18–20, 70, 100, 105, 111, 122, 124, 126, 130
- true effect 183, 204, 208
V
- validity 8, 32, 61, 114, 243, 251, 257
- VanPatten, W. 21, 49
- variable: dependent
162–198
- independent 98–136
- intervening 194–198
- moderating 91–97, 251–254
- Vedder, I. 48, 106, 163, 164, 190, 197, 239, 248
- verification of task complexity 33, 103, 117–119, 136, 233, 236 ; see also independent measures of cognitive complexity, subjective task difficulty ratings
W
- Wickens, C.16
- Wigglesworth, G. 44, 101, 102, 117, 141, 145, 179, 183
- Wilson, L. 42, 62, 199, 200, 208
- working memory 11, 12, 16, 21, 57, 103, 160, 161, 251, 257
- writing tasks 104, 115, 125, 139, 141, 158, 161, 252
X
- Xi, X. 101, 109
- Xing, J.240
