The Interplay of Task Type and Repetition in L2 Oral Performance and Attention Orientation: A Mixed-Methods Investigation

Abstract

This mixed-methods study investigates how task type—independent versus integrated—and task repetition may influence the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language oral performance and learners’ underlying attention orientation. Fifty-six Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners completed either an independent (reading–speaking) or integrated (reading–listening–speaking) task, repeated after one week. CAF measures captured performance changes, and stimulated recall interviews with 24 participants traced attentional allocation according to Levelt’s (1989) speech model. No interaction effects emerged, but significant main effects were found: repetition was associated with increases in syntactic complexity and accuracy, and task type affected speech rate. Stimulated recalls appeared to align with these findings, suggesting repetition redirected attention from conceptualization toward syntactic encoding, while integrated tasks created an initial attentional profile more oriented toward the Formulator. The study suggests that these pedagogical tools independently channel cognitive resources toward form-focused processing and offers empirical support for a psycholinguistic mechanism of attentional redistribution across Levelt’s (1989) components. By linking CAF outcomes with introspective data, the study points to how instructional design shapes the Conceptualizer–Formulator interface, offering implications for theory and practice.