Revisiting the Cognition Hypothesis: Bridging a gap between the conceptual and the empirical. (3rd May 2018) - Han, ZhaoHong
Abstract : Task‐based language learning has commanded ample attention in the field of instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) over the last two decades. Much of the research has centered on the Cognition Hypothesis, particularly testing out its key tenet that there is a correlation between task complexity and the syntactic complexity of task‐doers' or L2 learners' speech production. Extant studies, however, have led to inconclusive findings, and methodological inadequacy has generally been deemed the source of divergence. In this article, we take issue with this line of reasoning, arguing that the fundamental problem is theoretical more than methodological. We suggest that thought complexity rather than cognitive complexity should be investigated as a core construct mediating the task and language relationship in L2 learners.