What do students do while planning a task? The effects of different time lengths in an oral task

Abstract

The aim of this study is twofold. First, it quantitatively analyzes the effects of three different planning lengths on fluency, complexity, and accuracy in an oral production task. Second, through a questionnaire, it qualitatively explores the allocation of linguistic resources in the same task. A total of 38 Spanish college students were randomized to one of 3 time conditions. A 2 × 3 study design considered two proficiency levels (intermediate and advanced) and three planning conditions (0, 2, 5 minutes). Each sample was transcribed and analyzed according to four dependent variables: pause length, speech rate, amount of subordination, and percentage of on-target verbal morphology. The hypotheses, which predicted that planning time and proficiency level would positively affect task performance, were confirmed in general terms. Planners performed better than non-planners in speech rate, amount of subordination, and percentage of on-target verbal morphology. To note, 5-minutes planning yielded better results. As regards overall proficiency level, advanced-level students benefited the most from planning.