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Turning now to the experimental evidence on the effect of the pre-task planning
and on-line planning on the language production, the authors explained three
main findings. First of all, the PTP group performed more fluently than the OLP
group. Secondly, concerning with the complexity, pre-task planning had a
positive influence on the grammatical complexity, and lexical variety whilst online planning only contributed to the grammatical complexity. Finally, in terms of
accuracy, OLP group outperformed the PTP and the NP groups. However, at the
discussion session, the authors suggested that the extent to which learners
engage in on-line planning is subject to considerable individual variation.
Regarding the results of the study, first of all, it is important to bear in mind that
the number of samples used in each group is quite small (n=14) which might
affect the overall data analysis. The researchers did not mention whether the
data followed the normal distribution nor whether they met the homogeneity of
variance assumption before performing the one-way ANOVA test. Thus, small
sample size has been a serious limitation in this study as it might be problematic
to generalize the result into a much wider context.
Secondly, the authors cited some references from over forty years ago (e.g.
Newell and Simon, 1972), and it is unclear if the study is still relevant. Moreover,
they based the present study heavily on Krashens work. Yuan and Elliss study
would be more relevant if they include more updated references as well as
elaborate more various studies in their paper.
Finally, there are some inconsistencies with the data interpretation. When
discussing the complexity, for instance, they stated that overall, the results
show that pre-task planning has a positive influence where grammatical
complexity is concerned (p.16). However, they pointed out earlier that the
language produced by the two planning groups was equally syntactically
complex.
Conclusion
The study is aimed at investigating the effects of two different planning
strategies on the oral language production. Posing three research questions at
the beginning of the study, the researchers succeeded to provide answers that
pre-task planning enhances grammatical complexity, while on-line planning
positively influences accuracy and grammatical complexity. However, the
generalizability of the results is quite questionable considering the nature and
the size of the sample used. Furthermore, the study might have been more
convincing if they used more updated references. Lastly, inconsistencies in
interpreting the data should also be viewed critically.
References
Yuan, F., & Ellis, R. (2003). The E ects of Pre-Task Planning and On-Line Planning
on Fluency , Complexity and Accuracy in L2 Monologic Oral Production.
Applied Linguistics, 24(1), 127.